Day 5 of the Grand Western Tour began with a breathtaking view of the Colorado Rockies. With sunny skies, Pikes Peak and the surrounding hills were just a quick look outside our hotel window. Talk about a great location!
The first activity of the day was a trip to the United States Air Force Academy. The crew took a short hike to the famous Cadet Chapel where they were pleasantly surprised by its unique beauty. The blue stained glass windows created quite a majestic glow on everyone's faces. After a look around the campus, we spent time in the visitors center which had a small museum and a gift shop.
The next stop was the National Olympic Training Center. As soon as we arrived, we watched an empowering film about the London, Sochi, and upcoming Rio Olympic Games. I'm pretty sure everyone left the theater feeling extremely proud to be an American or wanting to become an Olympic athlete. During our guided tour, we saw several training areas for weightlifting, wrestling, gymnastics, riflery, and swimming. The crew was lucky to stumble across Olympic taekwondo gold medalist, Steve Lopez, while he as training. There was rumor that the most decorated Olympian of all time, Michael Phelps, was on campus. Unfortunately he went undetected during our visit.
Around mid-afternoon, we headed to Pikes Peak Cog Railway. The train ride to the summit took about 1.5 hours and covered 8.9 miles of track. Along the way, we spotted yellow-bellied marmots, deer, and bighorn sheep. The crew was blown away by the scenery and took photos almost the entire time. The pictures below prove it!
When the train left the railroad station in Manitou Springs, the temperature was around 75 degrees with some light rain. When we stopped at Pikes Peak Summit, at an elevation of 14,115 ft, the temperature was a brisk 47 degrees. It was also thundering, lightning, raining and sleeting! The sudden weather change created some additional excitement! Once inside the Summit House, the crew indulged in delicious donuts, hot chocolate and a variety other treats.
The last stop of the day was at the Garden of the Gods. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves!
