I Survived My Summer Vacation...Just Barely!

From Tampa to Dallas and then on to Colorado Springs, my kids were determined to show me everything before sending me back home to vegetate behind my desk. They succeeded and I filled things on my bucket list I had to add right before I did them.

The Ross Perot Museum of Science and Industry in Dallas is awesome for hands-on experiences of all kinds. I saw the inside of my hand and tested my ESP ability, thus verifying I actually have a brain before moving onto Colorado.

The Miramont Castle Museum in Manatou Springs

Sadly, I didn't go white water rafting this year, too much rain. (and cold - this Florida girl does not do cold) But the trip was filled with enough action to make up for it. 

Shopping in Manatou Springs

I panned for gold at the Western Museum of Mining and Industry in Colorado Springs , and I'm sure the nuggets I found (that they said was fool's gold) was real. 

Then I sluiced for gems (rocks, metals, seed pods) on the way back from going to the top of Pike's Peak, Oxygen was scarce for lungs used to below sea level amounts and I spent the day panting for breath. But I found a few pretty rocks. (I should take a geology course before I go again...and a canister of oxygen.) 

The http://www.cmzoo.org/ Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs is well known for breeding giraffes, and I got to feed them. These are very sweet animals with long, very long, black tongues. This zoo had excellent animal displays and habitats for a small zoo. I highly recommend a visit if you're in the area. Check out the Live WebCam of giraffes

And we also visited the Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Center. They are doing a splendid job of educating the public about the importance of keeping the wolves from becoming extinct. http://www.wolfeducation.org It is a wonderful experience to howl with the wolves.

Really you should click on my links and explore all these wonderful places if you plan to travel to Colorado or if you'd like to see more about them.