Mr. Keith and I set out to go to the City Park in downtown Denver, planning to decide what to do when we got there. The Zoo won out! It's a wonderful place, huge, very well designed, and the critters are well taken care of and displayed. There are lots of benches, big trees, and goodies to eat and souvenirs to buy. We were there early, so avoided the crowds. Mostly we saw moms with preschoolers and strollers. I'm not posting many photos of the animals, just a couple that we didn't get before. Above you see a tapir. He was sleeping in the sun last time we saw him. Visiting the Zoo first thing in the morning seems to be best, because the animals are more active.
The penguins were the highlight of our visit. I copied this from the Zoo website.
"Going, Going, Gone? - The African penguin population has been reduced drastically in the past century and currently only about 120,000 birds remain. The decline in the population was due to several factors including harvesting of eggs, reduction in the penguin’s food, removal of guano used by the penguins for burrowing sites and oil pollution from oil tankers. The Denver Zoo has participated in efforts to rescue penguins affected by oil spills."
These little guys are so much fun to watch. They are comical, and have quite the personalities. This African species makes a sound like a donkey, so have earned the name "Jackass Penguins".
We were lucky to be there at feeding time. The caretaker took a lot of time and patience to make sure each penguin got his or her fair share of little fishes. He said they are named and each one knows his name! He called one "Wilson", who turned out to be a female. Some took the fishes right out of the bucket and others waited to be hand-fed. Watching this was truly entertaining and educational for us.
After the Zoo it was time for us humans to be fed. We headed down to the old Lowry Air Force Base, which has been remodeled and turned into a trendy business area with shops and restaurants. Last season we ate at the Pei Wei Asian Diner so decided to try it again. This is Mandarin Kung Pao, a delicious dish that I couldn't wait to dive into! Mr. Keith had Pad Thai with shrimp. It's a wonderful place to eat and we will return. We still want to visit the Air and Space Museum, located at Lowry, so that will be followed by another great meal at the Pei Wei!
1 comment:
I went to grad school in Denver many years ago. I've always like the atmosphere of the city!
Post a Comment