United States Air Force Academy

Roger here...  In a cardboard box somewhere there is a picture of me and my younger brother standing in front of the Cadet Chapel at the United States Air Force Academy.  I was probably about 11 years old at the time, which would have made the chapel two years old.  My parents always took us to interesting places, and I am so grateful to them for expanding our world.  On that visit to Colorado, I remember being particularly fascinated by the Air Force Academy and especially the chapel.  Our visit yesterday brought back a flood of memories and the confirmation that I was correct in being impressed by that iconic building.  

For those of you expecting a "reveal" of Dianne's newest project, you will have to wait.  She took the day off yesterday to do a little sightseeing with me.   

 After an inspection of the hatchback area of our Toyota by a friendly, clean-cut cadet (all he found were lawn chairs and hiking poles) and a review of our driver's licenses, we were admitted to the United States Air Force Academy.  We passed by views of the clean lines of this impressive institution that is nestled into the foothills of the Rockies just outside of Colorado Springs.  Our first stop was the impressive Visitor Center.  As we wandered through the displays I was reminded of two of my former students who graduated from the academy.  One was actually the academy's valedictorian.  I wonder what they are doing now? 

The walk from the Visitor Center to the Cadet Chapel was 1/3 mile along a paved walkway.  Very pleasant on a beautiful morning.

After ascending a hill and winding around a turn, we caught our first glimpse of this amazing architectural gem.  

The chapel was dedicated in 1963, making it 50 years  old.  It was considered to be a very modernistic structure.  It still appears that way to me.  The building effectively  moves one's eyes to the sky.

The chapel provides dedicated sanctuaries  for four separate religions and space for two others.  I remembered this from my eleven-year-old days and thought it very appropriate at the time, having been taught that religious freedom was one of the cornerstones of the founding of our country.  I still feel that way.   What a facility they have to follow their beliefs.

The Protestant Chapel that seats 1200 cadets occupies the upper level.  From this photo, you can see access to the Catholic, Jewish and Buddhist sanctuaries and the meeting areas for Muslim cadets and Earth-Centered- Spirituality cadets in the lower levels.  Let's take a look at the Protestant sanctuary.  The inside is every bit as impressive as the outside.  

The nearby mountains were framed in stained glass in this spacious and awe-inspiring place.  It seems to be a rare occurrence in these times to have both a patriotic and a spiritual experience at the same time.  If ever there was a place for it, this is it.

Ok, enough of the sentimentality.  In this shot, I wanted to show how the stained glass vaulted all the way to the ceiling.  The picture does show that, but also notice the water damage.  Did you know it has been raining in Colorado?  I did not see the water spots until I posted the picture.  Dianne just now said, "Well I did!"  "Didn't you see the wet hymnals and pew cushions, and the lady who was mopping up the floor?"  "Men are so unobservant!"  Ouch.  I guess I was too wrapped up in the beauty to notice  :-).  (Dianne here:  Our hearts go out to the folks in Boulder and Denver (and even Colorado Springs) who have been affected by the terrible flooding.  We have had tons of rain, but for us it's been just a minor inconvenience.)

We were disappointed that the Jewish and Buddhist sanctuaries were not open due to services; (I guess that is what they are for), but the Catholic sanctuary was open.  Glad it was.

This 500-seat sanctuary had the same natural light from the stained glass windows and the same beauty.  The alter was certainly the focal point.

As we exited the Catholic sanctuary, Dianne stopped to look at (and read every word) of a display near the exit.  She does that.

The display showed how cadets from the Academy used scientific means to create a three-dimensional life-sized statue of Christ from the Shroud of Turin.  Now I was interested.  The display mentioned that the statue was on display in the chapel.  I went back into the sanctuary.  No statue.  We looked all around.  No statue.  We finally gave up.  THEN, looking through a glass window at the left of the exit, we found it, floating above a stairwell.  Wow.  Look at this, another spiritual experience:

Before leaving the chapel, I want to show you a couple of views of the campus below us.  I love the straight lines, the wide-open spaces and symmetry of this place.

The right-angled, flat-roofed buildings of the campus are cut into several terraced levels.

We enjoyed listening to the rock music that was drifting through the campus as the cadets enjoyed a Saturday morning.

LUNCH TIME!  

Friends told us that we should have lunch at the Broadmoor Hotel.  It was on the way back to the campground and we were hungry, so, what the hay!

