Month: December 2010

Love is always in the air for giraffes at Colorado Springs zoo

At first glance, the giraffe area at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo might not seem an exceedingly romantic spot. Granted, it boasts a lovely location, high on a hill, with Colorado Springs spread out below. But when you get down to it, it’s just a big patch of dirt surrounded by a stone wall. And the inside enclosure, where the ruminants ruminate when it’s too cold to go outside, is, well, stinky. But together they compose one of the world’s most renowned settings for giraffe love. With 194 successful births since 1954, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo claims one of the most successful giraffe-breeding programs anywhere. It helps that it has a lot of giraffes to start with. The 20 reticulated giraffes residing at the zoo make up the largest collection of that subspecies in any zoo, according...

How to stay fit this winter

Outdoor-workout enthusiasts reveled in a balmy autumn, running, hiking and cycling for as long as possible before the snow finally fell. But as colder days and earlier nightfall give way to freezing temperatures, slippery snow and numbing winds can kill motivation for even the most hard-core exercisers. Instead of hibernating, fitness experts say that transitioning now to indoor workouts that challenge your body in different ways can lift spirits while maintaining sports performance and base-line conditioning until spring. “Athletes who shift workouts indoors often find that when they do go back outside, they are better,” says Shannon Fable, group fitness manager at the Colorado Athletic Club in Boulder. “They’ve given their body a chance to recover from overuse inj...

Kid-friendly music adults will like

Good music for kids requires all the same ingredients of good music for adults: talented musicians, a beat that gets you moving, clever lyrics and a catchy melody. This year’s kids music picks have it all. Some albums are mellow, some are rock, some will make you laugh, some will make you think; but whatever your musical tastes, these tunes are all sure to get your feet tapping into 2011. Oh, and an added bonus? They’ll probably get your parents’ feet tapping, too. Turn up the volume! – The Pop Ups, “Outside Voices.” Many of these songs sound like what your parents may have listened to in

New Year’s Eve Explodes with Two Fireworks Displays and Family-friendly Activities

What are you doing New Year’s Eve? You’d better decide quickly. On a night like this, the best events sell out early. Here’s a list of possibilities — entertainers, special dinners, nights on the town — across the Front Range. Zoo Year’s Eve New Year’s Eve party beginning at 5 p.m. with entertainment for children and an early countdown at 9 p.m. Zoo lights are lit up over 38 acres. $6-10. 2300 Steel St. 303-376-4800. Night in Vienna with Colorado Symphony 6:30 p.m. to end in time to see the 9 p.m. fireworks on the 16th Street Mall. $32-85. 1000 14th St. 303-623-7876. coloradosymphony.org Big Head Todd and the Monsters Doors open at 8:30 p.m., show at 9:30 p.m. at the Paramount Theatre. $60.50-70.50. 1621 Glenarm Place. 303-825-4904. paramountdenver.com Childre...

Event round-up: Noon Year’s Eve, Extreme Rodeo & More!

Friday. Little ones get a New Year’s party all their own at the Children’s Museum of Denver’s “Noon Year’s Eve” bash. The plaza outside the museum turns into a mini-Times Square, complete with a sparkly ball-drop – every hour, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., revelers can gather and count down to the drop. Sheets of bubble wrap everywhere simulate the sound of fireworks. The festivities continue inside the museum with art projects, performances and storytimes. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday. Children’s Museum of Denver, 2121 Children’s Museum Drive; 303-433-7444. Admission is $8 for guests ages 2 to 59, $6 for 1-year-olds and seniors age 60 and older. Visit mychildsmuseum.org to learn more. Friday. Gather up the crew and head downtown for Denver’s New Year’s Eve fireworks extravaganza. Two identical firew...

Happy Holidays!

Mile High Mamas hopes you have the happiest and safest of holidays surrounded by those you love. Posting will be sporadic next week as we enjoy time with our families. Be sure to tune in at the beginning of the week to see our round-up of post-Christmas happenings. On another note, children will be able to track Santa’s journey this year with whatever high-tech gadgetry they can get their hands on. The NORAD Tracks Santa website went live Tuesday, and features holiday games and activities that change daily, according to a NORAD news release. This is the 55th year that the North American Aerospace Defense Command will track Santa. The big event begins at

To Snoop or Not to Snoop?

When my younger brother was in elementary school, he begged and begged for a special video game for Christmas. One day, a few weeks before Christmas, he saw a present under the tree with his name on it. It was the exact size and shape of a Nintendo video game, so he decided to take a peek. Pulling at one corner of the paper, he was able to see enough to know it was his dream gift. Our mom worked part-time, so she wasn’t home two or three days a week when we got home from school. He took advantage of her absences to unwrap the present, play it on his Nintendo, then rewrap it before she got home. When Christmas morning finally arrived, he had to act completely surprised and utterly thrilled at the thoughtful gift. He did his best job, enough to fool our parents into thinking the game w...

Tips for surviving holiday travel

Denver International Airport officials expect 1.11 million passengers will use the airport for the week that ends Monday, making it the busiest Christmas week in DIA’s 15-year history. The week’s passenger volume is expected to be 6 percent higher than the comparable period a year ago. Officials expect passenger totals to hit about 170,000 today and again Thursday. DIA spokesman Jeff Green noted that the airport is forecasting a surprisingly high volume of 144,038 passengers on Christmas Day. Of record-breaking travel for the week, he said, “I think this is the result of really good airfare deals the last few months and a gain in consumer confidence.” Parking

Event Round-up: Zoo Lights, Schoolhouse Rock & More!

Through Jan. 2. The Denver Zoo is all aglow for the 20th anniversary of the park’s Zoo Lights. Light displays twinkle in the trees and along pathways, some in the shape of the zoo’s residents. Warm up at warming stations scattered throughout, and take a break for a live animal demonstration or a visit with elephants Dolly and Mimi. A couple of special events are left on the calendar, too: On Sunday, Zoo Lights celebrates Kwanzaa, and New Year’s Eve gets a wild twist with Zoo Year’s Eve. 5-9 p.m. daily. The Denver Zoo, 2300 Steele St.; 303-376-4800. Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors age 65 and older, $4 for kids ages 3 to 11. Denver Zoo members receive at $2 discount. Bring a nonperishable food item and get $1 off admission. Learn more at denverzoo.org. Friday. The Tesoro Foundatio...

Three part peace

To:  You From:  Three sisters RE:  Holiday wishes Happy and peaceful holiday wishes from me and mine to you and yours. Tami, Lori, Sheri

A Q&A with the real Santa

Turn a corner this time of year, and you’re sure to spot a man with a rather large belly. It might even shake a bit, like a bowl full of jelly. Most likely, his eyes are twinkling, he’s sporting some great dimples, and his nose kind of resembles a cherry. (With all due respect to “A Visit From St. Nicholas” author Clement Clarke Moore, he put that stump of a pipe away years ago. Bad influence on the kids.) But here’s the sad truth, folks. Jab at that belly, and you’ll often be poking a few inches of foam. And that beard? Tug too hard, and you’ll have a

Dozens of infant deaths prompt government to ban drop-side cribs

It’s the end of the traditional crib that has cradled millions of babies for generations. The government outlawed drop-side cribs Wednesday after the deaths of more than 30 infants and toddlers in the past decade and millions of recalls. It was a unanimous vote by the Consumer Product Safety Commission to ban the manufacture, sale and resale of the cribs, which have a side rail that moves up and down, allowing parents to more easily lift their child from the crib. The new standard requiring cribs to have fixed sides will take effect in June. The move by