Whenever I travel somewhere new for work (or for pleasure), I try to find a few fun, local, touristy things to do while I’m there!  I am spending about 15 days this month in Calgary.  I’ve never been here before, and to be honest, didn’t know much about this Canadian city before I arrived.  It was such a pleasant surprise to find that Calgary is a really wonderful place!  It has a proper downtown with very tall buildings and great pedestrian streets to stroll around, check out shops, and pop into cafes.  The neighborhoods sprawl out in all directions from the downtown, with a gorgeous view of the Canadian Rockies to the west, visible from most parts of the city.  It really reminds me a lot of where my sister lives:  Denver, Colorado!

I discovered online that there is a zoo in Calgary, and it was rated the 3rd best in all of North America!  Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m a sucker for a good zoo!  😉  I know, I know, there are all sorts of ethical concerns when it comes to caging up animals from all parts of earth in (sometimes) poor habitats, but going to a zoo is such an awesome way to take a mini adventure around the world, in a short amount of time.  This time, I brought my camera and spent an hour or two exploring the different areas of the Calgary Zoo, taking close-up photos of the gorgeous animals, and I put together this little collage for you!