A Day At The Zoo

Last Thursday we took an afternoon to visit the Denver Zoo.  I wasn’t sure how Elaine would do…would she notice the animals and be excited, or be bored?  The first was true, and she had a great time!  I haven’t been to the zoo in a long time.  The weather was perfect – warm but just cool enough to make the animals active.  I saw the hippo open his mouth wide and heard the lion roar…it was pretty neat!

Wes had a short workday, so he met us at the zoo.  I think he likes being an uncle, and Elaine has taken to him well.  See?  She’s already copying him!

When we entered the pachyderm house, the zoo keeper was just handing out snacks.  This 54 year old hippo, Bert, got two apples, but he had to open wide.  This is the best picture I could get, but it was pretty cool!

Quote of the day, “The rhino lives a boring life.”  --Wesley

Elaine loved standing on the fences, but I’m not sure she really understood or noticed this elephant behind her.  Later in the day we caught him inside, and at a closer distance Elaine seemed excited.

The monkeys definitely took the cake on this zoo visit for Elaine.  They were jumping and swinging all over the place.  She would point, and then look at us, and then go back to the monkeys.  These monkeys are separate from the Primate section where we saw two monkeys (with really long arms) duking it out in a hammock.  Elaine was really laughing at them!

This may be the first time I saw the grizzly bear moving around.  I think he was hungry…he was trying to eat leaves! 

This is Elaine offering her cookie to the bear.

The gorillas were really active too, and usually they are boring.  Elaine loved being able to walk right up to the glass on her level.  Here is Elaine with Grandma Godby.

A special treat was Elaine’s first taste of cotton candy.  While she didn’t mind the taste, she didn’t like the stickiness on her fingers or the texture in her mouth, and she soon gave up on this treat!

The King of the Jungle – this lion was a little scrawny, but he packed a powerful roar.  When the sun went behind the clouds he told the hyenas what he really thought as he pranced around.  Then one of the Mrs. Lions (there were two) came over to settle him down…

I’ve always liked the giraffes, and the Denver Zoo has a large family of them.  There were three that were less than a year old, and they were so cute!  However, since they were inside, it was hard to capture a good picture. 

A funny thing from our visit to the giraffe house…there used to be a white giraffe name Bill.  I mentioned him, “Do you remember the white giraffe they used to have?”  Wesley replied, “Yeah.  What was his name?  Geoffrey?”  We had to laugh…he was thinking of the Toys R Us mascot!

Elaine and Mommy with the giraffes.

When we hit Tropical Discovery Elaine came alive.  Strollers are not allowed, so she walked.  All of the aquariums are on her level, with a little rock ledge where she can stand or climb.  She would get right up to the glass and talk to the fish or turtles, and point excitedly.  She even went to see the snakes with Uncle Wesley.  Mommy wisely chose to wait outside!