After figuring out where to park, we entered the hotel and began the search for a place to eat.  We found a menu outside The Tavern. It had an exhaustive description of the dishes that were served in the establishment, but no prices.  (Not a good sign for retirees).  We wandered around the perfect grounds for a while and found a place that served appetizers, but we were hungry.  We finally went back to The Tavern figuring that if the prices were too expensive (and this is a fancy place), that we would excuse ourselves and head for a Subway.  

We were seated in a glass covered green house called Le Jardin.  Sounds French.  Sounds expensive.  We were surrounded by flowers.

As it turns out, the prices were reasonable, not inexpensive, but reasonable.  And the food... Dianne enjoyed her chicken salad, melon and zucchini bread.

My steak (roast beef) sandwich provided a third spiritual experience for the day :-).  It tasted like a bowl of French onion soup, only it was a sandwich.  Sooo good.

As I type this, Dianne is still working on her project.  There will be a report, someday...

The pet picture of the day.....  We have been talking about the deer that wander through our campsite every day, but have not shown you any pictures.  This pretty young doe dropped by today.

They usually drop by to get a bite to eat.

They are extremely tame.  Notice the guy in jeans walking along the path in the background.  This girl could care less.



What big ears you have, my dear (deer)!

Colorado Springs - Mountaindale Campground

Roger here....  We have been at the Mountaindale Campground now for a week.  This RV resort is located 15 miles south of Colorado Springs in the rocky, isolated hills.  This is an amazing campground for those of us who like large manicured sites in a natural setting.  

Many of the campsites, as ours, are cut into the hillside in attractive terraces.  The vertical cuts are covered by stone walls.

This view from our motor home entry illustrates how large the sites are.  Lots of room to spread out.

Here is a view of the other half of our site, highlighting the fire pit perched on the edge of the rocky ledge.  You may have noticed that the surface of the sites and roadways are all covered with pink granite stone.  No mud here.

It has been a great place for a little relaxing, a little hiking with the dogs, a little visiting with friends,  a little planning, a major project, and a skirmish.

A little relaxing:

We found a shady spot for our hammock.  Dianne is actually taking a nap.  She never takes naps.

My horizontal view from my lounger.

My vertical view.







A little hiking with the dogs:

The owners of the RV park are planning an expansion of the park.  Newly plowed and graveled switchbacks ascend the rocky hillside and provide an ideal pathway for hearty dog walks.  Close looks provide smaller unmaintained pathways for further exploration.  The view from above is panoramic.

The views at sunset are especially nice.  By the way, we carry pepper spray on these short hikes as black bears have occasionally been sighted in and near the campground.

A little visiting with friends:

Dianne already showed you a picture of me with Dennis and Carol, friends from Retama Village. 

Last night we had another great evening.  One of the English teachers, Pam, that I hired when I was a principal heard we were in town.  She invited us to join her and her husband, Bill, to see their beautiful new home and enjoy a delicious dinner.  Pam, an extremely gifted teacher, was honored as the teacher of the year by the staff of her school when she retired a couple of years ago.  What fun we had reliving the good times we shared.  Forgot the camera :-(.

A little planning:

We had intended to make this our last major stop before slowly working our way back to south Texas.  However, we changed our minds --- retired people can do that.  

In a couple of weeks we are headed to Indiana to have repairs and remodeling done on our motor home.  Most of the repairs that are scheduled to be done by Newmar (the manufacturer) are minor.  Our rig has been remarkably reliable.  More on the remodeling later, but suffice it to say, the inside will have an entirely new look.  

I have been spending time charting our new route to Indiana and our subsequent return route to Texas.  

A major project:

Dianne is a project-lovin' woman.  When she decides to embark on one of her endeavors, it is wise to accept it and stay out of the way.  She will be filling you in soon about how she has been spending the majority of her waking time.  (Dianne here:  and why I was collapsed and sleeping in the hammock photo above.)

The skirmish:

There is a lot of wildlife at our campsite.  Numerous deer wander by every morning and evening.  They frequently walk through the middle of our site.  This always puts Tequila and Bandido on alert.  Tequila whines.  Bandido may bark or growl a little.  However, nothing sends them into a complete, berserk frenzy like our visiting squirrel.

Our furry, scampering, chattering friend knows exactly how long the dog leashes are.  He delights in skulking to the edge of safety before hopping into one of our trees and taunting our hapless canines.  He shows no fear toward them, or me either for that matter.  He dares them to try to climb the tree.  The daily squirrel visits require about a half hour of cajoling talk to calm our poor doggies down.  

