Stardate 2015.444

United States Air Force Academy

Cadet Chapel

A visit to the Cadet Chapel was a major part of Snowcatcher's and my day of riding bicycles at the Air Force Academy. The following photos were acquired with a small Olympus point-and-shoot I bicycle with. I didn't use the flash, and I tried to catch the ambient light radiating from the stained glass. Consequently, some shots are a bit on the grainy side. To remedy this, Snowcatcher and I are conjuring up a plan to reshoot with a real camera, in the hands of a real photographer; that being Snowcatcher. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy them!



Cadet Chapel standing proud



The Cadet Chapel is an all-faith house of worship. There is a separate chapel for each of the major faiths representative of the cadet student body. The main chapels are Protestant, Catholic and Jewish. In addition, there is a small Buddhist Chapel and an All-Faiths Room. The upper main level is the Protestant Chapel, with other Chapels directly below.




The Chapel was designed by Walter A. Netsch, Jr., of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill Architectural Firm. The following entities were enlisted by the Air Force to maintain design approval; the General Commission on Chaplains in the Armed Services represented Protestants; the Roman Catholic Military Ordinariate monitored Catholic interests; and the National Jewish Welfare Board represented the Jewish faith.



Robert E. McKee, Inc., of Santa Fe, New Mexico, was the contractor. The building took 5 years of planning, followed by 4 years of construction. There is no meaning associated with the 17 spires of aluminum, glass and steel. The number 17 was the result of cost. Construction began 28 August 1959. The chapel was signed-off the summer of 1963. The chapel shell and surrounding grounds cost $3.5 million.



Stained glass provides ribbons of color throughout the chapels. Ceiling stained glass colors run dark to light to represent coming from darkness into the light of God.



The Protestant Chapel has 1,200 seats, with a 120-seat choir loft and pipe organ. The Catholic Chapel seats 500, with an 80-seat choir loft and pipe organ. The Jewish Chapel holds 100 worshipers.



Protestant pipe organ





The Catholic Chapel also was very ornate...



...with beautiful stained glass and art work.



Very nice!



If anyone messes with the Academy, there is a squadron of these bad boys within spitting distance. If you're a bad-guy, good luck!

Up next? How about some Elephant Rock?

Adios

Stardate 2015.438

United States Air Force Academy

The Falcons

This past weekend Snowcatcher and I visited one of my numerous favorite places – the Air Force Academy. Years ago, I lived in Colorado Springs and I would ride out to, and throughout, the Academy grounds without a second thought. I had a nice little 40-mile route mapped out. Fast forward 19 years and it's still a joy to visit.

However, modern times warrant MPs in fatigues, one with an M-16 at fingertip, to check IDs for entry onto the Academy grounds. I was awash with pride, sadness and grateful emotions all whipped together. Due to heightened security levels, cyclists can ride only in and out on the road to the Visitor Center, unless they hold DoD clearance. Nonetheless, although abbreviated, the visit is fun; the Cadet Chapel, which remains open to visitors, is worth a visit even without a bicycle. Following are some photos. Enjoy!



The Academy is nestled up against the foothills of Colorado's Front Range.



There are numerous static airplanes suspended about. Above is the frontal view of the opening pic of a B-52.



There are a handful of athletic fields with the iconic Cadet Chapel directing your view to the upper right.



Main campus



Rolling terrain at elevations between 6,700 and 7,200 feet make for good bicycle riding.



The central campus plaza



The retired skeleton, or possibly a full-scale model, of my favorite fighter jet stands at ease – an F-15 Eagle.



A live prairie falcon was catching a breath of air on the day we visited. When the cadet falconer removed the hood for us, the falcon excitedly squawked, came alive, and was 100 percent tuned into the surrounding environment. Moreover, it offered no resistance when the hood was replaced. Snowcatcher got some shots of the falcon un-hooded. Falconry is an extracurricular activity at the Academy. There usually are 12 cadet falconers, with several new freshmen coming aboard each year to replace graduates, and the school mascot is a falcon. In the wild, prairie falcons live 10 to 12 years; in captivity they live much longer. This handsome devil has 19 years under its feathers. Falcons hear and smell similar to humans. However, their eyesight is magnified 10 times to ours.



Up next, Cadet Chapel

Adios

Stardate 2015.416

Enduring Wet

We've had a lot of precipitation this spring, which is a good thing. However, it's also cut into our bicycling time. I don't mind riding in the wet; it can be kind of fun. However, wet rides result in more bike maintenance on things such as bearings. Moreover, this time of year, rain often holds hands with Zeus. The latter is the main reason I prefer not to ride in the rain. I have a healthy fear of lightning, thanks to some mountaineering events. Below are photos from several recent road bike rides.



Nonetheless, everything is green, green, green – and more green! The California poppies aren't too concerned about a little wet.



Sometimes we ride far south of the metro area to Arrowhead Golf Course where we visit a nice little 15% grade to the clubhouse. It's probably a good thing I'm not employed by Arrowhead. I'd be the guy seeing how fast he could get a golf cart up and down the steep grade. No matter what the weather conditions, the spectacular up-thrust sandstone grabs your attention.



Allium is enjoying the wet too. Allium is related to onion. The closest wild allium I can find in my literature is Allium cernuum, also known as Nodding Onion and belonging to the Lily family. The domesticated Allium seen at Arrowhead appears to have a fuller flower.



Colorado's 30th tallest peak, 14,110-foot Pikes Peak, was a bit foggy-headed on this morning. Good views of Pikes Peak may be found in the Garden of the Gods, west of the city of Colorado Springs.



Garden of the Gods



The east face of Pikes Peak, unveiled. In the summer of 1893, the words to the anthem "America the Beautiful" were coined in a poem by Katharine Lee Bates following a trip to the summit of this mountain.



The Garden of the Gods area is an interface of several ecosystems. Along the Front Range, the short-grass prairie life zone merges with the piñon-juniper life zone. A life zone is an easy way of delineating a land area by elevation and climate.



Pikes Peak is getting ready to play with the clouds again.



Cheyenne Mountain rises above Colorado Springs and is home to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). In addition to important security and radar tasks, NORAD tracks Santa via radar throughout Christmas Eve. At the same time, kids can log onto a website and talk to real elves.

Another icon of Colorado Springs is the United States Air Force Academy. In years past, football games between Air Force and Navy have resulted in fantastic military jet fly overs. Better yet, the visitor center is open to the public again. However the Academy is still operating under heightened security; you can be party to a random vehicle check at any time. A visit to the chapel and visitor center of the Air Force Academy is fun and motivating. The Academy grounds offer good road biking as well.

On occasion, the Academy opens their observatory to school kids or the public. Cadets operate the telescope and take you on a journey through the heavens. When I visited, people could request a celestial location to zero in on if possible.

Yes, I like the military, aeronautics, stars and uniformed higher education – can you tell?



We had a nice Memorial Weekend and I hope you did too!

Adios