Thunderbirds

The Air Force Academy graduation ceremony usually concludes with a show by the famous Air Force Thunderbirds, and that's this week's Skywatch Friday post.

They're famous for their incredible aerobatic moves.

And of course, they fly in very tight formations.

Don't miss them if they perform near you!

President Barack Obama

It's been an exciting couple of weeks for my family. A couple of weeks ago, my daughter graduated from college. Last Thursday my son graduated from high school. And last Wednesday my nephew graduated from the United States Air Force Academy. The commencement speaker was the President of the United States, Barack Obama, and I was able to take my camera in to the ceremony and get some photos of him while he was speaking.

He is a captivating speaker. The ceremony ends with the hat toss and a display by the Thunderbirds; join me in a couple of days for photos of that.

It was thrilling for me to hear the President in person, and while my photo of him may not be the best I found it exciting nevertheless - I took a photo of the President! And it's my contribution to Our World Tuesday.

South Korean Palace

For this week's Vintage Weekly post, we're moving to a palace in Seoul.

There are lots more (and better) shots to come from here.

Palm Springs Aerial Tramway

The next couple of Scenic Sunday posts will be exploring the incredible Aerial Tramway near Palm Springs, California, which climbs near the top of San Jacinto Mountain. I rode this with my son back in March, but my wife refused to go because it was too steep and high!

As shown above, the tram itself is large, holding up to 80 people. The floor rotates, ensuring that everyone gets different views as it ascends or descends.

At times it's high above the ground and it certainly is steep - I can understand why my wife was nervous!

It rises 5,920 feet (1,804 meters), with the top station at an elevation of 8,516 feet (2,596 m) above sea level.

The rotating trams were installed in 2001 as replacements for these original tram cars.

If you can handle the heights, this is the must-see attraction in the Palm Springs area. Next week I'll show you some shots taken while on the tramway.

Annular Solar Eclipse

We happened to be driving to Albuquerque on Sunday (more on this brief but long road trip later), and of course I had to pull off the road to see the annular solar eclipse, which was fully visible from our location. I don't have the right equipment to get worthwhile photos but I did manage to get a couple that I want to post.

This was one of the most amazing natural things I've ever seen in my life, and I wish my photographs did it justice. And it's an obvious choice for my Skywatch Friday post.

Julie Penrose Fountain

Tina's PicStory theme this week is Round. So here are some photos of the Julie Penrose Fountain at America the Beautiful Park, near downtown Colorado Springs.

Spencer and Julie Penrose are two of the most famous people in the history of our city, known for their philanthropy.

The above shots were taken before the fountain was turned on; in the next one you can see the water flowing.

Originally the city tried to keep people away from the fountain. But it was just too attractive to hot children on the sunny summer days that are so common here, so they gave up and hired a lifeguard instead.

I can only imagine how refreshing it must be, but I didn't get wet!

And it's a part of Our World Tuesday.

Korean Temple View

After climbing the steps in last week's Vintage Weekly post and walking a little way, this is the view you'll see.

I think the rain and mist add some beauty to the photos, but they didn't add any beauty to the walking back in 1998 when we were there!