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From zoos to fishing to wolves.. we had a blast!
Each year (aside from last year) we visit Colorado and enjoy the cool temps and mountain views. This year we chose Divide as our base "camp" and we loved the cabin that we rented! It was just outside of Divide and was extremely peaceful and we loved getting to see deer almost every day of our stay. Riley utilized the window seat daily, because it was the best view of the deer when they'd stroll by.
This year's vacation was a little different in terms of structure than any of our other vacations. Usually I am an avid planner and want things scheduled out, but this year the only thing I purchased in advance were our tickets to the zoo. We chose to do this because we love the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, had time to kill before we could check-in at our cabin, and mainly because tickets have to be purchased in advance now to visit. This zoo is such a neat zoo because it is so interactive. We enjoyed feeding the giraffes, and also got to see two hatches of baby peacocks! We ended our zoo visit with a trip on the sky line, a first for all three of us, and loved it!
We spent a lot of time fishing this year and hopping (well weaving and winding up and down mountains) to different lakes and reservoirs. We didn't catch many fish, but we definitely enjoyed the views provided! While at Manitou Lake, a chipmunk decided Jesse was it's best friend, and at South Catamount Reservoir there was an overly friendly fox. We weren't sure of the fox and were actually pretty happy when he took himself elsewhere because the people fishing near us told us that he would steal fish. We luckily didn't catch any to test that theory.
The most unexpected place we visited was the North Pole. We were headed up Pike's Peak Highway to fish at South Catamount Reservoir and noticed a sign by the North Pole that said "free admission today only"... Needless to say, after getting our bait stole by the fish in the reservoir for an hour and a half.. we decided to check out the North Pole. We did still have to buy wristbands for rides, but seeing how much Riley enjoyed all of the rides, it was most definitely worth it. We ended up spending close to 3 hours riding rides, visiting Santa, watching the glass blower work, and checking out the little shops. We weren't sure going in how many rides she'd be able to go on, but as it turned out she was actually tall enough to ride more by herself than we thought, and the other rides either Jesse or I (or both) went with her. Jesse got to experience an interest spinning "roller coaster" thing that left him and Riley both saying, "never again." Riley and I had a good time going down the slide, though!
It was a great four days of getting away and enjoying our time together. I will say though, I think Gizmo was happy to have her little girl home on Sunday!
