{"id":2155,"date":"2013-06-10T21:25:32","date_gmt":"2013-06-11T02:25:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/?p=2155"},"modified":"2013-06-10T21:27:17","modified_gmt":"2013-06-11T02:27:17","slug":"us-air-force-academy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/2013\/06\/us-air-force-academy.html","title":{"rendered":"Colorado Discoveries 5: Visiting the US Air Force Academy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"309991_10151630987703428_696121128_n\"<\/a><\/p>\n

For those who might not have realized, my husband’s new Air Force job will be as a faculty member in the Physics Department at the Air Force Academy.<\/p>\n

On our house hunting trip to Colorado, it took us about 48 hours to choose our house and enter a contract. That was our goal. The rest of our time in the area was spent fulfilling assorted appointments, and we had a couple hours here and there to kill between appointments. In addition, both Dave and I had meetings on the Air Force Academy campus. Dave met with his new department, and I met with someone about trying to get a Reserve job.<\/p>\n

The weather was beautiful, so we took some time to see the Visitors Center and hike the trail to the chapel and see the cadet area.<\/p>\n

Most Americans are familiar with the Air Force Academy Chapel. Its distinctive design can be seen from all over the cities of Monument and Colorado Springs. There is symbolism to the colors, the numbers of spires — okay, not really, that was driven by budget — and many of the features inside.<\/p>\n

The chapel was designed by Walter Nesctch of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, the architecture firm that’s known in recent years for its design of the Burj Kalifa in Dubai and the Freedom Tower in New York City.<\/p>\n

Enjoy some of my favorite pictures from the chapel.<\/p>\n

\"You<\/a>

You have to walk on this trail from the visitors center to get to the chapel.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Frankly,<\/a>

Frankly, I think the exterior is pretty strange looking….<\/p><\/div>\n

\"But<\/a>

But when you go inside, it’s incredibly beautiful! This is the Protestant Chapel.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"As<\/a>

Each of the spires is separated by 1 foot-wide stained glass strips. As the sun went behind the clouds…and then came back out from the clouds, the colors would change profoundly inside the sanctuary.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"I<\/a>

I had a wonderful time with our “good” camera taking close ups.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"DSC_2849\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"This<\/a>

This is the organ. Over 4,000 pipes!<\/p><\/div>\n

\"DSC_2856\"<\/a>

The sun is behind clouds in this shot.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"When<\/a>

When the sun came back out, the room turned blue again.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"The<\/a>

A math geek’s dream! The tetrahedra can be explained here: http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/United_States_Air_Force_Academy_Cadet_Chapel#Architecture_and_construction<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

\"DSC_2865\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"This<\/a>

This is the Catholic Chapel, which is down below the Protestant chapel. Read more about it here. http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/United_States_Air_Force_Academy_Cadet_Chapel#Catholic_Chapel<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The 14 Stations of the Cross are carved in marble along the side walls.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Outside,<\/a>

Outside, you can get an idea of the size of the concrete support pillars.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"From<\/a>

From the front of the chapel, you can have this view of the cadet area. It was Finals Week, so the cadets were pretty laid back, focused on finishing their studies.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The weather was beautiful, so we took some time to see the Visitors Center and hike the trail to the chapel and see the cadet area. Most Americans are familiar with the Air Force Academy Chapel. Its distinctive design can be seen from all over the cities of Monument and Colorado Springs. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1],"tags":[622,385,100,386,37],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5ycQ0-yL","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2548,"url":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/2013\/09\/colorado-discoveries-11-air-force-academy-falcons-football.html","url_meta":{"origin":2155,"position":0},"title":"Colorado Discoveries 11: Air Force Academy Falcons Football","date":"11 September 13","format":false,"excerpt":"We couldn't help ourselves. The family got season tickets for Air Force Academy football. It was hard not to. We were interested in just one or two of the games this season, but when we saw the prices for single game tickets vs. season tickets, it was more cost effective\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"air force academy\"","img":{"alt_text":"Air Force football is an experience like no other. From singing the Air Force song to the Wings of Blue jumping onto the field, it's probably one of the more inexpensive NCAA football experiences.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/IMG_7400-1024x768.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2632,"url":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/2013\/10\/colorado-discoveries-14-farish-recreation-area-near-woodland-park-co.html","url_meta":{"origin":2155,"position":1},"title":"Colorado Discoveries 14: Farish Recreation Area near Woodland Park, CO","date":"04 October 13","format":false,"excerpt":"I don't know about you guys, but fall is officially here! Heck, let's just call it winter! We awoke this morning to rain while the temperature continued to fall below freezing. The water droplets FROZE to the car...which made getting the kids to school this morning difficult. (Yes, I drove\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"air force academy\"","img":{"alt_text":"That is the WEST side of Pike's Peak behind us. We have a view of the east face from our house.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/IMG_7564-1024x768.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2743,"url":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/2013\/11\/colorado-discoveries-19-eagle-peak-usafa.html","url_meta":{"origin":2155,"position":2},"title":"Colorado Discoveries 19: Eagle Peak, USAFA","date":"13 November 13","format":false,"excerpt":"Even though it's mid-November, we have had a nice spell of pleasant weather here, and I've been enjoying some hikes in the area. Over Veteran's Day weekend I did two nice hikes along with another trip up the Manitou Incline. One of the hikes was the most challenging I've experienced\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"colorado\"","img":{"alt_text":"I'll just leave this here. The yellow line on the sign is NOT a trail, it's the area deemed \"off limits\" by the AF Academy superintendent. The north-facing rock walls at the top of the peak.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/DSC_2853-1024x678.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3315,"url":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/2014\/08\/colorado-discoveries-38-durango-silverton-rr.html","url_meta":{"origin":2155,"position":3},"title":"Colorado Discoveries 38: The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad","date":"30 August 14","format":false,"excerpt":"Dave had been telling me about the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad for many years. Okay, perhaps over 20 years. It was the highlight of a Colorado trip he had taken as a teenager, and he was excited for a chance to share the experience with the boys and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"colorado\"","img":{"alt_text":"DSC_1487","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/DSC_1487-1024x678.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4609,"url":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/2016\/08\/afa-grad-thunderbirds-2016.html","url_meta":{"origin":2155,"position":4},"title":"Colorado Discoveries 49: Air Force Academy Graduation & Thunderbirds Airshow 2016","date":"04 August 16","format":false,"excerpt":"For the 3rd year, our family was able to go the USAF Academy graduation. This year I was able to go in non-orders status, so I didn't have to wear my uniform. However, you won't see any pictures of me in this post. We were especially excited this year because\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"air force academy\"","img":{"alt_text":"IMG_4775","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/IMG_4775-1024x768.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3205,"url":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/2014\/05\/colorado-discoveries-34-sky-sox.html","url_meta":{"origin":2155,"position":5},"title":"Colorado Discoveries 34: Colorado Springs Sky Sox with Timmy’s Little League Team","date":"27 May 14","format":false,"excerpt":"The first weekend of May, Timmy's Little League baseball team did the Little League fan experience thing** with the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, the AAA Minor League Baseball team that plays right up the street from us. They're the Colorado Rockies AAA affiliate team. **It took me a second to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"baseball\"","img":{"alt_text":"Timmy is #2.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/DSC_10101-1024x678.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2155"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2155"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2181,"href":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2155\/revisions\/2181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thevollmerfamily.com\/MajorMom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}