Colorado Springs to Topeka!

Though the weather was getting pretty hot, we were able to visit a few more sites in Colorado Springs before leaving.  One afternoon, we drove out to the Air Force Academy Visitor's Center.  This was a great stop. 

To get into the area, we had to go through a security station where they scanned my driver's license and looked in the truck.  (The officer was very pleasant, and it wasn't a big deal.)  Then you drive a few miles in, to the side of the mountain, where the facilities are.

Once we arrived at the visitor's center, we watched a movie that detailed a year in the Air Force Academy from several perspectives.  Three out of four of us teared up watching it.  I was especially moved by the way the higher-ranking officers spoke to the cadets, emphasizing honorable behavior and self-sacrifice.  It's unexpected to hear tough men and women speaking with such passion and sincerity.  What we usually see as civilians are things like the classic movie scene of an officer screaming in a cadet's face.  This showed inside the classrooms, where they are being taught what it means to be a part of the United States Air Force. 

The story of Captain Lance Sijan is remarkable.  Jackson and I read it and couldn't believe the endurance and bravery he showed in the face of unbelievable trials.  It was so amazing that I came home and read more detailed reports of his time in Vietnam.

The hometown map.  Someone from Brookings attended the academy here!

The kids liked looking through these badges.  I'm not sure who designs them, but they are super unique.  One featured The Hulk!

So interesting!  I didn't know about the falconry program in the Air Force, or about the special group that trains with sabres instead of guns.

Model cadet room.  It looks nice!

The facilities here are incredible.  They have a $2,000,000 track and a $16,000,000 center, not to mention the football, baseball, and soccer fields.  The Air Force is serious about their sports!

Saw this sign out in a field and it made me laugh because its placement was so random.

B-52 on display just inside the entrance to the grounds.  The plane is so enormous that it's hard to believe it actually flies!

One weird thing we noticed: while on the base, the dongle for our truck wouldn't work.  I had to lock and unlock the truck manually.  I thought that it was broken, but after driving out of that area, it worked fine.  Odd, yes?

Jackson didn't see any lizards, but did have me take a picture of this spider he found.

A wee-bit windy!

After that, we went to another ASTC Passport museum, this time a space museum.  The kids did a scavenger hunt and we enjoyed the artifacts.  It was actually a great little museum, especially since we had free admission!  

And we had to try Amy's Donuts while we were there!

Ordering was stressful due to 1, 001 choices.  I only looked at about half of them before I gave up and picked a few.  On the drive home I wondered how they could keep so many flavors in stock without them going stale.  It's so much product to keep fresh, but they all were!

Quite possibly the best donuts I have ever had.  No kidding.

We left Colorado Springs a day early because we needed to cover a lot of ground this weekend to make it to our work week spot in Missouri.  At our first fuel-up, we discovered that one of our slide covers is stretched out from wind and needing to be replaced.  Jeff wasn't thrilled about that, but we know that when you travel in an RV full-time, you're going to have repairs along the way!  So we're going to try to find someone to take care of the slide covers this week, but I know it can be tough to get work done quickly during the summer.  I may have to make an appointment for the stop after this one.

Since we were only needing a place to sleep in between driving days, I planned to boondock overnight at a Harvest Host, but decided at the last minute to stay at an inexpensive lake campground in Topeka, Kansas instead.  I am so glad I changed our plans, for two reasons.  One, it was 92 degrees and muggy when we arrived.  I can't imagine how uncomfortable we would have been if we hadn't had our A/C!  And two, talk about a hidden gem!  The waterfront spot we enjoyed was so cozy and beautiful.  

After we got settled, Jackson and I headed out for a walk.

Watching the sun set on the lake is not a terrible way to end a travel day!

In the morning, we were back on the road to finish our trip.  We had a pretty uneventful travel day and ended up in a beautiful (and HOT) location in Missouri.  We are looking forward to our week here!