19 May - Mining Museum and Olympic Training Center

19 May
The RV water system survived the freezing temps last night, no issues.  Mighty brisk out this morning, but it is supposed to warm into the 40's which should bring some melting.

Icicles on the living room slideouts

After breakfast we headed out to the Western Museum of Mining and Industry, just across Interstate 25 from the Air Force Academy.  The museum sits on 27 acres and includes the main building full of displays and equipment and many outside displays of mining equipment and facilities.  Obviously mining is a big part of Colorado's history and they have done a great job preserving and displaying it here.

Doreen and Todd Hoffman (ha! ha!)

We arrived just before one of the local schools 4th grade classes so we tagged along for a while and listened to the presentation.  They have areas where the students get hands-on experience panning for various ore.  The whole museum is very student-friendly.

A mock-up of part of a mining operation

A replica saloon bar, a big part of mining history.

Huge operational Corliss engine used to power various mining equipment.  When the students got to this point they actually fired it up.

An operational DC generator

The brushes

Mining equipment

Makes things go BOOM!

A mining site replicated inside

A kiln used to melt the ore

Firing up the equipment for the students

You can even buy your own mining equipment

One of many outside displays.  An old steam shovel

Steam-driven stamp mill, used to crush the ore

An old train engine

An old Caterpillar dozer, manufactured June 6, 1918 in Peoria IL

After the mining museum tour and a 20-minute video we headed south east about 20 miles to the Colorado Springs Olympic Training facility.

 

The facility occupies 35 acres and provides state of the art facilities for our Olympic athletes. It was built on the site of the old Ent Air Force base which housed NORAD until the Cheyenne Mountain facility was built.  In 1976 Ent AFB closed and was transferred to the US Olympics.

They can house and feed over 200 athletes at a time here while they train on Boxing, Cycling (Olympic and Paralympic), Figure skating, Gymnastics, Paralympic Judo, Pentathlon Shooting (Olympic and Paralympic), Paralympic Swimming and Wrestling.  Food, lodging, training and medical support is free for the athletes.  They have single bedrooms with a common area shared between two athletes. There is a common dining hall that is buffet style, but specialized menus are available for specific athletes (wrestlers cutting weight, for instance)

Doreen poses with the hockey players!

Bobsled on display

An Olympic shooter being coached in one of the indoor shooting ranges.  They shoot both air rifles upstairs and and .22 rifles in the lower level.

The wrestling facilities

A picture of Dan Gable, Iowa's gold medal winning wrestler

One of two indoor Olympic pools.  Temperatures are strictly controlled.

Gymnastics area.  There was a trampoline competition going on as we toured.  Notice the young lady high in the air!

The boxing facility

The massive weight room

Our tour guide on the right (pink coat), Sophia Herzog, silver medalist at Rio in the 100 m breaststroke Paralympics.  Sophia trains 2-1/2 hours in the morning and again in the evening four days a week.  Other days she works on weighs and she has every Sunday off.  In addition to her training she works here at the facility for spending money and she is enrolled in online college courses.  

The Olympic Torch.  It remains unlit until the next games.

Cold and windy near the torch.  Temps in the 40's today.

This will surely be one of the highlights of this years journey.  This facility is fantastic.  Maybe some day we will tour the other main training facility in Lake Placid NY.