Free Day/Polarpalooza @ the Denver Zoo!

Today the Denver Zoo was holding a free day and a celebration called Polarpalooza which celebrates the 20th anniversary of the SCFD (Scientific & Cultural Facilities District) which is responsible for organizing and funding all of the "Free days" at Denver museums and attractions.  Because of the celebration there were lots of activity booths and arts/crafts for children.

We didn't get to the zoo until around 1pm because we wanted to make sure Johnny had a nap before we went.  It would've been better had we gone when it first opened, because it was crazy crowded.  There were cars everywhere trying to find parking and the usual dumb people who endanger other people's lives because they don't pay attention behind the wheel.  We ended up parking on the very bottom basement level of the parking garage, but we were just happy to find a parking spot after 20 minutes of driving around.  Part of the problem was that we had to maneuver around all of the foot traffic and people with strollers.  Also, all parking at the zoo is free, which is nice.

Once inside we got very overwhelmed by the hoards of people EVERYWHERE & the vast amount of animals and attractions to see inside the zoo.  There were booths everywhere and the park itself is huge with tons of buildings and paths that go every which way.  The map was confusing and there were lots of places we didn't end up seeing because we'd go down one side of a path and end up never circling to the other side.  We got lost easily.  We were at the zoo for two hours and by the end of it we were tired from walking & putting up with all the people, sweaty from the hot weather (the weather here fluctuates from extreme to extreme; you never know what tomorrow will be like), and overwhelmed from everything we saw, the people, & the labyrinth of trails and paths.  We did have fun but I felt like I was going to pass out by the end of it; probably from low-blood sugar since I hadn't eaten much today.

Johnny had a lot of fun looking at the animals.  He was in his stroller for the first ten minutes or so and then started throwing a tantrum because he wanted out of the stroller.  He walked holding onto daddy's hand for the next ten minutes until he started trying to climb into the animal enclosures.  That was the end of Johnny walking.  For the next hour or so he sat on his daddy's shoulders and looked at all of the animals.  Then he got really tired and was fine with being in his stroller again, and remained like that for the rest of the visit.

(Johnny & daddy)

(Enjoying the zoo)

(Johnny walking with a purpose. :))

The animals that Johnny had the most fun looking at were: the lions, the giraffes, the elephants, and the ducks.  Yes, the ducks.  They weren't even really part of the zoo animals--they were the ducks and geese who lived in random ponds throughout the park.  And my son loved them.  He probably could have sat there and watched them all day if we were inclined to bore ourselves to death.  He probably would have really liked seeing the gorilla and monkeys too but the gorilla wasn't in his enclosure when we visited it and we couldn't get to the monkeys easily (we did see a few).  We all enjoyed seeing the polar bear too but we weren't able to get really close to the glass to see him because there were a lot of people who pretty much stood right near the glass and never moved away so other people could get pictures.  People annoy me sometimes. The polar bear was cooling off underneath a rock overhang in the water and you could see her in the underwater window--she put her big paw up against the glass and it was huge.  Some kids got their picture with their hands up against the paw and I really wanted to do that with Johnny too but the kids and their parents were the jerks that thought they were the only ones who wanted to see the polar bear.  Next time we go we hope to get pictures of Johnny next to the polar bear; hopefully she will do the paw thing again.

(John & Johnny in front of the lion enclosure...the male lion was lounging and sleeping as male lions--and males--do while the female lion circled and watched all the children with a look that could kill--literally.  That is the female lion behind the glass.)

 

(The guys looking at the giraffes)

 

(The VERY tall giraffes)

(The polar bear paw)

(Seal)

 

(zebra)

(John & Johnny next to an elephant!.....Just kidding: that is a huge picture of an elephant on plywood you can take pictures in front of.  Cool, huh?)

(The REAL elephants)

(The hippo hiding from the people)

 

(The rhino--there was NOBODY at his enclosure...poor, rhino)

 (Flamingos--which are as ridiculous in person as they are in cartoons)

(The baboons--where John & Johnny fit in. :) Excuse the glare of the glass & random kids reflected there)

(Yes, that is a mountain sheep.  On a FAKE rock cliff.)

 

We saw a lot of different animals and it was a blast!  I didn't get very many pictures (a lot of animals I didn't get any pictures of) because we were hot and it was so crowded that concentration was spent on trying to maneuver around rather than taking pictures.  We are looking forward to the next free day at the zoo, which I think is at the end of the month.  The Denver Zoo is one of those places that you either need to take the whole day to check out or check out different parts on different days.  I haven't been to a zoo that big since I was a small child and my family lived on the west-side of WA State.  It was great to take advantage of the warm weather today & to see another attraction of Denver. :)