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...

On the road to Cima.

I set the GPS for my hotel in Palm Springs, California. There was a lot of traffic on the interstate south to Los Angeles. But my GPS had other plans for me. Off the interstate and on to a smaller county road. But before that, I passed something I really liked. A solar powerplant. Using thousands of small mirrors, they heat up water in a tower and use this to generate electricity. I love it.

Solar power plants outside of Las Vegas

As I started on the road off the interstate, it became clear that this was the road less traveled. And then the GPS told me to get off this road and onto one that looked like it hadn't been maintained since the fifties. And then another turn off even this road. It was clear that I was really on the outback roads of the US now. I looked at the fuel gauge. I had enough fuel. I had enough water. No worries. I headed out on the rumble road. It was really bad, with potholes and cracks all over. And the temperature was in the 40's. I smiled. I turned off the aircon just to get the real feel of the desert I was crossing into. The Mojave. No cell coverage. No fuel stations. No watering holes. No nothing. I was smiling so wide I was worried I might get earwax in my mouth. THIS is what I like.

The heat was incredible. Without the aircon, I was soaking in minutes. I played chicken with the GPS on who would give in first to the heat. Who won? A little hint : Electronics don't sweat...

109 F = 43 C

I stopped in a small place called Cima. It seemed to have been a train stop and a place for a drink. But it seemed to have been abandoned for years. I decided to take a selfie there. Love such places in the middle of nowhere.

I guess a cold drink is out of the question?

After this, the road really went into the desert. It was brutally hot, and I needed to put the aircon back on. The GPS was flashing that it was overheating. I managed to cool it down. I guess I would have been able to get out of the desert without it, it just would have taken longer.
After an hour, I came to a small town called Amboy. I found that it was on the original Route 66. Good to know for later.

Diner in Amboy, on Route 66.

And now the number of cars increased. And they were racing on the roads. Probably didn't expect any cops to be around these parts. They couldn't be more wrong. One car raced past me. They must have been going at least 30 km/h above the speed limit. A bit later, I saw the unmistakable looks of a highway patrol car turning around on the road ahead. A few minutes later, I saw the patrol car with flashing lights. Parked in front of it, was the car that raced by. I couldn't help but feel nothing for them.
I closed in on Palm Springs, and drove through some desert towns. Complete with flying saucers on front lawns. I don't know how people can live out in these places. Far from anything. In scorching heat. And incredible dry. But whatever works for you.

Before entering Palm Springs, I drove through some of the most beautiful sights I know in a modern world. A forest of windmills. Generating energy from a renewable source. The temperature dropped as I drove into Palm Springs. Only 40 degrees... So almost bearable.

Nearing Palm Springs

I checked in to my hotel and got into the cool air of the room. I drank almost 2 litres of water during the evening in an attempt to rehydrate myself. Was it worth it? Definitely. This was one of my best driving days. Looking forward to trying out driving on Route 66 back to Chicago.

Three states and a strip

As usual, I got up early to get going south. Next stop : Las Vegas. Salt Lake city was just a stop, but I did some walking just to see if there was anything there to look at. As I walked, I noticed a familiar sound, and turned to see what it was. Yup. A tram moved along the street. That's a first. Except in San Franscisco. This morning, I wanted to drive by the mormon temple. So I plotted it in on the GPS and drove there. It wasn't far away, but I found no parking spot nearby, so I ended up just shooting a picture of it from the street. And then I plotted the address for my hotel in Las Vegas.

Mormon temple

This time, the drive was only on interstate 15 south. But it still involved some stunning views here and there. And I was intrigued to see that I just touched the state of Arizona. And it was a beautiful touch at that. A drive through a canyon down from the highlands. The temperature rose quite significantly. From around 20C to over 37. The descent actually reminded me of a shorter version of the drive from Dombås to Åndalsnes in Norway. Starting on the planes, and descending into an ever deeper valley.

Chillin' at a rest stop

After about 6 hours, Las Vegas appeared on the horizon. A cluster of tall buildings in the centre of a shallow valley. The way to my hotel led me right past "the strip". Wow! What a display of opulence! My hotel was at the opposite side. Both in style and in location. I found that it was actually on the same street as "the strip", but just 5 km away. So in the evening, when the sun had set, I decided to walk the distance. After all, I had mostly been driving the last few days. And I normally walk 2 hours a day. It was a good walk. Although as per usual, the sidewalks had a tendency to disappear in the middle of nowhere. I walked to the Luxor. Took some pictures and walked back. I stopped at the famous Las Vegas sign and took a selfie. The spot was filled with stag-parties and hen-parties. Girls and boys with far too little clothes and far too much to drink waltzing around screaming and shouting like the world depended on it. On the other side of the road was th "parking lot" for private jets. Large and small. Old and new. Stacked, racked and packed. This was truly the valley of the rich. And those who wanted to be. And ended up making others rich.

