A New Old Place and an Old Old Place

     I decided that this week I would share photos of two places I've been in the past two weeks - a place I hadn't visited since I was a child, and a place I've visited often since I was a child.  Keep reading to find out about the two places.
     A little over a week ago, my good friend Renae, and I went to The Seven Falls.  I had not been there since I was a little girl! Their website gives this description:
     "Seven Falls is a series of seven cascading waterfalls of South Cheyenne Creek in South Cheyenne Cañon, Colorado Springs, Colorado. It is a privately owned tourist attraction since it was opened in the early 1880s. Trails from the top of the falls lead to Midnight Falls, near the headwaters of South Cheyenne Creek, and Inspiration Point. The area sustained a significant flood in September 2013, which closed Seven Falls until restoration waas completed late Summer 2015 by The Broadmoor. The resort bought Seven Falls after it had been owned and operated by families since the 1880s."
     Used to be you could drive onto the Seven Falls property and park your car after buying your ticket to enter the canyon.  But since the Broadmoor Resort bought the canyon and the Falls you now must park in one of the Broadmoor Hotel's parking lots and ride a free shuttle into the canyon where there is a ticket office.  At that point you ride a little tram which takes you on to the Falls.  Or you can take a walking trail.  
     Actually, Renae and I did neither!  It was really cold that day and there had been snow.  I had forgotten that the canyon walls are so steep that there is very little sunlight that reaches the canyon floor.  So because there was still quite a bit of snow and ice on the road, the little trams were not running and the shuttle actually took us up to the entrance to the Falls.

The Seven Falls and Restaurant 1858 as seen from Eagles Nest

     What a beautiful canyon!  (On a side note, Andy was working in that canyon the beginning of last week above the Falls where he was helping clear out debris that was obstructing the progress of the creek which becomes the Falls.  He loved it up there!)  Renae and I walked around the side of the new restaurant that's at the base of the Falls and headed directly to the bottom of the Seven Falls.  
     The Broadmoor replaced the old wooden stairs with 224 steel reinforced concrete steps.  The Falls extend 181 feet from the base of the steps.  The entire canyon is a mile long.  The Falls descend in seven distinct steps over solid Rocky Mountain granite.   I walked up the first of the two sections of stairs which took me about half way up the Falls.  At that point I was freezing!  So I came back down and then Renae and I went into the Mine Tunnel.
     Blasted 14 stories straight up through solid granite, the Mine Elevator takes visitors to what they call "The Eagles Nest Platform."  And from there we had some magnificent views of the entire canyon - and finally found a little sunshine!  By then it was time for lunch, so we headed back down the elevator to the new restaurant on the property called Restaurant 1858, taking its name from the Gold Rush era and the "Pikes Peak or Bust" motto.  This is what their website says about the restaurant:
     "Executive Sous Chef of Broadmoor Restaurants David Patterson and Chef de Cuisine Kathleen Symons oversee a menu that showcases traditional Rocky Mountain flavors and takes its cue from the heritage of the Old West, blending low-country style with early frontier cooking. The menu’s wide array of German, French, and Creole cuisines are inspired by the immigrants who traveled west to seek their fortunes in the gold rush, making Restaurant 1858 the culinary melting pot of Cheyenne Cañon."
     It was an excellent meal!  Now for some photos of that day:

Looking up from the first platform

Looking down from the first platform

Taken from Eagles Next looking across the canyon

Also from Eagles Nest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Then I'll bet you can guess where I went last week (which I called my "old old place" - somewhere I go at least once a week and have been visiting since I was a little girl.)   You are right!  The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo!
     I love that our zoo has made so many changes over the years to insure healthy and happy animals.  The enrichment activities that they provide, the training, the nutrition, the wonderful enclosures which attempt to imitate as much as possible the natural environments of each species - all of those things are done without any tax money or government support.  It is one of a few zoos in the nation which does NOT receive any government support whether local or federal.  All of the funds are achieved through donations, memberships and ticket sales which is pretty amazing!  Not to mention that the CMZ is rated in the top five zoos in the US.
     I have had a membership for at least 20 years, but have been going there since the 1950s.  I feel like it is MY zoo! And I'm positive that the animals all know me :-)   Many of them I know by name as most of you who follow me on facebook are well aware!  ha!  And so, here are a few photos of last week's visit which always begins and ends with the lion cubs.

This is Boma with Mom and sister Elsa in the background

The boys are cuddling with Mom

Boma was front and center!

The fur pile from L - R: Aslan, Elsa and Boma

     They are getting big so fast now that they are eating solid food.  They are 5 months old and weigh about 50 pounds.  Elsa, the only girl, is the smallest, but she was the first to be able to jump up on the high platforms!  Now they can all get up there, so Mom has no place to escape to - poor Lomela!  But she is such a good mom and super protective.  She still does not want any of the other lions near her babies.  Poor daddy Abuto stands in the outside area and calls to them regularly.
     After the visit to the lions I head up the hill to see the elephants (we now have six females as we acquired two aging ladies from a zoo in KS - our vets are well-known for their knowledge of aging animals.)  Then I usually go to the monkey house where I visit with my favorite gibbons, Tembling and Shanee, both of whom are missing their right hand.  I can usually get Tembling to show off his swinging abilities by clapping!
     After a visit to the Grizzly Grill so I can get my free refill in my zoo cup, I head to the Asia exhibit with a stop to see our kestrel, the smallest of the birds of prey.  His name is Marty McFly and I think he is absolutely beautiful!

Can you see him in front of the tree?  He blends in well!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now to visit the Asian animals.  I especially love the big cats!

Can you find our snow leopard, Bhutan?

And here is handsome Grom, our Amur tiger

     Next is the Rocky Mountain exhibit.  I didn't make a trip up the stairs to see the grizzlies on this visit.  They aren't very active this time of year anyway and are usually sleeping.  So on to see the mountain lions and the moose.  And then to visit our beaver in the aquatics house.

One of our four mountain lions.  They are 8 year old siblings.

Tahoma the seven year old moose

Ginger, the beaver, enjoying some time out of her exhibit and having the run  of the Aquatics House.  She' pretty entertaining!

 

 

     From there it's on to my other favorite animal families, the great apes.   Little Ember, the orangutan, just turned a year old.  She is always a joy to watch.  But I have always been partial to the gorilla family.  I can finally tell them all apart, which is not easy since we have four adult females.  It won't be too much longer and it will be hard to pick out Tumani as she is almost full grown.  But Dembe is only three so he's still easy to find.  He is our only male as we lost his daddy, our beautiful and loving Rafiki, in September.  So our gorilla troop is presently without a Silver Back.  Perhaps we will get one in the Spring.  The keepers aren't sure.  But it is encouraging to see the troop starting to heal after their loss.  In fact, Tumani and Dembe (sister and brother) played for a good 20 minutes while I was there.  That's the first time I've seen them having fun since Rafiki died.  It was so heartwarming to watch! 

Sweet Ember with Momma Hadiah

Dembe wore himself out playing with his sister.

     So, my friends, these were my two places I visited in the past 10 days.  Both wonderful places showing the beauties and awesomeness of nature.  When I need some peace of mind and a reminder of what's good in this world I need go no further than my "backyard".  Thank you for reading my blog.  I hope you enjoyed following me on this short journey.  Merci!