September 26, 2019

After breakfast in the hotel, we went for an hour walk, about 5 kilometers, mostly on Academy Blvd. It was warmer than yesterday morning at 9°C and cloudy. The tops of the mountains were covered by clouds. Bus departure was 8:35 a.m. Steps 8,283

On the road, we could not see the top of Cheyenne Mountain, to see all the communication towers for the NORAD headquarters buried in the mountain. Our first stop of the day was the 55-meter high Broadmore Seven Falls, which has been privately owned since 1884. It is located in South Cheyenne Canyon in a natural box canyon. In 1918, a luxury hotel was built which has the only five-star restaurant in Colorado. At the gate, most of the group selected to take the open-air shuttle for the mile-long uphill ride to the base of the falls. We and another couple were the only ones to choose to walk the gradual incline to the falls, beside the gurgling brook. Once we were at the base, the shuttles were just starting back down to the gates. The Eagle’s Nest viewpoint could be reached by either an elevator that took you up 133 feet, which replaced the original funicular, or a 185-step stairway, with three rest areas. We both climbed the stairs to get to Eagle’s Nest viewpoint. There was also a 225-step stairway along the falls to the top – to see the pipe that disperses the water that is pumped from the pool below. Larry was one of the few to scale the falls stairway. The tiered falls are divided into seven sections with names Ramona Falls, Feather Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, Shorty Falls, Hull Falls, Weimer Falls, Hill Falls, I only climbed as far as Shorty Falls – 109 steps and waited on the platform to accompany Larry back down. We had plenty of time to walk back to the gates and joined Angela and Ann on the walk. The clouds were starting to breakup by the time we reached the gates. The temperature was 12°C and there was a wind blowing in our faces as we descended. Steps 13,619

Travelling to the U.S. Olympic Training Center, we passed the El Paso County building and the statue of General William Jackson Palmer, the founder of Colorado Springs.

The U.S. Olympic Training Center is where as many as 550 athletes and coaches, over 18 years of age, permanently live in preparation for the Olympics. They also host short term camps for athletes and coaches. The permanent athletes have two-bedroom two-bathroom apartments shared by two people. We viewed a video on life at the Olympic training center. Then were shown the Strength Training gym; the multi-purpose room where some young (10 to 12-year old boys) were training; the wrestling gym, which was vacant and is kept at a temperature around 85°F; and the swimming pool. The divers train closer to sea level because high altitudes affect the fall rate and twisting moves are changed causing belly flops as demonstrated by the problems at the Mexico City Olympics, at that high-altitude (over 7,000 feet) diving venue. We also met a gold medalist in Paralympic cycling, Ryan Boyle who was hit by a pickup truck at age 10 which gave him a brain injury affecting his balance. He has written a book about his recovery and determination to become a world class athlete. In the grounds by the Visitor Center was a large sculpture called “Olympic Strength”.

Steps 18,711

For lunch we travelled to Old Colorado City, now part of greater Colorado Springs. It was originally a coal mining town after the short lived 1859 Pikes Peak Gold Rush. We walked four blocks looking at the century old buildings now small shops and restaurants and back on the other side of the street, before stopping for lunch. We selected the little Mediterranean restaurant called Cucuru where we had cheese quesadilla and a feta berry salad.

The final destination was the U.S. Air Force Academy campus. There was a new security rules if effect so all of the non-Americans were led into the reception center to present their passports and wait for a pass to be issued to the group. There were 22 passengers in total from New Zealand, Australia, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom and Canada. The Air Force Academy is both a military organization and a university. It has an impressive 17-spire chapel built in the 1960s beside Terrazzo Place parade ground. Cadets study here for four years and graduate as second lieutenants. Then it was back to the bus for the drive to Denver and the end of the tour. Steps 21,215

It was a short 104 kilometers drive to Denver, back to the Holiday Inn Cherry Hill where we started two weeks ago. During the trip, Matt distributed the transfer vouchers for people to take the airport shuttles in the morning or in the next few days. Our driver, Jose, lives in Denver and was going home, while Matt has another group tour starting tomorrow. We said good-bye and Thanks to them both.

We joined Ange, who sat in the seat by ours on the trip, for dinner at Chick-fil-A. It was just across from the hotel and we did not feel like walking far. As we left the hotel we said good-bye to Ann and Angela. At Chick-fil-A, we said good-be to Lina & Doug, then saw Ria, Nant & Wiren as they were entering. Walking back to the hotel, we said farewell to Kay & Bob and Veronica & Keith. Total steps: 22,933