We had plans to go to the Air Force Academy today, but we had a few things to do first. Bob got permission from the campground to wash the Jeep and the bus as long as we conserved water in the campsite, so he washed the Jeep. Many times, campgrounds will not let you wash your vehicles, but it was nice that they did. Auggie needed a bath badly, so he got his needed bath in the shower.
Afterward, I gave him a trim to help him avoid getting full of burrs. Bob talked to his youngest sister, Suzy, who lives near Denver and we made plans to get together tomorrow for a visit. Around 11:30, we took a drive to the Air Force Academy. From the highway as we approached our turnoff, we could see the AF Stadium.
We arrived at the Academy and proceeded to the check-in point.
At the check-in point, a nice young guard explained that no civilian visitors were allowed on the grounds due to COVID. (It would have been nice if the recorded message mentioned that when we called to check if it was open.) Oh well! As we left, we could see the Academy Chapel spires rising above the trees. It would have been great if we could have seen it up close and spent time on the Academy grounds, but we’ll save that for another time. Bob had never been to the Academy before and I hadn’t been there since 1980. We did see another strip mine in the distance. It was pretty ugly right in the middle of town cut into the side of the mountain.
We do enjoy the views of the mountains wherever we go.
We made a few stops before returning to the campground. When we got back around 1:00, one side of the motorhome was now in the shade, so I helped Bob wash the bus. It had 1800 miles of dirt on it. It had to be in the shade because the air is so dry here, that the water dries so quickly in the sun. That’s one thing I’ve been noticing. My hair, skin, and lips get so dry, so I have to moisturize all the time. It’s a lot different than Florida. Before dinner, Bob needed to cut up the whole chickens we bought at the store. He likes to do that because we enjoy the chicken quarters.
It was another beautiful day and Auggie spent his afternoon outside. I took a walk down to the Fountain River in the campground just to get a closer look.
I climbed over some rocks to get down to the water. The water level seemed really low. There was not much water flowing over the dam. Many of the reservoirs in Colorado seem low.
We took a walk after dinner to check on the new arrivals in the campground. Our day didn’t turn out quite like we had planned, but it was a productive day just the same. Tomorrow morning we’ll visit the Garden of the Gods and do a little hiking. Then a visit with Bob’s sister later in the afternoon is something we look forward to.
I’ve read about strip mining, but that’s the first strip mined mountain I’ve seen. It’s horrible!