Best of Utah: Hogle Zoo

   
     This will be first of hopefully many posts depicting the many amazing things Utah has to offer. My husband and I made a fun purchase this year, which saves on many of Utah's funnest places to go including the zoo, museums, planetariums, gardens, hikes, historical sites, and more.  I am very excited to share our experiences, and hopefully encourage others to go out and explore their own communities, whether it be Utah's communities or otherwise.

     Lance and I decided we wanted to do something fun this Memorial Day Weekend, but we also didn't want to spend a thousands of dollars going on a big trip somewhere. We thought it would be fun to go on a mini vacation to Salt Lake City since it is only an hour away from home, far enough to not be home, but close enough to keep to a tight budget.  We found a nice hotel right in the center of everything.  The first stop on our trip? The Hogle Zoo!
     We had an absolute blast!  There were so many fun things to do, and so many fun animals to see! I felt like a little kid again running around and seeing everything there was to see. Not only were there the actual animals in the zoo, but there were interactive displays, giant bug exhibits, play grounds, and other such fun things to experience. The spider got me a bit...eish...I am not a spider fan, so to see this giant thing was a little insane!
     I think the baby animals were some of my favorites.  There were baby monkeys and a baby elephant, and a baby "kitty" as the kids called it!  The baby monkeys were so cute cuddling and playing in their blanket next to mom.  I should have taken a picture as well as the video I took of them playing, but it was great because they were all right up next to the window, and to see the baby elephant interacting with it's mother was super fun to see as well.


     This was a fun stop.  There was a little girl there standing by the window excited as ever to see this animal.  Her little monkey, "Oo! Oo!" was the cutest thing!  This guy had quite a bit of space to roam around in, so seeing him show off and walk back and forth right in front of everyone was great, especially for the crowd of little kids squishing their cute little noses up against the glass.  
     Getting eaten by a lion has never been so fun!  Ha!  As much as I am sure this design was meant more for little children, my husband and I both thought it was great.  We are definitely going to be that one couple who embarrasses their kids at the theme parks because we are having more fun than they are.  But hey, it will make for some great family stories one day! 
     New addition to our future back yard?   I think yes!  As far as comfort goes, add a few pillows and blankets and it wouldn't be half bad!  I'm kidding, but it was fun.  I loved this part of the zoo.  There were so many fun places to play, and have fun. There were tunnels to run through, birds nests to sit in, and tons more. 
     See?  Tunnel!  Of course, me being me, 
I had to run through it.  Or more like crawl and squish and wiggle, but still!  I didn't see any reason why not.  Lance took the higher road and casually sat on top.  Look how handsome he looks sitting on top of the log, sunglasses and all.  Oh how I love this guy!

     Almost done, but this was awesome!  One great thing about going to Hogle Zoo would definitely be the potential knowledge gained with every visit.  There were signs, and displays of bones, and smells, and pictures, and all sorts of things to help keep young minds active.  If it was this fun for Lance and I, then I can't imagine how interesting everything would be to a new pair of eyes.  I will for sure be taking my kiddos to this zoo one day!
     Last, but by no means the least: Giraffe!!  I'd say almost more than the Zebra, the Giraffe may just be my favorite, so for no other reason than that, here is my picture of a Giraffe!  They get really close to the walls, not too close, but still really close, so it was super fun seeing these guys play with their toys, and walk around among the zebras in the same pen.  

      It goes without saying, we had a lot of fun.  The whole weekend was amazing, and it gave Lance and I the opportunity to escape the world back home for a short while, and take the time to get to know each other a little better.  The zoo provided us with the opportunity to learn about each other's interests, experience new things together, and enjoy each other as best friends.  I am so grateful that I got to have this experience with my husband, and I would highly recommend this attraction as one of Utah's Best, for both children and adults.  
For more Best of Utah, visit http://blog.allthingstristen.com/search/label/Best%20of%20Utah
     

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