Observing in AZ

Most of my trips are to telescopes.  Although this trip saw my return to one of Michigan's, I also got to observe at the biggest telescope on Kitt Peak (the one in the middle of the picture to the right, the telescope has a diameter of four meters!), which was great since I was the sole observer (luckily they had someone there to operate the telescope for me).

I had a very successful night of observing after an afternoon of successfully taking a lot of pictures of the telescope.  I tried to get pictures of me with the telescope, but that didn't work out so well.

The next day, I left the mountain because I had three nights off before returning to the lesser adjacent ridge to use one of Michigan's telescopes.

I tried to do work, and I tried to see Tucson, but it was really just too hot (over 100F every day!).  I'm not meant for the heat.  What I managed to do was eat some tamales and go to Saguaro National Park, which was a bad idea, but I had to see the cacti.  So here are some cacti pictures.  A saguaro with the moon to the left.

I got there ridiculously early, and it was still exceptionally hot.  That made me cancel my plans of doing much more than driving around the 8 mile paved loop.  There is a hiking path connecting the north and south parts of the loop that I wanted to do, but I gave up on that idea pretty quickly.  I took a short hike that was supposed to be a mile loop, but what should have been halfway through the path got lost and mingled with other paths.  Realizing that I didn't really care to be lost in a shadeless desert, I just doubled back.  On a cooler day, another path might have been welcoming, but not that day.


While being one of a tiny amount of people brave (or stupid) enough to try to see the park in such oppressive heat, I discovered what could very well be my new favorite plant:  the staghorn cholla cactus.  It's a pretty and bizarre plant (right).

Tucson was to become even more scorchingly hot, not that I thought it was possible, so I fled for the mountain again, really it was just time to observe again.

Because I really did find these things remarkably pretty, here is a close up of the staghorn cholla fruit.

Southern CA

In the last few months, I really haven't done much traveling.  After visiting northern Arizona in March, the only travels I did were to Chicago for a day, skipped work for a day to go to Greenfield Village at the Henry Ford Museum, and then drove to Pennsylvania before flying to California for the summer.  That lack of travel is the unfortunate result of having to have to jump through academic hoops to become a PhD candidate.  So, I'll just start with California.

For the first few weeks, I just stayed in Pasadena and took pictures of CalTech's campus, which is beautiful as I've said before (and is evidenced by the rose to the left).  Obviously that isn't all that I've done, since I'm here for work, but I didn't really have any adventures.  The only time I left was to go to Altadena to get my NASA badge at JPL, which I don't need because I'm working on CalTech's campus, but had to do anyway.  That was an adventure because without a car or a real employee badge, it is exceptionally difficult to get back to Pasadena.  Google Maps didn't help my predicament by claiming a hiking path is a route I could take.  No.  That little adventure made me never want to return, but I know I will have to at the end of the summer.

Back to the issue of my disliking the area.  The visual appeal of CalTech does not outweigh how much I don't like everything else, even though I really like all of the flowers and the turtle pond.  Really, this is the desert, these things shouldn't be here.  There is also too much sunshine for me, and I have to a lot of sunblock.

Even though there are palm trees everywhere, I still wish there weren't so many people.  There are too many people here.  Too many people that have the most vapid conversations I've ever heard.  A nice example:  I was at a Mexican restaurant and ended up listening to a group of women discuss hair extensions.

Before I continue with my bad attitude, I should state that I really like the work that I've been doing and the people I've been working with.  Thankfully, not everything is bad.  Recently, it's been improving, but that might be because I knew I was leaving to go observing.

After three weeks, I finally left Pasadena for real.  I went on a hike in a park in Malibu.  It was high in the cliffs and there was little shade, but there were the remains of a failed reservoir and a failed homestead.  I really don't understand why this region is populated, but at the same time this was a nice place for a short hike and hardly anyone was there.  The breeze from the ocean was glorious and the view was amazing (except for the houses and road in between the cliff and the ocean).  On the way back to the car, there were a lot of fire engine sirens and we spotted smoke coming from just behind one of the nearby ridges (picture on the right).  We watched the smoke for a while.  Four helicopters came to monitor or drop water.  A forest fire was something I hadn't seen in person before.

The smoke started going down as the fire was contained, so we moved to the beach.  The waves did a fabulous job of drowning out the traffic noises.  Unfortunately, I was the only one that wanted to go swimming, and I wasn't given enough time to, so I didn't.  It is really exhausting being in the sun all day, which wasn't the last time I'd have that revelation in the course of a week.