Las Vegas on the horizon

The strip

Selfie, trying to avoid catching the half-nude, hammered,
screaming hen-party nearby

Parking lot for the super rich

The next day, I found that there was a backdoor that led directly to my car. So I took that elevator down instead, so I didn't have to lug my stuff all the way down to the reception. As I pressed the button, I noticed a "business card" stuck into the panel. A picture of two girls. One with her legs spread right in your face, showing everything. "Special offer : Two girls for $99". You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Me! I felt the need to wash my hands afterwards. I felt dirty just touching the buttons in the elevator.

I checked out of the hotel and drove out on the highway. As I ascended up from the valley where Las Vegas is located, there was a few lines from a song that rang through my head. It was the start of a song by Chris Rea. Most people have never heard this part because it is never played on radio. And I thought to myself : "How fitting".

"She said 'son what are you doing here
My fear for you has turned me in my grave'
I said 'mama I come to the valley of the rich
Myself to sell'
She said 'son, this is the road to hell' "

                        - "Road to Hell", Chris Rea

In the long run

The next leg was the longest so far. I got up at 4 and had a shower. I knew I had to leave early so I wouldn't arrive too late in Salt Lake City. A 1000 km drive. The sun had just barely risen when I started. It felt good. Almost nobody on the road. My GPS led me through the backways of Wyoming and Utah. I was thinking of maybe trying to also see Devil's Tower, but first of all it would mean another hour on the road, and secon, my GPS would surely lead me onto the interstates. They are great for getting somewhere fast, but not for the view. And what a scenery I was lead through on the US-roads. Almost no traffic. And it was the areas where the buffalo roamed. Literally. The green, green grass of home. The buffaloes where grazing by the road, but I didn't notice them until I passed, so I didn't manage to shoot any pictures of them...
Although this was some LOOONG leg, it was also so far the most pleasant. It took 11 and a half hours. Of which only the last few hours were on the I-80 West. Not much happening to Salt Lake other than enjoying the beautiful scenery. Here are some samples. Enjoy!

Into Salt Lake City

Crazy times and Crazy Horse

I got up quite early. I wanted an early start for todays leap across South Dakota. Yesterday was the longest run so far. One and a half state. It wasn't too bad. But today, I was planning to go to see the two monuments, man-made such, that made this state famous. As far as I know. Mount Rushmore with it's four heads of dead presidents and Crazy Horse monument. None of these are actually finished. Crazy Horse has barely the face finished. The presidents where supposed to be complete busts, but the artist, Gutzon Borglum, died before he could finish them.
The drive across South Dakota was enjoyable. Things here and there to look at. People and sights. I was running low on fuel at one point, and started looking for a gas station. Suddenly, a sign appeared. "Gas and original 1880's town." How could I pass on that combo? At first, I thought it would probably be some sort of Hollywood thingy, but decided it would be fun to see the "model" anyways. So I stopped by. After filling the tank, I paid my dollars to get in. I was surprised to see that it was actually original. All buildings had where from the 1880's. I loved it. I walked through the town, taking loads of pictures. Trying to imaging what it must have been like to live there in those times. After spending close to an hour walking around, a bus-load of tourists arrived, and the genuine scenes where gone. Couldn't get a clean shot (photo of course) of any building anymore. So I left. This was FUN!

The main street leading to the church

The reception of the hotel. The damages from the spurs
could still be seen in the hotel.

The saloon. This was the only building still in use.

Little school on the prairie?

According to the guy at the entrance, I had passed into "mountain time" 4 miles before the town, so I had reset my watch. I arrived at my hotel in Rapid City around 11am. Not too bad. The girl in the reception couldn't give me a room yet, so I headed south to see the monuments before checking in. Tourist attractions? Think fresh cow dung to flies. It was obvious when driving up to Mount Rushmore that this was a place well visited. It wasn't exactly rush-hour to Rushmore (no pun intended), but there was a steady stream of cars in the road. I stopped a bit from the entrance and took some photos. At the entrance, it was packed, so I decided to continue to crazy horse. I had seen it, and taken photos of the monument, so there was no need to enter the beehive.

