The deal was NO MORE HIKING, which I was fine with because we were still not 100% yet.
Our first stop was Garden of the Gods, which was beautiful. It's primarily surrounded by flat land, so the sandstone rock formations stand out against the horizon. There are over 15 miles of trails to explore at G.O.G., but we took the scenic drive around the park area instead, stopping numerous times along the way to take pictures.
The next stop was Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, which is quite literally- you guessed it- on top of a mountain. To our misfortune, it was time for some walking. The zoo was the most spectacular, interactive zoo I've ever been to. They had 16+ giraffes that you were able to feed and pet, 6+ elephants and 5+ lions, along with hundreds of other animals. Each portion of the zoo was separated by continent. The Australian section had free-roaming wallabies and tree kangaroos, along with a walk-in parakeet bird cage (not my favorite). The Monkey Pavilion had many types of monkeys, and a sloth who just hung out in a basket outside his cage. Finally, the Loft area was awesome! There were a ton of random animals to see and get hands-on with. I touched a millipede (M did not).
The day's last activity was a surprise stop M planned himself to visit The United States Air Force Academy. Our GPS took us to the restricted access gate, and we were sternly, but politely, told to drive to the civilian entrance further North. Once we passed through security at the correct gate, we headed to the chapel. It was gorgeous. The chapel is an all-faiths house of worship, which holds temples for Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, and Buddhist, and an all-faiths room. All of the temples are awe-inspiring, but the stained glass in the Protestant Chapel is especially wondrous.
After the chapel we headed to Denver for our final night in Colorado before making our 14 hour car ride back home the following day.
