U.S. Air Force Academy

(AF Academy, Colorado Springs, CO)  Hi 90 Lo 64 -- We didn’t hang around too long this morning. We’ve learned that storms roll in about 3:30 every afternoon so we'll try hard to get our day's activities done and be back home by then. Sometimes they last for a couple hours and other times they go through quickly, but the lighting is fierce.

Today we drove around the sprawling AF Academy. This B-52 static display is near the north gate of the Academy.


Academy Drive circles around the main campus of the Academy. There are some overlooks where you get some beautiful views of the whole Academy complex.


We stopped at the visitors center first. We watched a short video about the Academy in their theater. It was basically like a recruiting film. There’s also a huge gift shop with all kinds of Academy logo items.


Just outside the visitors center there's a path that winds for about a quarter mile to the Cadet Chapel.

The Cadet Chapel is the centerpiece of the Academy, and it's really beautiful!


We got there just in time to see the daily cadets' mid-day parade.






After getting our patriotic juices flowing we went inside the chapel. The main chapel area is for Protestant services. The interior is awe-inspiring!

This is looking forward toward the altar.


In the back is a large pipe organ.


A closer view of the altar.


Downstairs are smaller chapels for Catholic, Jewish, and Buddhist faiths.

Catholic Chapel.


Jewish Chapel.

Buddhist Chapel.


Continuing our drive around Academy Drive, we stopped at another overlook.


We made a stop at Falcon Stadium, which is right across the highway from the famcamp. Some workers were getting the stadium ready for the upcoming football season. Jim talked them into letting him go inside to get a few photos.













When we returned to the famcamp we got some pictures of the office and entrance.












We made a quick stop at the Base Exchange, then got back home just before a small thunderstorm hit. We are very impressed with the AF Academy. It's a beautiful facility in a gorgeous setting. We're proud of the job they do turning out our future leaders. Hopefully someday we can visit West Point and the U.S. Naval Academy too.