Red Butte Garden

So, last year we bought a membership to Hogle Zoo. This was a first. This week we were invited to a "members only night" - one of three nights where they open the zoo after hours to members only.

Problem #1: Tonight was the only night of the three that we had good weather. Problem #2: I think EVERYONE that goes to the zoo, or has ever heard of the zoo, is a member of the zoo. Problem #3: We did not know about problem #2 until we pulled onto Sunnyside Ave, and saw the cars lining both sides of the street, then the full parking lot, then the full overflow parking lot.

If you don't know, we don't like crowds. We're social, very much so in fact. But we don't like being shoulder-to-shoulder, especially with strangers, or standing in lines, or the smells that accompany giant heaps of giant people. So, when we saw what we saw, we knew it did not spell fun, but when you've driven the distance, you've gotta come up with an alternate plan quickly. And we're so glad we did! In fact, I think we decided we were glad that the zoo was too crowded, because it was such a gorgeous evening and we had such a delightful time wandering Red Butte Garden.

Have you ever been? I have, for a beautiful wedding, a child's fun birthday party, and maybe again to roam just for pleasure. Brian had only been there for concerts, so I was happy that we could wander with the kids around the gardens. I'm not kidding when I say this place is wonderful! The gardens are spectacular for the senses! We let the kids play in the sand box for a bit while we enjoyed incredible views of the city and valley. We walked fragrant paths and had such a peaceful, quiet time. We found out the names of some of our favorite trees, which we want to plant when we move into a home, and we watched the ducks in the pond. When the sun began to set, it cooled off rather quickly, and Whitney cooled off a little more when she fell at the little splash pad near the children's garden, so it was time to go home. On our way out we heard and danced to some great music coming from an outdoor wedding reception there, and then the kids played on the elevators until we caught both of them on the same floor. Good times.

I think we'll get to the zoo before our membership expires (on a less-crowded day), but I also think we'll purposefully not go to the zoo again sometime soon. ;)

Funny side note: So, the entire time we were there we thought we had forgotten the camera, and then when we were packing up the stroller Brian found it in one of the compartments! So, no pictures of this outing, except for in our hearts and your imaginations!