The pet picture of the day was taken this morning. The weather here has been perfect for the most part, but it was raining this morning.  The rain caused a delay in our daily walk to the dog park.  The picture shows one of Bandido's favorite toys that he placed at my feet as a gentle reminder that it was time to go.

Final Days at Creede, Colorado - Mountain Views RV Resort

Mountain Views at River's Edge RV Resort, Creede, Colorado

Hi all, Dianne here.  Our time at Mountain Views RV Resort included lots of Labor Day Weekend activities in the nearby small town of Creede.  

Roger and I managed to enjoy all of the activities this year except for the Mountain Run.  All of them were free other than the salsa fiesta.  As noted in our prior blog entry, we could enjoy the balloon festival from the comfort of our RV.  

Same went for the fireworks.  Roger was already in bed asleep when I heard the first fireworks, and I woke him up to watch them out our big windows.  Doesn't get much easier than that -- no driving, no parking, no waiting in traffic to get back home.  In fact, the only activity we drove to was the salsa fiesta, and we could have walked to that had we not planned to do shopping in town.

Each day began with a 2-mile walk up the gravel ATV path to the edge of town.

   Our four-mile daily walk wasn't really a hardship with views like this along the way!  Our routine was to walk to the edge of town and use the public restroom at the skateboard park, give the dogs some water, and walk home.  

 On the day of the gravity derby, we walked on into town and joined the crowd along sloping Main Street to watch the fun.

  

One of the things I like about Creede is that even though it's a very small town, it is just "touristy" enough that we never felt like outsiders when we joined in the local activities.  It's a very friendly, welcoming place.  

The gravity derby rules were like a soap box derby -- no pedals or motors allowed.  If gravity doesn't move you, you don't move.  There were hay bales at the bottom of the hill to stop any runaway entrants.  We saw at least two that ran through the barrier.

There were ingenious entries...

Fast entries...

(Painfully) Slow entries...

...a kindly onlooker finally gave her a shove...

...pretty girl entries...

And a few that were beyond description...

It was a fun way to spend the morning.  Bandido and Tequila were very good and were just two of many dogs sharing the event with their owners.

The final event of Labor Day weekend was the ATV rodeo.  This was the second year we attended the rodeo.  It was held at the fairgrounds, just a short walk from our RV park, and along our morning dog walk route.

That morning we watched the preparations as we walked past on our dog walk.

The tanker truck was adding water to the "mud pit."

After lunch we walked back over and took a spot on the bleachers to watch the rodeo.  We kept an eye on some gathering clouds.

The little kids went first, and showed their driving ability by weaving their way around the poles, barrels, and cones.  

We split a hamburger grilled by the local Mineral County Search and Rescue and watched the little kids perform.

The clouds continued to darken overhead, and we opted to walk on home and not risk getting caught in the rain.

The rodeo went on for quite a while after we left (we could hear it from our RV and even see a little bit) and the rain did hold off until almost the end.  What we missed by leaving early was the older kids racing through the mud pits -- but I found this photo from last year to give you an idea...

 After the full weekend, we had a day or two to get ready to move on to our next stop outside Colorado Springs.   I had two weeks' worth of laundry to do, but check out the laundry facility at Mountain Views RV Resort (this is for my RV'ing friends)...

This is only one side of it.  There are 20 washers and 24 dryers!   And look at the view at my  folding table...

Best of all, I had the whole place to myself.  

The drive on Colorado 149 (The Silver Thread Highway) from Creede toward Colorado Springs and our next stop was scenic, to say the least.  Here is just a sampling...

Rio Grande River

After about four hours we arrived at our home for the next two weeks, Mountaindale Cabins and RV Resort.  We've been here before (last summer), and it's another of those "gotta go back" places.  Much more on that later.

 After we got set up,  Carol and Dennis, friends of ours from Retama Village in Texas, called and drove over for a short visit.  Carol serves on the Retama Village advisory board with Roger.  They were leaving the Colorado Springs area the next morning, and gave us some good ideas of places to check out while we're here.   It was fun to "catch up" and see part of our Retama family on the road!

The pet photo of the day shows Tequila on the home stretch of one of our daily 4-mile walks in Creede.  When she decides she's had enough, she will plop down and make it known that she's not moving for a while -- doesn't matter if it's in the middle of a road, dusty or muddy spot; if she's done, she's done!

I've learned that dragging doesn't work, and she's certainly too heavy to carry, so we just stop and wait a minute and she'll eventually get up and start again.  Actually, this "plop-down" was on my 63rd birthday, and it made me feel good to know that I can still outlast my dog!