We
planned to Pikes Peak today, but when we got
to the toll, we were told that the road was closed past mile 13, due to poor
road conditions. Since our goal was to go to the top, we changed our plans and
decided to see what the Olympic Training Center was like. A one-time Air Force
base, instead of demolishing the buildings, the campus became housing, dining,
and practice facilities for many of the USA’s Olympic athletes – swimmers,
shooters, weight trainers, and a few more.
There
are free tours given on the top of the hour, and since we were there a good
40-minutes ahead of the next tour, we spent some time looking around the Hall
of Fame, gift shop, and various displays.
The tour started with a movie showing some scenes from the most recent
Olympic Games and foreshadowing the 2012 Olympics this upcoming summer. The tour guide showed us the wall of business
supporters (the USA
is one of the few countries that does not offer government financial support
for its Olympians), medical facilities, training facilities, shooting range,
and the swimming pool. We went into most
of the facilities, except the housing/dining area, where hundreds of athletes
choose to live for 3-6 years while in training.
So…….our
thoughts….it was okay. The facilities are beautiful and well-maintained. Flags
from every nation that participates in the Olympics are on display, as well as
photos, iron sculptures depicting the sports, and visuals showing how high the
high-dive board is, how narrow the balance beam, etc…. What wasn’t that great was the Hall of Fame –
it was quite sparse, the movie could have been a lot better, and our tour guide
was quite blasé and lacked passion for his work.
Should
you go if in the area? Sure, it’s free and there were some interesting
components, but put it on the bottom of your “must see in Colorado Springs” list. Oh, check out the
photos below – fulltime RV living has made Suzanne quite strong and Brad figures
he can still watch TV while sitting in a bobsled.
Easy and affordable - no matter where you are!
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