After these outdoor "adventures", I had dinner in a very crowded Santa Monica and got really sick afterward.  That was something.

The next day I went to the Huntington Library to sit around and read all day.  The thing about the Huntington Library is that it's actually a bunch of themed gardens, museums, and a library.  I had been there last summer, too, but I seem to have neglected to write about them, as well as my visit the Getty Museum which has some fantastic art and also beautiful gardens.  I think both of those happened when I returned to LA at the end of June after observing.  There's a wonderful desert garden full of succulents (right) and cacti, which is my favorite.  Last summer, the early closing time wasn't anticipated, so much of the gardens were left unseen because a lot of time was spent in the museums, so I saw more of the gardens this time.  Although they're beautiful, I can't help but lament yet again that Pasadena should be desert.

Another Hole in the Ground

On my way to the Petrified Forest, I'd driven by signs for a meteor crater.  I was intrigued, and saved it for after my National Park tours.  It also promised to be a shorter day, and I was flying back to Michigan on a redeye.  I make brilliant decisions because I had class the next morning.  I wasn't really functional, but that's beside the point.

Meteor Crater was disappointing being seen after the Grand Canyon and the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert.  Yes, it was cool, but it was privately owned.  They charge too much money and don't let you do anything but go on a tour around only part of the rim.  They don't let you descend into it.  I had just done bigger changes in elevation than that the previous two days.  I was displeased, but the tour was pretty good.  The tour guide told the stories of how the history of people trying to figure out what it was.  My favorite part was the fossil discussion that emphasized that at one point, this harsh, barren desert was a lush, watery paradise (which was also clear in the Petrified Forest because water needed to be around to petrify the wood).

The Grand Canyon

I can't believe I haven't written about the Grand Canyon yet.

I knew I'd be hiking on this trip (which occurred on the same trip as the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert), so I finally bought hiking boots.  This was a great decision that I should have made at least a year ago.

I was given the sage wisdom to walk up to the South Rim from the parking lot with my head down.  I was told not to look up until I was at the edge.  My eyes watered when I looked up.  It was just beautiful.

I asked in the Visitors' Center for two trails that went down into the canyon (or as the same person that told me how to approach it calls it, The Canyon).  I wanted the trails to be somewhat populated.  I was going to return the next day, so I didn't want to wear myself out.  Because this was March, I was warned that there may still be ice on some of the trails.  In any case, I was instructed to do the South Kaibab and Hermit trails.  South Kaibab was closer, and crawling with ill-equipped tourists.  I had enough stuff in my backpack that I could have been lost for a few days and easily survived.  I may find myself in some strange situations, but I'm not going to knowingly go hiking up and down a very steep gradient in the direct Sun.

Anyway, I went on this trail with a bunch of other tourists.  There was a lot of mule poop and very little shade.  The trail did a ton of switchbacks and could have been a 6-mile hike.  Because I know my knees and didn't want to burn out on the first day, I only went for the 3-mile hike (a change in elevation of 1140 feet from the trailhead to the lowest point).

Once I made it back to the top, which really didn't take as long as I thought it would, I went back to where I had my first view.  I walked along the Rim Trail for a little while.  I left before the sun set that day because I knew I'd be back the next.

The next day I again drove from Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon.  I got on a bus and headed to Hermit Trail.  This trail was horribly marked, which means that I'm pretty sure it wasn't marked.  I hiked downward for at least 45 minutes without stopping, which should have gotten me to about two miles.  I didn't see a single sign and there were supposed to be several by that point.  Maybe a few hundred feet below me, I realized there was the camp I had no intention of reaching since it was nearly 2000 feet below the trailhead.  I turned around promptly.  By the time I got to the top, I had been climbing with primarily with my left leg because my right knee was killing me.  I was drenched in sweat from the Sun and the pain.  I should say that at no point was I in any danger of not making it out.  One thing that really irked me about this trail was that in the time I was on it, I only saw about a dozen people.

I dragged myself back to the bus and took a walk through the village area.  I got some dinner and headed back on the bus to stop at every lookout.  I was exhausted.  I got back to the lookout I liked, found a secluded rock and watched the sunset.  I didn't watch the sun set, but I watched the canyon turn amazing colors.  All the tourists were watching the sun set.  Fools.

Petrified Forest and Painted Desert

This used to be a tree.  I can't even begin to describe how beautiful this place is.  I spent the day roaming through Petrified Forest National Park which also abuts the Painted Desert, which is also stunning.  Most of the trip was spent in a car, but there were a few lovely trails to walk on (I had to skip two because of time constraints...I guess I'll just have to return).  

