August 15, 2010
August 15, 2010
Since Chaco Canyon is truly in the middle of nowhere, the sky last night was very dark. We attended the evening ranger talk and wouldn’t you know, it was a sky show. And it was outstanding! Besides an interesting discussion about ancient astronomy, the park has several large telescopes including one that is almost professional size. Aimee was absolutely giddy about seeing the rings of Saturn for the first time.
We are very glad we made the killer drive to Chaco. I was a little peeved that New Mexico hasn't paved the access road but Aimee reminds me that if they did we would be competing with tour buses and need tickets to see this sight. Instead it is a lightly visited park that is a joy to tour.
Leaving Chaco Canyon, Aimee insisted on driving the first section. I never argue when she offers to let me watch the scenery. Unfortunately it was a grueling two hours creeping along the 13 miles of washboard dirt road. Not a fast start this morning.
We drove the rest of the day crossing into Arizona before finding a campsite in Springerville, gateway to the White Mountains. While stopping for gas, we got the Sunday paper to catch up on the news. Aimee commented we needed to be careful because an escaped murderer from Arizona was on the loose and had just killed an RV couple camping in New Mexico. I told her not to worry as the FBI thinks they are now either in Montana or Canada. (A couple days later the escapee is found at a campground just a few miles away!!!)
Since Chaco Canyon is truly in the middle of nowhere, the sky last night was very dark. We attended the evening ranger talk and wouldn’t you know, it was a sky show. And it was outstanding! Besides an interesting discussion about ancient astronomy, the park has several large telescopes including one that is almost professional size. Aimee was absolutely giddy about seeing the rings of Saturn for the first time.
We are very glad we made the killer drive to Chaco. I was a little peeved that New Mexico hasn't paved the access road but Aimee reminds me that if they did we would be competing with tour buses and need tickets to see this sight. Instead it is a lightly visited park that is a joy to tour.
Leaving Chaco Canyon, Aimee insisted on driving the first section. I never argue when she offers to let me watch the scenery. Unfortunately it was a grueling two hours creeping along the 13 miles of washboard dirt road. Not a fast start this morning. We drove the rest of the day crossing into Arizona before finding a campsite in Springerville, gateway to the White Mountains. While stopping for gas, we got the Sunday paper to catch up on the news. Aimee commented we needed to be careful because an escaped murderer from Arizona was on the loose and had just killed an RV couple camping in New Mexico. I told her not to worry as the FBI thinks they are now either in Montana or Canada. (A couple days later the escapee is found at a campground just a few miles away!!!)
posted by Mike and Aimee at 6:12 PM
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