The worst part of the trip was a construction zone around Odessa where the freeway was shut down to a single lane for almost 40 miles. Traffic was backed up for miles. I was stuck between two eighteen wheelers and there was no place to get off the freeway. Luckily I'd gotten gas just before the construction zone started. This was no place to worry about running low on gas. My rental car was a huge SUV that gets terrible gas mileage. It was the only thing I could find with an in-dash navigation system and blind spot warning lights. When did gas get so expensive? It was over three dollars a gallon in most places.
I think I'm the only one staying at the Astronomer's Lodge tonight. It's kind of spooky up here. The manager and the cook were leaving when I arrived. They showed me my room and got my dinner for me and then they left. I think some more people are arriving tomorrow, but for now it's just me. Luckily the WiFi password hasn't changed. The password is so long and complex that I needed help getting online the last time I was here. Meals are amazingly good up here. I don't know how this place managed to snag such a good chef.
One of my astronomer friends stopped by to say hello while I was eating dinner alone in the dining room. He invited me to join him later this evening to look for Red Sprites on the horizon. I'd never even heard of Red Sprites until recently, but they are a spectacular form of lightning in the upper atmosphere. Often they are hundreds of miles away when they appear. Red Sprites only last a fraction of a second, so they are very difficult to photograph. Maybe I'll see a Sprite tonight. Maybe I'll see nothing. I'm pretty tired after today's drive. I see a pillow right now and a nap is pretty tempting.
I'm not sure what I'll do tomorrow. The workshop doesn't begin until later in the afternoon, so there's plenty of time to go exploring. I didn't get a lot of exercise today, so I really ought to take a long walk in the morning. I took a short walk after dinner and was very tired. My feet hurt too. Going to bed early tonight is starting to look better and better.
We did end up looking for Sprites around 10:30 this evening. The storms were too far away though and we didn't see anything. The sky was pretty though. The Milky Way was just starting to rise and the sky was alive with stars. I stayed outside for about an hour trying to identify constellations. I wish I was more familiar with the night sky, but that's what I'm here for. Tomorrow should be a busy day. Maybe after a good night's sleep I can finally figure out how to put my star tracker together.
Dodger is today's Dalmatian of the Day |
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