Magnetic bookmarks at Broomfield Days...

Broomfield days opens with a race, yummy breakfast and also not to mention art and craft fair and the parade. Bigib, LLC was there for the art and craft fair bringing magnetic bookmarks to fellow fans.

New styles fits for boys, girls, men and women. Great for gifts for anyone in the family. LimitedbBookmarks will be listed on my Esty store too...

Hello Colorado,... meet me at Broomfield Days

Mark your calendar, September 17, 2011...
Bigib will be at Broomfield Days in Colorodo, booth 96 silver. New magnetic bookmarks will be waiting for you to take home...
Look forward to seeing you...

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo... more than just a zoo

Wondering what to do in Colorado Springs area? Do stop by Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.
As a parent who has been to several zoos, I do believe this one is different. It is located near the mountains. In addition to seeing the animals, you got some perks for beautiful view. It is not just seeing cage after cage or location after location.

The location is kind of tricky to find. Do, find the directions before you go. Depending how fast is your pace, you may need all day to do this trip. Parking is limited. It's a good idea to come early when the zoo opens.

I noticed most people will see Giraffe exhibits first as it's located close to the entrance. You can buy lettuce for $2 to feed the Giraffes. We decided to take the sky ride first as there were hardly any lines. We bought the ticket in the entrance, which is cheaper than if you buy at the ticket booth near the sky ride. Hold on to your belongings as wind gusts may be playing with your hat.

Sky ride would take you to the upper part of the zoo. They have picnic tables, food stalls that sells ice cream and spectacular view. If you want to buy lunch, Grizzly Grill is one of the place. The food feels a bit pricy. My daughter ordered grilled cheese, which I think the worst grilled cheese I've ever eaten. I ordered brisket and coleslaw for $11. The brisket is great but the coleslaw is tasteless.

The zoo design is very clever. They are using the topography of the mountains to strategically locate the animal and the viewer so that you feel like walking through animal habitat. My favorite place is the birds, where you could go in side a house where the parakeet are flying freely. The wallaby is my second best. Then the moose, tiger, wolf area.

Don't miss Will Rogers Shrine as part of your zoo trip. They close about 1 hour before the zoo closes.

Denver Mint Tours

While you are in Denver, Colorado area, you probably do not want to miss this tour. If you only have few days in Denver, do make an early ( give yourself about a month a head) reservation on line. The reservation will tell you in detail about list of items allowed to be brought with you during the tour and do really follow the instructions or else they won't let you in.

Parking located near Delaware in USPS building. It costs about $5 for the first 4 hours.
It's a good idea to bring an umbrella. It could be scorching hot you have to wait outside before they let you in.

The tour starts promptly. They allow you to take a potty break and drink before their 30 min tour. You will be greeted with security and metal detector. Then, you will find yourself in a room filled with old coins or other monetary exchange. Beads, spices was once considered as money.

You will be inside a room filled with information about how do they make coins, metal mixes, machine, recycling coins and on. The tour guide is very knowledgeable. You will be able to see machines that makes coins, nicely decorated building After the tour ends, you can visit a gift shop.

During our visit, the gift shop was closed due to construction. It was an OK tour for us but very educational.

Bobolink Trail

We decided to try hiking in a very kid friendly and easy trail. We went to Bobolink trail, on South Boulder and Cherryvale Road.

We started a little after noon. It was really hot and a little bit "buggy". In addition to sun lotion, hat, sun glass, a bug repellent would help. There is a parking lot but no john... so if you really need to go, you can look for shady area or find a gas station with restroom on 55 and Arapahoe.

The trail is bike and stroller friendly. There are creek access where you can try walking on the stone to the other side of the creek. About 0.6 miles, you will see access to East Boulder Community Park. It was too hot for us to continue so we bailed out to the Community Center.

Next time, we'll try going there earlier... or when the sun is not so scorching hot. It's a fun experience for family.

A trip to Water World

While we're in Denver, we took the opportunity to visit Water World. If you happen to be drinking lots of Mountain Dews, keep the cans as it has $6 coupon off. If you are not, you could sign up to get one.

The park opens at 10. We arrived there about 10:30 which I considered late. Once we got in, we went to Captain Jack's area. If the benches are full, you could try other places like Big Top or Thunder Bay. There area lockers and bath house close to the area. We rented a locker for our valuables.

Some rides requires tube. If you are traveling alone with kids, you may want to rent a tube. If you want to save some money, you can carry the tube yourself to the starting point. I have to warn you that it's a bit heavy...

We tried most of the rides, including Voyage to the center/earth, Raging Colorado, Wally's world, Lost river of Pharaoh, Captain Jack, Thunder Bay, Storm, Big Top, Space bowl (this one, you need to be able to swim), H2O arena and gondola. We ran out of time...

We were there on a Friday... last weekend before school starts. Despite 30 min wait or more on each ride, we had fun and plan to come back.

When we come back, we'll plan it some time in the middle of summer, middle of the week. Hopefully the lane will be shorter. This time, we'll try to arrive 10 min before they open...

Playing with mud at Denver Art Museum

Visiting Denver? Don't miss Denver Art Museum. Currently, Marvelous Mud on exhibit until September 18...
Other than live artists demonstration, you got a chance to get dirty. You could pick an apron, pick a lump of clay, some tools and then use your creativity to build anything you like.
They even have a pottery wheel...


My suggestion is to arrive a little bit earlier. The clay needs some time to dry. In the real clay world, you suppose to fire it to 1200F. My clay didn't have a chance to dry out... Too bad that I accidentally squeeze the clay and broke. Luckily, I got a chance to take a picture of it so I can share my piece.

I think it's very fun piece. Wouldn't you agree?