One of the people who originally worked on the Mount Rushmore monuments, Korczak Ziolkowski, was approached by the elders of the Lakota tribe. They wanted him to make a monument of their great hero. Crazy Horse. He was stabbed in the back by a soldier while carrying a truce flag, and died at the age of 24. The elders wanted "white man to know red man had heroes too.". It took several years before the work started. And it was slow and painstaking. The first blast to start the sculpture was fired at June 3rd 1948. And Ziolkowski worked his whole life with little or no money to finish it. When he died in 1982, he had barely started the outline. His 10 children and his wife continued the work. He didn't want it to be a government project, so all money for the project comes from contributions and the money made from entrance fees and proceedings from sales at the site. Most of the explosives are gifts, according to a film shown at the site. I must say that I am impressed at the patience shown for this project. It started in 1948, and to date, only the face is finished. The rest is still being carved out of the mountain. When it is finished, it will be the largest sculpture in the world. 550 feet tall. And depict Crazy Horse on his horse, pointing. He was asked by a white man. "Where are your lands now?" He replied : "My lands are where my dead lie buried." And that is what the sculpture is pointing at. Although I have read that native americans never point with their fingers....

Current state

The model

What the area surround the monument will look like when
it is finished

I found that on the 26th of June every year, they had a special "night blast" where they blasted off several charges simultaneously with fireworks and stuff. And I realized it was this day! So I really wanted to come back for this.
I drove back to town to see if my room was ready. It was. I dumped my gear in the room and headed out into town. Some really black clouds rolled in. So I bought some snacks and headed back. It looked like the nights events would rain over. So I decided to stay in town instead of going to Crazy Horse for the fireworks. And BOY! was I glad. God's own fireworks was plenty enough. I was lying in bed, about one hour before the event at Crazy Horse, when I thought the aircon was starting to act up. Then I realized it was rain. I looked outside, and The Flood part II was taking place outside. It was POURING. And there was some serious lightning and thundering going on. In fact, the lightnings where so many and so frequent, the thunder was just a loud, continuous rumbling. I filmed it for a while just to document. And I was really glad I didn't opt for the fireworks at Crazy Horse. Besides, I had a long day ahead of me tomorrow. Driving all the way to Salt Lake City. This will be the longest leg on my journey. 10 hours of driving. But more on that in a another post.

Highways, byways and sideways

This vacation started out the worst possible way. I woke up and the world was spinning. "Well isn't the world always spinning?". Well yeah. But not this kind of spinning. When it is in your head.
I don't know why I woke up that way. But I suspect too little sleep the last days before I left. Too little water the day before, and a bit of stress at work before I left. I got out of bed and went to the bathroom. I felt nauseous. I had something to eat and drink, and felt a bit better. I drank a lot of water. Hoping it would help. It did to a certain degree. I sat at the airport feeling dizzy. In addition, I had developed a slight headache. 10 hours of flying with a headache and nausea? Oh, boy! Oh, joy! Not...
As could be expected, the trip was far from pleasant. I had to sit in a special way not to get nauseous. And my head felt like a aching ball of pain. I just wanted it to be over. After some shakin' and a'rattling across Lake Michigan, we finally landed at O'Hare. Ten minutes ahead of schedule. Not a minute too late according to my head...
Passport control. Self service? Yes indeed. We were sent to some machines where we filled out some questionnaire and got a receipt. Then we brought this to some officers at the passport control to get out passports stamped. "Why are you going to Wisconsin?" the lady officer wanted to know. Is Wisconsin that uninteresting? I thought up a funny comeback, but she didn't look like somebody who was in the mood for a wise-guy, so I replied in a polite manner. Sigh. Would be great if I could just go for it sometimes...
I got through customs and found the shuttle for the rental car company. When I entered, the driver looked at me and asked "You got a reservation, young man?". "Yup". "Ok then. Be seated!". Then we drove off, with Motown blasting from the speakers, I noticed the driver singing of all his might. And what a voice he had! I had to smile. Really livened up my day. After some serious waiting-time at the rental company, I finally was on my way to my first destination. I had already arranged for a tour of the Yerkes observatory at Williams Bay. I had to be there at 4pm. The GPS told me I would arrive 5 minutes before that. I had to admit my foot was a bit heavy on the gas. But only a bit. And I arrived 10 minutes to 4. I had time to take some photos from the outside. Then I waited, and waited. And waited. A family arrived and walked up to the front door. Found it locked. I texted the guy. A few minutes later, he appeared at the door. The family asked if there where guided tours today. He confirmed that. I got his attention, and said I had an agreement with him to get a tour of the observatory.
"You did? Oh. Sorry. When?"
"Today at 4."
"And what time is it now?"
"A quarter past."
"Ah. Errrrr. Come in."
After I came in, he asked if it would be OK if we brought the family with us too. I agreed. Big mistake. The big tour I was hoping for, ended up going completely sideways. With focus on making it as fun as possible for the kids. Which meant I was the sideshow. And only after a lot of show and tell and "fun facts", we finally arrived at the telescope.
WOW! Now THAT'S what I call a telescope! With a lens 102 cm in diameter, 19.4 meter focal length, it makes my puny 8cm, 0.48 meter focal length telescope look like a toy in comparison. It is really difficult to comprehend the size of this beauty. And the beauty. It is a work of art. It is about as large as a lens telescope can be, and consequently, it is still the largest lens telescope (refractor) in the world.

