Colorado, Part 4

The United States Air Force Academy, located just outside Colorado Springs, was today's stop.  There are six places to visit for members of the general public (and more if you have an active military ID, apparently), and we started at the Visitors' Center and museum.


Along the Center's walls are displays showing cadet life.  There is one board each for Freshmen, Sophomore, Junior, and Senior years, outlining what is to be learned and what major tests must be passed.  The picture at right shows the Sophomore board.







Interior displays include the various clubs cadets can join, designs for the Cadet Chapel (more on that below), and a falconry display.  The falcon is the Academy's official mascot.  At left is a hand-carved falcon donated to the Academy.

 At right is the schematic of the Cadet Chapel, a distinctive building that houses places of worship for Christian, Jewish, and Buddhist students.  (There is both a Protestant and a Roman Catholic section available.

























At left is the outside of the Chapel, the Protestant section on top, and the other sections on the bottom.

At right is the interior portion of the Protestant Chapel.  It's difficult to see in this shot, but there is a large, thin cross hanging from the ceiling.

Sections of the stained-glass panels highlighting the windows.  The panels continue on to the ceiling.

The altar.

The Catholic Chapel (pictures of the current Pope were kind of a give-away when you walk in.)

One of the Stations of the Cross.  It appears to be Jesus comforting the women of Jerusalem.  Sections of all the chapels were roped off and closed to visitors, but there were still plenty of items to photograph.

The front of the Jewish Chapel in the basement.  The room is round, and located in the center of a small area behind the Catholic Chapel.

The small Buddhist Chapel.  Visitors are asked to remove their shoes before entering, but the entire room was roped off, so it was kind of a non-issue.

A view of the campus from the Chapel steps.  Over 1200 students enter the Academy each year.