Red Rocks and Lowell

October 30, 2010

We drove through Oak Creek Canyon this morning to Sedona and Jerome. When they say "Red Rock Country" they aren't kidding!! These rocks in the photos to the left are just a few miles south of Flagstaff, but as you get south of Sedona, some of them are almost a rich mahogany color.

Oak Creek Canyon is a state park, with a lot of campgrounds, picnic areas, lodges and resorts, plus Indian artisans at every parking area. There aren't many pull-off areas to take photos. One good place was at Midgley Bridgely just north of Sedona.

We drove up to Jerome, but, again, nice sunny Saturday, limited parking, big truck. We had gone because the owner of Purl in the Pines said she thought the yarn store there was worth a look (it has the yarn arranged by color, rather than weight or fiber content). But we just couldn't find any parking, so we enjoyed our view and went back north.

Same thing for Sedona...we just aren't into high-end shopping, so we dropped into the library (gorgeous library) and cruised main a couple of times and then headed back because we had plans for the late afternoon and evening.

Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff is where Pluto was discovered. This dome  holds the historic  telescope that was taking visual images helping to look for what was then called Planet X, but the actual discovery was made in an office nearby, using the blink comparator. There was a contest to name the new planet and an 11-year-old girl from England had the winning entry.

Meet Clark...no, not the guy, he's Glen. The telescope!! Alvan Clark but for those of us on intimate terms, we just call him Clark. He's a refractor.

We had great tours, both given by Glen, who is an amateur astronomer/educator for Lowell.

It was a bright sunny day, but observatories are not heated (something to do with equalizing the temp when the shutters are opened) so it was a bit chilly. Between the first and second tours Bob went out and got our sweatshirts. The wind also was kicking up a bit.

I did mention that Clark and I are on intimate terms, didn't I? Well, here's what I got to do----I got to move it, and got to move the dome as well!!! Pretty cool, huh?

And Bob? Yes, he was there. And, yes, he got to move it too. In fact he was the first person to volunteer and almost knocked Glen over jumping down the three steps, so he forgot to give me the camera to take a photo. So, he may have a story to tell, but I have photographic proof!!

We went back after dinner for the night viewing and had a great time. The winds were too strong to open Clark's shutters, but we did get to see the Andromeda galaxy and Jupiter (with one moon). Very, very fun.

We leave tomorrow, heading further north. But to recap Flagstaff....I could live here. GREAT yarn store, lots of really interesting and neat things to see in and around the town (Grand Canyon is 70 miles, Sedona is 28, Meteor Crater is 35), a really terrific library, and, of course, Clark.