From what I gathered, these giant trees were felled in a flood.  They were buried in water and silt.  Eventually different minerals replaced the organic material of the trees turning them into stone.  The different colors come from different minerals.  

I was disappointed in the selection of souvenirs from this place.  I would call them "tacky".  If I'm calling them that, then it's pretty bad.  I have a problem with the fact that petrified wood was for sale in the gift shop.  It's not clear if the proceeds from that shop went to the Park or not (which I also disliked).    Regardless of where the money ended up, I didn't like the thought that those for sale were removed from the Park (I don't know if that's the case or not).  

Anyway, another pretty picture!  As one drives from the southern entrance northward into the Painted Desert, one rounds a bend and suddenly all of the peaks are red.  I was absolutely in awe, so much so that I actually verbalized a "Wow!" to my otherwise empty rental car.  If the Grand Canyon weren't also nearby, I'd be headed back to this National Park for more...but the Canyon is, so I must also visit that.  

The Perkins Telescope

After much anticipation, I finally made it to Lowell Observatory (Flagstaff, AZ).  I attended a conference on interferometry (the type of observations I do when I go to Mount Wilson in CA), which was an enjoyable time.  The conference was nice, and my talk seemed to be well-received.

The highlight was finally viewing OWU's former prized possession, the 72-inch Perkins Telescope that was once housed in Delaware, OH.  I had long heard lore of it.  It was still owned by OWU when it was moved to Arizona, but it was eventually sold.  That's a real tragedy because that telescope would be a true asset to the University.

Maybe I'll get to use it some day.  It's owned by a few universities and Lowell Observatory, so I'd likely need to be employed by one of those bodies.  For now, I'll stick with the ridiculous amount of resources Michigan has provided me.

More telescopes.

I went back to Michigan's observatory outside of Tucson.  The data gathered weren't for me, but I was there to train a new observer.  I had a really enjoyable time and took a bunch of pictures of telescopes and sunsets.  There's nothing new there.

Here is a picture that encompasses both of telescopes and sunsets.  The dome in the foreground is the 1.3-m telescope that I have spent a significant amount of time using (and have a few nights coming up in June).  In the background (tiny and right next to the foreground dome) is the 4-m telescope that I will be using for the first time in June (just before the nights on the other telescope).  I'm quite pleased about that.

My Beloved, Philly

I visited my sister in Philly, and I finally got to see the Liberty Bell!  That's right, I had never seen this before.

I have to admit that the crack wasn't nearly as wide as I thought it would be.  It was worth standing in the cold for a little while to see.

Yet Another Return to Mount Wilson and LA!

And then...I returned to LA for work, but not all work.

I successfully obtained observing time spread across November and into December.  I got to observe for most of it, but I had to fly back in the middle for classes, which I didn't appreciate.  Those extra flights did get me to an elite member on Delta.  That might be useful.


Anyway, I spent a lot of time there, most of which involved bad weather and no observing.  Here are some pretty pictures.  I again went hiking in inappropriate shoes.  I really need to get hiking shoes.

I discovered the Monastery, which Edwin Hubble had built for astronomers to be housed in.  Hubble didn't want the wives of astronomers interrupting the work, so the wives couldn't stay on the mountain.  The Monastery was a men's only residence.  In fact, the cabin that I stayed in over the summer and for this trip was built because a famous astronomer (Kapteyn) would not come to Mount Wilson unless there was a place for his wife to stay.  Anyway,  the Monastery is a really old building that astronomers still stay in (Einstein also stayed there).  I was going to spend a few nights in it, but it turns out Mount Wilson owns it and charges CHARA, so I stayed in the cabin, which I will never complain about.

At the very end of all of this time on the mountain, I continued my epic adventure of seeing Endeavour.  The temporary exhibit of the space shuttle had been set up at the California Science Center, and I had a red-eye back to Michigan.  I spent the afternoon around a ton of screaming children and a giant machine that went into space.  The space restroom exhibit was particularly poignant.

 

Another Return to LA

 I scheduled a trip to LA conveniently when the space shuttle was going to be moved through the streets.  Really, it was just a coincidence.

Endeavour got delayed when making a turn, so I walked two or three miles to see it in person where it was stopped.  Endeavour is the space shuttle that I spontaneously flew to Florida to see its final launch in 2011 (and it didn't launch that day -- here).

