Colorado Vacation, Day Three - Garden of the Gods

Warning: this post has a lot of pictures in it. A LOT. I couldn't help it - Garden of the Gods is so beautiful. That, and Raegan was basically a mountain goat while we were there, and it was really funny to see.

I was afraid that it might rain on us at first, but it never did. It was just a cool, cloudy, perfect Colorado day.

There was no parking in the main lot (that's what you get on a Saturday in the summer, I suppose) so we had to walk over to the main area. It was quite a walk, but Raegan was a trooper.

But she did get tired towards the end of our walk.

Zoomed in to get this one!

Thoughtful pose

Selfie :)

I love these two pictures so much. Best. Photobombs. Ever.

Raegan was determined that she was going to go everywhere Zane did

Love this picture too!

Don't worry - Raegan had some help getting up there with Zane.

Yikes!

It was such a fantastic vacation. They get more fun every year, as Raegan gets older and is able to handle more and enjoy all of the activities. I can't wait until next year!

Colorado Vacation, Day Three - Dinosaur Resource Center

Saturday morning we decided to try another new activity - the Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center. Not all of the skeletons inside were real, but some pieces were. I was really excited, because I don't think that I've ever seen (or touched) actual dinosaur bones before. It wasn't very big, but I would say we were there at least an hour. And without the family, I would have been there longer reading every sign thoroughly. :)

The mass inside this prehistoric fish's skeleton is the remains of his last meal. Very cool!

Pretending to be paleontologists

Making a dinosaur out of magnetic pieces

Raegan's dinosaur

I am so glad all of these prehistoric fish are extinct. They creep me out big time.

Just a portion of an ultrasaur's leg bone. Yikes!

Note that Raegan never took her sunglasses off once. They were her souvenir from the zoo. She is crazy about them.

Raegan was fascinated with the video about digging up and preserving fossils.

Colorado Vacation, Day Two - Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

After lunch at The Mason Jar (one of our favorite restaurants, and one that I remember well from childhood vacations to Colorado!) we headed to the zoo in Colorado Springs. All I really remembered of it from my childhood was that it was on the side of a mountain and a lot of walking. I may or may not have kept that information to myself to convince everyone that we should go. :)

The first exhibit we visited was the giraffes. It was awesome! We didn't buy anything to feed the giraffes, but they still came right up to us to check for food.

I just took this picture to show how long their tongues are. Ewwwww!

No zoom - this is how close they were getting to us.

Photobomb #3

A small play area that we stopped in for a few minutes.

I really liked the reptile exhibit (not something I usually say about the reptile house!) All of the reptile habitats were arranged like works of art, with plants or beads or sculptures. It was pretty cool.

"BIG CHAIR! Take my picture, Mama!" :)

The cutest baby to ever hatch out of an egg :)

Raegan posed this way entirely on her own. Is she picture perfect or what?

Brave girl petting a snake (while holding Daddy's hand)

Raegan entertained herself for the last half hour or so of the zoo by reading the map. It was pretty cute.