Olympic Village at Park City

The Olympic Village is a short drive from Salt Lake City and up several thousand feet.  Once you get there the place is totally impressive – even in the summer.  The coolest part was the swimming pool training facility for ski jumpers.  Many ramps provided beginners to advanced an opportunity to practice their skills once they descend into the pool at the bottom.  But wait, what happens if you land on the water and it’s calm like glass.  Well, you really hurt.  So this pool has an underwater piping system that breaks the fall by shooting air to the surface and making a major bubble cushion.  Little tykes about 5 or 6 years old were trying the jump.  Athletes from the Australian Olympic team were there and a summer camp was going on.  We visited more of the park with a tour that allowed us access to the top of the jumps and luge track.  Yes, these people are out of their minds.  The track carries bobsleds, luge and skeleton sleds that can go up to 90 mph.  The ski jumps were unbelievable.  Just look at how far it is to the ground.  Not for me.  Finishing our tour we visited the museum at the village and there were phenomenal photos from the 2002 Winter Olympics.  But the best thing I saw were the huge puppets used in the opening ceremonies.  Really great place to see.