The right place at the right time

Clicking the pics brings back memories of my life, some really great, some not so nice.

14,115 foot tall Pike's Peak, as it towers over Colorado Springs and the Air Force Academy.

In the foreground you can see the Air Force Academy football stadium which you will see on television when there's a televised Air Force Falcons football game.

In the background is the front range, and of course Pike's Peak.

In the middle ground where you see that swath of brown  that goes from side to side in the picture, those are dead trees from the last forest fire in the area which was named the Waldo Canyon fire. And since I lived basically on the other side of that mountain, my family and I had to evacuate and stay in a campground for almost 2 weeks.

The Waldo Canyon fire burned up 346 homes on the Colorado Springs side of the mountain. Fortunately, due to the prevailing winds, the fire never got to my little town of Woodland Park.

        I got this picture off the Internet.

 The fire was also burning on my side of the mountain but the winds kept it from reaching my town. That's the Air Force Academy football stadium at the bottom of the picture.

I got to the Bass Pro Shop in Colorado Springs about 10 a.m. and pulled into the parking lot behind the huge store to boondock for the night. And much to my surprise, instead of the one or two RVs, I would expect to find there, it was more like two dozen.

Figuring I should take a picture to memorialize this odd situation, I got my camera and walked around near the front of the store to take it all in. It was then I noticed crowds of people sitting in the grassy area at the front of the store staring off into the distance; not wanting to miss anything important, such as the expected landing of a UFO, I joined the crowd and asked someone what they were looking at, and found out they were waiting for the Air Force Thunderbirds.

Now the main reason the Air Force Thunderbirds come to town is for the graduation at the Air Force Academy, which is straight across I–25 from the Bass Pro Shop. And their practice session in preparation for tomorrow's Air Force Academy graduation starts in just a few minutes.

Well, my timing couldn't have been better because I was treated to some U.S. Air Force precision flying by the best pilots in the world, who more than likely were graduates of the Air Force Academy. And I had no idea any of that was going to happen.

Sometimes a mundane morning can turn into something special, if you're in the right place at the right time.

                                           Theboondork

Crowds of people in the Bass Pro shop parking lot waiting for the Thunderbirds.

Some folks apparently spent the night at the bass Pro shop waiting for the Thunderbirds

U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds.

U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds flying over the Air Force Academy.

The Thunderbirds cover a lot of territory when there doing their exhibitions. As the Crow flies, my house in Woodland Park was only about 6 or 7 miles away from the Air Force Academy, and the Thunderbirds would be turning around over my house doing their routine at the Air Force Academy.

Thunderbirds flying in front of Pike's Peak.