I was with a bunch of engineers, so we played spot-the-nerd along the way.  I thought I would be the most excited of the group, but these guys knew a disturbing amount of specifics of the shuttle.  I was impressed.

 To continue my trend of poorly-shoed hiking, we went to the mountains for an afternoon.  Most of the time was spent driving through the curving roads, but there was this lovely reservoir.  We also found a nice little lake.  I'm always amazed by now abandoned these beautiful places are when they're right next to this gigantic city.  

Philly for a Weekend

With only a few days notice, I flew to Philly to attend a party in September.  It was a well-timed quick trip, and it was really fun to surprise my parents by just showing up!

This is my sad good-bye-Philly-as-the-Sun-rises picture at the airport.

One of Many Returns To LA

I returned to LA in August before classes restarted; this time I was a tourist.  The first stop was Griffith Observatory because I'm a giant nerd.  It is a beautiful old observatory perched on the top of a hill within LA, which means it is actually completely useless, except for the solar projects they were doing.  Naturally, because this was an observatory, I was overly critical of the exhibits, or rather those explaining the exhibits.  I held my tongue.

From the back of the observatory, I saw the test fly-over of the planes that were going to accompany the space shuttle Endeavour as it was flown into LA on the back of a 747.  That was oddly convenient timing.

Anyway, the view from Griffith Observatory was quite impressive.  The view includes the Hollywood sign, which I was a little excited to see.  This was my fifth (I think) trip to LA, and my first time seeing the sign.  I was satisfied, and then gawked at the observatory some more.  Since I have a habit hiking in inappropriate shoes, I walked up the mountain a little bit where there was a nice path in flipflops.  I didn't make it too far.  

The next day was the La Brea tar pits!  There are these tar pits in the middle of LA.  It's so weird, but awesome.  The tar has a ton of fossils in it, including mastodons (you can see a model of that in the tar pits picture to the left).  Obviously, it smelled bad.  The Page Museum, where they have the fossils excised from the tar.  It turns out that mastodons have giant teeth.

Then there was a trip to Malibu.  The cliffs are pretty impressive.  I entirely get why there are rehabilitation centers there; it is just beautiful.  This particular cliff was descended, and I watched the waves roll in for a while with a picnic.  Once the Sun started setting, the cliff was ascended.  Next to a city full of millions upon millions of people, I was on a beautiful cliff watching the sun set on a Sunday night with something like five other people.  I question the ability of people to appreciate things like sunsets.  

Southeastern Michigan

After Morocco, my sister came back to Michigan with me.  We ate a lot of food, of course.

We went to the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village.  This museum is crazy.  Henry Ford had all of these huge machines shipped to Michigan for the museum and houses (and windmill) to Greenfield Village.  For example. this train with a snow plow.

The next day, we went to Windsor, Ontario to learn about prohibition from the Canadian prospective.  We got our passports stamped and spent a whole three hours in Canada.  Here's Detroit from Windsor.

Then there was a trip to Frankenmuth!  A Bavarian-themed town full of cute little stores and a disturbing amount of food.  There was a riverboat...because that makes sense.  We learned all about the history of Frankenmuth, the festivals, and why the town has a riverboat.  

After Much Delay, Morocco!

For being my one planned international trip (among what felt like a million domestic ones) of 2012, this was pretty fantastic (except for that excursion to Canada that will come in the next post).

In July, we spent part of the week at a resort in the Atlas Mountains, which are situated in the Sahara Desert.  This resort is on a manmade reservoir, so it was pretty much an oasis.

We spent a lot of time at this pool drinking mojitos.  Since it had been forever since I had been on a real vacation, I was so glad to just sit around doing nothing for a few days.

But it wasn't all doing just nothing.  Since we used a Groupon to go on this trip, there were all sorts of bonuses---tea service, massage, and other spa-like activities.  There was also a boat ride!  There was then swimming in the reservoir.  The European tourists kept saying how cold the water was.  Wimps.

Another part of our deal was a trek through the Atlas Mountains.  From what others had said, it was a nice little jaunt up the hill and back down.  Well, it was a nice little jaunt up, but the descent was actually a trek.  There was a variety of cacti to avoid and rocks to scale.  It was not an easy adventure.  

After we didn't spend enough time eating delicious tajines, couscous, and chicken wrapped in filo dough and covered in powdered sugar and cinnamon, we left for Casablanca.  There are a few things to see in that city, Hassan II Mosque, a nice little market with my favorite kind of tacky souvenirs, and Rick's Café (designed after the café in the movie Casablanca).  

I miss the mint tea.  A lot.