August 2015 Trip Day 3

We ended up scaling back our ambitions for our third day. Not only was Matt still worn out from the previous day and the trip in general, but we also had to work around teething, as Matt's last two second-year molars (his last two baby teeth) decided to make their appearance.

We began at the Air & Space Museum.

For Matt, the highlight of the outdoor aircraft exhibit was the military-grade forklift moving the missile launcher into place.

He did enjoy looking at the colorful planes inside the museum, however.

 

Sitting in the cockpit simulator (bottom photo courtesy of Jon)

The new Bomb Wing Commander takes a seat at his desk.

Checking out the Explosive Ordnance Disposal with Daddy

 Leave it to Matt to find the rocks the most interesting part of this exhibit.

Exiting under the shadow of the B-1B Lancer

We added in a tour of the missile silo at the adjoining air force base, which was pretty neat.

Matt peering into the missile silo

Fortunately all buttons (except the one for the maintenance car) have been deactivated...

Someone was not as interested in posing with the Space Command logo as I was.

Unfortunately we had to turn around and come home from our afternoon excursion, but Matt seemed to enjoy having a quiet afternoon. He was especially happy to have a chance to play with the dogs.

Figuring out how to play tug-of-war with the "li'l li'l" dog

August 2015 Trip Day 2

Our second day was all about animals. We may have found even the animal-loving Matt's limits to how many animals he can see in one day!

We first went to Bear Country, one of those animal parks where you drive through the various enclosures. Thanks to Grandpa, we knew to go early in the morning, when the animals were not only more active but also getting fed. And, sure enough, we followed the caretaker's truck around the park as he fed most of the animals. Needless to say we saw just about all of them up close!

 Elk

 Arctic wolves

Deer

 Mountain lions

Bears

The second part of Bear Country was a zoo to walk around, and even though only a few of the animals were getting fed they were easy to see.

Watching the grizzly bear wander over to his pool and go swimming

Arctic fox pups

Bear cubs

(Note: not a real bear!)

A fox, one of Matt's favorites

The otters

After we finished seeing everything at Bear Country, we headed to Reptile Gardens to view their exhibits of reptiles and birds (skipping the animal shows this time - we weren't sure Matt would sit through the whole show in the hot summer sun).

 Checking out the crocodiles

Scouting out the prairie dogs

Touching a giant tortoise

Up close and personal with a bald eagle

Meeting a macaw

Saying hi to the cockatoo

Passing under a boa constrictor

The thrill of seeing tropical birds up close couldn't compensate for the rapidly approaching nap time

Seeing so many kinds of snakes

Watching the chameleon

Looking at many different species of lizards

Needless to say, after that very busy morning full of so many animals, Matt needed a big nap. Three hours later, he rejoined us. He wasn't very interested in doing that much more sightseeing, not surprisingly. We took him for a little afternoon drive with a few more stops, including Dinosaur Park, although his favorite parts of our afternoon were driving through the construction zones full of excavators, backhoes, bulldozers, and more.

Touring Daddy's old elementary school

Trying to skip the duck-billed dinosaur for the dinosaurs further up the hill

Sitting on the triceratops

Running away from the T Rex

Relaxing on the apatasaurus' tail 

Feeding the stegosaurus

Posing with Mommy next to the stegosaurus

Seated on the protoceratops

Watching the ducks along the creek (a different park!)

At last Matt got to relax with everyone.

Playing with Uncle Vic

Aunt Karina trying to help him pet Aunt Ane's dog (who mostly decided she likes Matt - she kept running into our room the previous night after Matt went to sleep to see where he had gone)

Trying to pet Grandma and Grandpa's dog (who mostly decided he's not interested in Matt, except when he's waving food within his reach)

Using a magnifying glass