Miles today: 490.
Miles to date: 3846.
I nearly hit 500 miles today as I sped across West Texas, a vast land of rust red soil, oil fields, wind farms, oil refineries, and cattle ranches.
I was headed to Fort Davis on the recommendation of an ex-pat Canadian I met in Austin. The University of Texas has a facility there in the form of the MacDonald Observatory. My route took me to Fort Davis via the Wild Rose Pass and into the mountains of West Texas. Fort Davis is located a mile above sea level and the observatory is at between 6300 and 6800 feet in elevation.
Whilst I've never been much of an astronomy guy, I must admit that seeing Saturn, its rings, and its moons through 16 and 22-inch telescopes was rather humanizing. Plus, the astro-geeks that run the "Star Party" are VERY enthusiastic about space stuff. Sadly viewing was not optimal as the weather was overcast and there was "considerable disruption in the upper atmosphere". But still, I've never seen so many stars in my life. The elevation and lack of light pollution made me feel as though it was a night sky from many, many years ago.
No comments:
Post a Comment