Day 3526

Today was busy. I changed our destination in West Texas from Alpine to Fort Davis. Fort Davis is much closer to the observatory and I wasn't looking forward to a long drive back to the hotel in the middle of the night on very dark mountain roads. Since the Davis Mountains are a designated Dark Sky area, there are no lights along the roads. The entire area is extremely dark at night. Evidently you need to drive slowly and take care not to hit the Javelinas that are often seen on the roads at night. I don't think hitting a wild pig in the dark on a lonely mountain road is something I'd want to experience.

Janet wants to go to Fredericksburg, so we added this Hill Country town to our itinerary on the way home. Even before we extended our trip a bit, I had already lost faith in the Land Rover, so I have reserved a rent car for the journey. It's kind of ironic to have a car that can go anywhere that you hate to take very far from the dealership. If the rent car breaks down, it's not my problem. If my own car breaks down, I could be faced with a 400 mile towing bill. Truthfully, it's a lot easier to hop on a plane and take an Uber from the airport to your final destination. Road trips can take you places that aren't very accessible otherwise though. We'd like to see some of these places. Hopefully our little adventure will be a lot of fun. If this trip is a success we can basically go anywhere. There's a lot to see out West.

I resumed my long walks today. I don't think it matters what time of day I walk anymore. It's even too hot in the middle of the night these days. I hope the articles I read about the benefits of walking while sweating a lot are true. I should be in great shape after a long hot Summer of this punishment. I could always walk around the track at the gym, but that's so boring. For now I still prefer being outdoors where I can count Egrets and Herons.

I started cleaning the old dehumidifier this afternoon. This will take a while. Some components are readily accessible and others aren't. I still haven't figured out how to take the unit completely apart. Maybe this is why the instruction manual says "No user serviceable parts." I wish I didn't feel compelled to fix things. Just buying a brand new dehumidifier every five years is so much easier.

I made an appointment to get a haircut tomorrow. Didn't I just do this a little while ago? My hair is getting thinner, but it seems to be growing faster. I'm probably just getting a haircut because we're taking a trip. I always used to get a haircut before I took a business trip and old habits die hard.

Rolly starts his heartworm treatment tomorrow. I hope he does well and there are no complications. Heartworm treatment can be rough for some dogs.

Blackjack is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3507

The carpenter came over again to look at the greenhouse this morning. He asked me what I was trying to accomplish. Did I want a second office? A tiny guest house? A man cave? A woodworking shop? It didn't take long to come to the conclusion that I didn't have an objective. I just wanted to get rid of the eyesore the demolished greenhouse had become. It turns out that it would be a lot easier and less expensive to just make the place a nice greenhouse again. Glass was broken and the roof was gone, but most of the basic structure was intact. I guess thats what we're going to do. Neither Janet or I have much interest in gardening, but if we ever move, having a greenhouse in the back yard could be a selling point.

There were a lot of things I never considered when I was thinking of turning the greenhouse into something else. The first big hurdle would be putting in a concrete floor. Right now the place has a thick gravel floor covered with loose fitting bricks you can walk on. This is great for drainage in a greenhouse, but terrible for any kind of a living space. Due to the location of the greenhouse you'd have to use one of those giant concrete pump trucks to pour a concrete floor. I'm not even sure a concrete pump would work because of the location of several large Oak trees. Occasionally the greenhouse floods after heavy rains as well. Mostly this is because the place is right in the path of runoff from the flat roof of our house. Making the place cozy and watertight wouldn't be easy. It's just not worth the trouble. It looks like we are just going to repair the greenhouse and make it like it was before.

I sent off a few query letters to see if any magazines would be interested in an article about my upcoming trip to McDonald Observatory. I felt I needed to make the effort. I'm so lazy that I could easily go another year without writing anything at all. Who knows. It might make an interesting story. Or maybe not. I have no interest in writing a travel guide. Basically everything I write is all about me. Reading about my low key adventures is definitely an acquired taste. Not everyone is interested.

Is a trip to Alpine, Texas inherently any more interesting than a walk in the park? I'm not sure. Either way, you observe things and think about them. My daily walks take two hours and the road trip will take seven hours. Most of my travel west of Fort Worth has been in an airplane. From what I've seen out the window, West Texas is pretty flat and uneventful. If there is a story at all it will probably be found at the observatory itself. We'll see what happens.

It is hard to believe that it is already August. Where has this year gone? Time seems to speed by so fast now that you hate to waste it. Maybe that's why I'm thinking about travel and new experiences more than I have in prior years. In the grand scheme of things, there isn't that much time left. Maybe becoming a space journalist is kind of a worthy goal after all. There are lots of places to visit and things to do. When I was a kid I loved astronomy and read a lot of science fiction. Now, I've come full circle.

I skipped going out to breakfast last week. A restaurant breakfast is starting to sound appealing again. Pancakes, waffles, omelets, or Eggs Benedict? So many choices. It's odd that not a single restaurant I've even been to offers a fruit smoothie for breakfast. It's a shame. I've got a good recipe.

Snoopy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3506

We're going to McDonald Observatory. I finally became confident enough about the weather to make a reservation to spend the night on the top of Mt. Locke looking through one of the observatory's big research telescopes. Only very small groups are allowed on these special viewing nights, so you have to plan well in advance. This is where weather becomes a problem. Luckily, I discovered a website called dryday.com that specializes in providing long range forecasts for construction, agriculture, wedding planners, and anyone else who needs to know when the weather is going to be nice. You have to pay for this service, but for someone as obsessed with weather as I am, the subscription price seemed like a bargain. I know there is no way to absolutely guarantee clear skies months in advance, but I feel better now. This company's track record for predicting the weather is pretty impressive.

This will be the first road trip we've taken in quite a while. I was thinking about taking the train since Amtrak has a stop in Alpine, Texas. The devil is in the details though. Although Amtrak has daily service to Alpine on the westbound run, the train only runs three days a week returning to Dallas. The worst thing about the return trip was that the return train arrives in Alpine at night and only stays at the station for a few minutes. That's bad enough, but the train has a history of being up to three hours late as well. Riding Amtrak isn't cheap anymore either. When you add up the price of two round trip tickets and a rental car in Alpine, the 500 mile drive starts looking better and better.

I spent quite a while travel planning today, but there was still time to punish myself in the sun. It's really hot on my walks these days. I'm basically walking five miles a day and a little more on Sunday's. My effort to stay fit must be working because I've noticed that my average resting heart rate is gradually getting lower. I'm not really adding a lot of muscle, but my legs do feel firmer. I wonder how the runners who pass me on the trails every day do it. I can barely walk in this weather. I wouldn't even consider running.

I've finally run out of the Cadence Kitchen meals I was eating while Janet was away. These meals were delicious and very easy to fix, but they contain too much salt. What now? Maybe I'll try Nature's Plate again. Their kitchen is right in the neighborhood. I used to like these heat and serve vegan meals a lot until their chef became fascinated with sweet potatoes. I'm fine with lentils and chickpeas, but I was never fond of sweet potatoes. I'm not fond of faux meat either. Don't try to trick me with tofu barbecue. If you crave the taste of meat, just eat meat.

I wonder if Sky and Telescope would be interested in an article about my trip to the observatory? Maybe I'll write them tomorrow and see. I'm not going to let my Spaceflight Magazine article go to my head, but I do like writing. I should be writing more. The nice thing about being retired is that I don't have to worry about being rejected. Getting accepted is just a bonus.

Shelby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day