Beauties of Colorado Springs

 

Last Saturday found us enjoying a few of the beautiful places in and around "The Springs." Here we are ready to go into the park area of The Garden of the Gods which is 5 minutes outside of the main city.

Pikes Peak is in the background and had a big role in the formation of The Garden because of the uplift caused by the enormous massif of the mountain along with some fault lines. The formations which are sandstone, limestone, and sedimentary conglomerates are VERY narrow and tall, giving them the appearance of frozen ice sheets or something similar just stuck sideways into the dirt.
Way unique.

 Now in the park the sun to the west peaking through some of our pictures, it is really a site.

 Check out the "kissing camels" in the middle of the skyline of the sheer rock.

 Around the back of the previous picture are more smaller formations.  WooHoo Kathryn!
(Yes, she has died (dyed) her hair red.)
Am I using too many parenthesis?  Always do, huh.

This is proof that we were there too.
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Next we were off to the Cadet Chapel at the Air Force Acadamy. The kids live just off of Northgate (the Acadamy's north gate) Road, so we head up hwy. I-25 north toward the house. The 3 year old couldn't quite make it awake.

 The 17 spire chapel is the most visited man made attraction in Colorado. It was built in 1959 and can be seen easily from the freeway as well as K & A's home.

 The upper chapel is really amazing. Many colors of stained glass along the wedges of the walls.

 Looking toward the rear of the chapel and the practicing organist. We were lucky that the chapel was filled with impressive organ music while we were there. It really added to the amazing ambience of the building.

 Looking straight up at the ceiling.

 Down under the main chapel which is for the Protestant religions, here is the Catholic chapel and it is also very beautiful. Very contemporary, the altar is austere yet beautiful.

 This is the Jewish chapel.

 This is for the cadets that are Buddhists. So, many religions are represented.
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 We went to the country club near the house which the little family is deciding about joining, and had dinner while we watched the sun set over Pikes Peak,

 And all the west mountains. (I'm going to have to blog about the EAST mountains in my life one of these days.)
Several points in the trip I told Ells that she needs to look up to the sky whenever she goes outside in Colorado because the clouds are always different and gorgeous.  Always trying to teach.

So beautiful. I do miss the Colorado and Utah sunsets.