Colorado Tour Day 7

We slept until 7:30 am, what a luxury.  Garden of the Gods was the choir's tour, photo op and gift shop stop today.  We watched a movie about how the rock formations were created and the evolution of their color.  We stayed on the bus and a tour guide gave us a guided bus tour of the park where we learned that we were passing through six different ecosystems with their unique plants and animals.  Because of its special nature different Native American tribes and white settlers used to mingle at the Garden of the Gods.  It's a very special place and the formations are spectacular.  We hiked for about 45 minutes on our own after the bus tour and ate lunch at the visitors center.  After our meal we were treated to a Native American dance performance.  The favorites were the Eagle and Hoop dances.  Responding to the dance, the boys sang Speak the Truth.  This brought tears to our Native American performers.  We returned to the hotel for a couple hours of down time before our final performance in Colorado.  While competing with the Pike's Peak foot race and road rally parties (part of it in our hotel) and a jazz festival at the Episcopalian church down the road, the boys brought in an audience of about one hundred people.  The audience wasn't disappointed.  The boys sang at the First Congregational Church, a beautiful church built in 1874 with wonderful acoustics, gorgeous windows and artistic woodwork.  People asked when the boys were coming back.  Tomorrow we are up early to board the buses and begin the trip home.