Monday - Field Museum and Cultural Center

We flew from Denver to Chicago on Sunday...arriving in time to get some dinner and get the kids to bed. Monday morning Jackson started class and Michelle and I bundled the kids up the best we could and headed out on an adventure. I brought a front pack carrier for Estella, and buttoned my coat around her. I think she stayed fairly warm this way.

We got directions from the hotel receptionist to our bus stop and headed out. I don't know if the directions were wrong, or we just didn't understand them, but the bus stop wasn't where we walked to. We started asking people and finally...after a lot of walking in the COLD...we found the right bus.

While we were walking we saw these men dangling off the side of this building...I think they were washing windows, but I'm not sure. I was just glad I wasn't them.

We made it to the Field Museum...it was wonderful! It was my favorite place we went the whole trip. If you ever go to Chicago, go here!

The boys were very anxious and excited to see the dinosaurs. The museum was so big we had a hard time finding them at first. They were worth the effort! One dinosaur was actually found here in Grand Junction!

Michelle pushing Estella.

Buddies!

They have the most amazing collection of ?stuffed? animals. Thomas kept asking what was inside the animals...I have no clue. I prefer not to think about it. The displays were so well done, I kept expecting the animals to move. There had to have been thousands of animals there...it was incredible.

We went back to the hotel for lunch, and had planned on coming back to the museum for the afternoon, but by the time we finished lunch and naps and getting everyone ready to face the cold again, it was almost time for the museum to close.

We decided to walk down and explore the nearby Chicago Cultural Center. There is an incredible stained glass dome there. One man told us it was the biggest Tiffany dome in the world. I didn't see that in writing, but it was big and beautiful. The rest of the room as done with intricate mosaic tiles. Some were glass tiles and others were a luminescent cream. There were quotes about reading and the value of books on different portions of the walls. There was a very spiritual feeling in the room.

Another room was a Memorial Hall. There were these lighted floor panels that the kids loved. This room also had a very peaceful feeling.

It was a fun day!