Trip 2013: Trip 2013 Colorado Springs, CO to Cheyenne WY

Normally, I start with WELL, but today its going to be a little different, the day started out differently it was the first time in a long time that I rode my bike early in the morning for ten grueling miles. My riding buddies would appreciate this, when we were in Virginia it was fairly flat, but here in Colorado there are HILLS and I mean HILLS, I started at 6242ft and right off the bat I was going up this hill which ended up to be 6824ft at the top and there was NO brakes along the way, just peddling, and I did a total of 10 miles. Later that morning we went to the Barry Goldwater Air Force Academy Visitors Center where we watched a movie on a cadets life, then we went to the Chapels on the main floor was the Protestant Chapel and in the basement there was the Catholic, Jewish and Buddhist. The inside of the Protestant Chapel the colors were unbelievable, in the pictures to follow you will be able to see what I am talking about. Here is the official version the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA or Air Force) is a military school for officer candidates for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States. The Academy's stated mission is "to educate, train, and inspire men and women to become officers of character, motivated to lead the United States Air Force in service to our nation." It is the youngest of the five United States service academies, having graduated its first class in 1959. Graduates of the Academy's four-year program receive a Bachelor of Science degree, and most are commissioned as second lieutenants in the United States Air Force. The Academy is also one of the largest tourist attractions in Colorado, attracting more than a million visitors each year.

Candidates for admission are judged on their academic achievement, demonstrated leadership, athletics and character. To gain admission, candidates must also pass a fitness test, undergo a thorough medical examination, and secure a nomination, which usually comes from the member of Congress in the candidate's home district. Recent incoming classes have had about 1,200 cadets; historically just under 1,000 of those will graduate. Tuition along with room and board are all paid for by the U.S. government. Cadets receive a monthly stipend, but incur a commitment to serve a number of years of military service after graduation.

The program at the Academy is guided by the Air Force's core values of "Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence in All We Do", and based on four "pillars of excellence": military training, academics, athletics and character development. In addition to a rigorous military training regimen, cadets also take a broad academic course load with an extensive core curriculum in engineering, humanities, social sciences, basic sciences, military studies and physical education. All cadets participate in either intercollegiate or intramural athletics, and a thorough character development and leadership curriculum provides cadets a basis for future officership. Each of the components of the program is intended to give cadets the skills and knowledge that they will need for success as officers. The campus of the Academy covers 18,500 acres (73 km²) on the east side of the Rampart Range of the Rocky Mountains, just north of Colorado Springs. Its altitude is normally given as 7,258 feet (2,212 m) above sea-level, which is the elevation of the cadet area. The Academy was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) and lead architect Walter Netsch. SOM partner John O. Merrill moved from Chicago to a Colorado Springs field office to oversee the construction and to act as a spokesman for the project.

The most controversial aspect of the SOM-designed Air Force Academy was its chapel. It was designed by SOM architect Walter Netsch, who at one point was prepared to abandon the design; but the accordion-like structure is acknowledged as an iconic symbol of the academy campus.

Later that day we went to the Historic Old Colorado City here is a little info about the city Old Colorado City, formerly Colorado City, is a national historic district in the city of Colorado Springs. Its approximate boundaries are U.S. Highway 24 to the south, 32nd Street to the west, 13th Street to the east and Uintah Street to the north, with the town square restructured as Bancroft Park.

Former El Paso County courthouse, Old Colorado City

Colorado City was founded on May 22, 1859, when the Colorado Town Company, a group mainly from Denver and Auraria, laid claim to two square miles of land. They envisioned that Colorado City would be a major supply hub via Ute Pass for the new gold mines in South Park and the Blue River, where major strikes in the Pike's Peak Gold Rush had recently been made. The name Colorado was chosen (the area was still part of Kansas Territory) because the Blue River mines were supposed to be on the headwaters of the Colorado River. The town prospered in late 1859 and early 1860.

However, by the summer of 1860, newly built roads from Denver to South Park and the Blue River had diverted most of the traffic to and from the mines, and Colorado City commerce instead shifted towards serving the agriculture of Colorado's eastern plains. (Eventually the Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad would snake from Denver into the South Park.)

Colorado City was the county seat of El Paso County until 1873, when the courthouse moved to Colorado Springs.

By an act passed on November 5, 1861, the first Colorado territorial legislature, meeting in Denver, named Colorado City as the territorial capital. However, Colorado City effectively functioned as the capital for only five days. When the second territorial legislature met at Colorado City on July 7, 1862, in a log cabin that still stands on Colorado Avenue, they found the accommodations so inadequate that they voted to adjourn on July 11 and reconvene in Denver on July 16. Colorado City was never recognized by the Federal government as the territorial capital.

In 1891, major gold strikes were made in Cripple Creek and Victor, on the other side of Pikes Peak from Colorado City, and suddenly supplies were needed for this last major phase of the Colorado Gold Rush and the town's big boom was on. Eventually Colorado City was processing much of the gold ore at the Golden Cycle Mill using Palmer's railroads. Colorado City was the location of a 1903 strike that spread to Cripple Creek and eventually led to the Colorado Labor Wars.

Colorado City was incorporated into Colorado Springs in 1917. After leaving the Air Force Academy we headed to Cheyenne, WY and here is some info about the city Cheyenne (/ʃaɪˈæn/ shy-an or /ʃaɪˈɛn/) is the capital and most populous city of the US state of Wyoming and the county seat of Laramie County. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne, Wyoming, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Laramie County. The population was 59,466 at the 2010 census. Cheyenne is the northern terminus of the extensive and fast-growingFront Range Urban Corridor. Cheyenne is situated on Crow Creek and Dry Creek. The Cheyenne, Wyoming Metropolitan Area had a 2010 population of 91,738, making it the 354th most populous metropolitan area in the United States. On July 5, 1867, General Grenville M. Dodge and his survey crew platted the site now known as Cheyenne in Dakota Territory (later Wyoming Territory). This site was chosen as the point at which the Union Pacific Railroad crossed Crow Creek, a tributary of the South Platte River. The city was not named by Dodge, as his memoirs state, but rather by friends who accompanied him to the area Dodge called "Crow Creek Crossing." It was named for the American Indian Cheyenne nation, one of the most famous and prominent Great Plains tribes closely allied with the Arapaho.

The construction of the Union Pacific Railroad brought hopes of prosperity to the region when it reached Cheyenne on November 13, 1867. The population at the time numbered over 4,000, and grew rapidly. This rapid growth earned the city the nickname "Magic City of the Plains."

1867 also saw the establishment of Fort D. A. Russell, 3 miles west of the city. The fort was later