July 30, 2021

Family-friendly ideas for summer fun with grandchildren

July 30, 2021/ Lisa Carpenter

Warm, sunny days are the perfect setting for making family memories, but they’re also ideal opportunities to encourage grandkids to get creative and let their imaginations soar.

These ideas for summertime activities encourage family interaction, and the more kids get to help plan and organize the details, the more engaged you can expect them to be.

January 14, 2021

Pic of the week: Wild connection

January 14, 2021/ Lisa Carpenter

My grandson Benjamin’s favorite place in the world is the zoo. Many of my favorite photos of my favorite two-year-old are those taken in his favorite place.

To wit: This wild connection—and perfect pose by both for the camera—Brianna captured during their visit this week.

February 25, 2014

More than just a zoo

February 25, 2014/ Lisa Carpenter

I have a love/hate relationship with zoos. I hate that animals are caged and domesticated to a degree simply so we humans can ooh, aah and ogle the once wild — and sometimes rare — creatures.

That's the hate part of it. The love part is the amazement in the eyes of children when they see the creatures up close, as well as my love for photographing such moments. And I love, too, photographing the animals. It's hard to resist the lure of a good zoo.

boys at aquarium

When Jim and I spent some time with Bubby and Mac a couple weeks ago, we visited one zoo that's far more than a zoo...

March 25, 2011

Do the zoo

March 25, 2011/ Lisa Carpenter

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, at 6,800 feet above sea level, is America's only mountain zoo. It has a 145-acre footprint, with 45 acres of that in active use for housing and displaying over 150 species — 30 of those species endgangered — and an animal count of more than 800.

I'm fortunate to have Cheyenne Mountain Zoo as my local zoo. I'm even more fortunate to have recently had the joy of visiting my favorite zoo with Bubby.