The long and winding roads

Mt Palomar

I had planned to get a tour of all the three "Hale" observatories, but so far, the first did not live up to its expectations. And I never heard back from Mount Palomar. So I decided to just go there as an ordinary tourist. I knew this would mean I would only see the telescope from behind a glass wall, but it was better than nothing. I had an appointment for a special tour of Mount Wilson observatory, so that would at least be something to write home about.
As always, I wanted an early start, so I got up around 6, had a shower and a cereal breakfast before heading out. I had studied the map the previous night, and had written down the directions. They said that most GPS devices sent people to the wrong place, or through roads that were closed. I decided to follow their instructions. At least I knew I was on the right track that way...
It was quite easy to follow the roads. And they led me through some interesting areas south of Palm Springs. Probably not the most traveled, from what I could see. As always, it is the way I like it.
When I started on the road up the mountain, it was clear that this road was a long and winding one. It twisted and turned around the bends of the mountain. It was magnificent. The views where spectacular, and they of course, knew this. They had put up vista points here and there for people to stop and just enjoy the view. And take pictures. So if you're not interested in astronomy or telescopes, the ride up there is worth the trip anyways.

Panorama from one of the vista points

After about two hours drive, I came to the top and parked in the visitors parking lot. I was the first one there. Promising. For me at least. That meant I could be alone in the visitors gallery.
They had just opened. I walked up a small footpath to a small museum and souvenir shop. The museum had some information about the site and about astronomy performed there. A lady was busy opening the shop when I arrived. I checked out the stuff on sale and decided to come back afterwards.
I walked the rest of the footpath up to the giant. And what a giant! The building for the 200" was a thing of beauty. It is ginormous! I knew that beforehand, but standing in front of it really made me stand in awe.

I walked into the building and up the stairs to the visitors gallery. Wow! Behind the glass wall was the enormous telescope. I just stood there for a moment to suck it all in. I first saw a picture of this telescope in a book on astronomy when I was a kid. And now I was standing here looking at it. You really have had to be there to understand.

I wanted to take a picture of it, but the reflections in the glass made it near impossible to get a good one. A guy was washing the floor of the gallery and I asked him if it would be possible to turn off the lights for a few seconds so I could get a good picture of it. He walked over to a box on the wall, opened it up and shut off the lights. I took a few snaps and thanked him.
After standing there for a few minutes, I thought the telescope moved. But thought "Noooo. Can't be.". But then I heard the sound of a motor accelerating. It was moving! I filmed it. They moved the telescope back and forth in the RA axis for some reason. Further and further out. The sound of the engine wasn't louder than on my small mount at home! It was thrilling for me to watch as the giant swung with such an ease. Some guy came into the telescope room and pushed a ladder up to the instrument cage at the secondary focus. They were obviously doing some changes to the setup.
I sat down for a while, just watching the giant in front of me. Imagining how it must have been for the astronomers of the time. Sitting in the primary cage up in front. For hours on end. Exposing film. What would it be like to sit there and see the images formed by this giant, on the focus in front of them. Not knowing what they saw. Other than how it appeared. I would have loved the chance to look through this piece of art. For 22 years, it was the largest telescope in the world. And it still is the largest telescope on an equatorial mount.
I left after an hour or so. Went to the shop. Bought the t-shirt. And drove down the mountain again. Both satisfied and a bit annoyed. I was hoping to see the telescope up close and personal. But they didn't even bother answering my e-mail. Oh, well. Maybe another time.
On the way down to Palm Springs, I stopped at one point to enjoy the view. And I saw what I thought was a statue of a mountain goat. I have seen a lot of statues of different animals everywhere in Palm Springs, so I assumed this was one of them. But then I realized it moved. It WAS a mountain goat. Nice finishing touch for the day.

Mt Wilson

The next day, I drove up to Mount Wilson, just north of Pasadena. Unlike the two other observatories, I would get a personal tour of the observatory. So I was really looking forward to this day. I had to go through some slightly dense LA traffic to get to the mountain road. But Gale Gant (the guide) warmed me about the traffic, so I decided to get up really early. Started out around 6 in the morning. And I was glad I did. The traffic was already starting to pack up. Not too severe this early, but the 210 had some jammed up traffic on it. But I reached the mountain road after two hours. Not too bad.
The road up the mountain was, if possible, even more stunning an beautiful. More twists and turns on the road. And with no railings on the sides, it was obvious that if you drove too fats, or didn't pay attention, you would take the shortcut down again. Fast. I took some photos on many of the beautiful vista points set up here and there. I was way ahead of schedule, so I had the time. I arrived at the summit about an hour before I was to meet up with Gale. So I parked outside the gates and took some photos of the valleys below.

Beside the gates were a huge area filled with giant antennas. Gale later told me that the radio emission level was just on the limits of what was recommended from the FCC about human presence... Nice to know. He told me that car manufacturers actually drove their cars up here to test their resistance to electromagnetic radiation. "Tesla also brought their car here, but it collapsed completely, so they actually had to push it down again. They never returned to do another test." he said and laughed. "What about your Prius?" I asked. "Oh, Toyota know what they are doing. No problem there."
This tour was wonderful. With a knowledgeable guide who gave me an almost four hour tour of the facilities. Including a close up and personal tour of the first reflector giants Hale founded. The 60" and the 100" telescope. The 100" is an improved version of the 60". And the 200" at Mount Palomar is a very improved version of the 100", Gale told me.

The four hours went by like a few minutes. And I was filled with information and impressions. A truly wonderful experience. I drove down the mountain again with a smile on my face. I think I'll be able to write an article about the Hale telescopes after all...