This was the first leg of the "Hale"-story. The worlds biggest telescopes. After this telescope, Hale went on to building three bigger ones. But this time, with mirrors instead of lenses. Mirrors can be supported on their back and can thus be as big as the glass manufacturers can make them. Lenses can only be supported at the edges, and they sag under their own weight. If they get bigger than about 1 meter across, they become impossible to handle.
After this half-failure, I headed north to my first hotel. In Sun Prairie. At this point, I was completely shot. My head was throbbing. And I was seriously tired. I got to my room and dropped on the bed. Fell asleep. But since the jet-lag was rearing its ugly head, I woke up at 2 am... I drowsed for a few more hours before getting up. After breakfast I headed out. I had my next stop at Sioux Falls. Not because I had something I wanted to see there, but because it seemed like a reasonable leg for the day.
I decided to try to drop in on some smaller towns too. And I remembered that a friend had lived in two smaller towns in Wisconsin. They were both en route to Sioux Falls. Well, at least kinda. Baraboo and Reedsburg.

Baraboo

Reedsburg

They were NOT like I had envisioned them. I thought they were going to be a small collection of houses with a local store and a gas-station. And a few farms and nothing more. But I guess I don't know much about typical small places in the US. But it was fun to see them. And I got to drive through some nice landscapes on my way there and back to the highway.
Back on the I-90 west, I cruised almost all the way through Minnesota before the fuel gauge started lighting up. The needle suddenly dropped scarily fast. But finally, I sighed of relief when a sign told me of a gas station up ahead. I pulled in and filled the tank. I walked in to the counter.
"Gas on...errr..three, I think? The Toyota."
The guy behind the counter punched in the numbers and I swiped my card while he shared from his wisdom.
"I find in interesting that the fronts of Toyotas always looks like they are smiling. Why do they do that? And the Volvos. Always look like the square face of a man."
I just smiled and took the receipt. Guess there's not much happening behind the counter. So he needed something to think about to keep his brain working. After all, Einstein developed his theory of relativity while being bored at a patent office...
7 and a half hours after I headed out from Sun Prairie, I arrived at my hotel in Sioux Falls. It was located in the least interesting parts, it seemed. An industrial area. With a couple of gas-stations nearby. But teh hotel was was nice. Big rooms, and friendly staff. I walked to a "Food'n fuel"-shop a 10 minute walk away. And it was, as before, obvious to me that the US is not made for walking. Even if your boots are. So if your boots are going to walk all over something, it will definitely not be the US of A. My short trip to the food store took several dashes across a road with lots of traffic. And sidewalks? What sidewalks? Oh, you mean the things that stop in the middle of nowhere? Oh, well. I got where I wanted. And found some dinner and some snacks.
Laying on the bed. Enjoying free WiFi. And some snacks. And some movie on the TV. I think I will go to bed early today too. Tomorrow, I am heading further west. Have driven across one and a half state today. Tomorrow, I will take it more easy. But it is looking good, so far. Still enjoying it. The driving. The sights from the road. 20 days to go. Looking forward to those.

Big glass, dead presidents and four thousand miles of road

Roadtrip. When I and a friend went to the US for the first time, we originally had planned to rent a car and drive. We ended up driving on the Greyhound. This Easter, I rented a car, and drove some 2500 km in 5 days. I had suspected it would be a really tiring experience, but much to my surprise, I found it quite easy. So when contemplating what to do this vacation, a roadtrip through the US for 3 weeks actually sounded quite appealing. A few weeks ago, I decided to go for it.
I would fly in to Chicago, and drive to Los Angeles and back. I found a suitable route. Googe maps reported it would be 4500 miles. Believe it or not, but it looked like a plan. 4500 miles in 3 weeks? No problems. Sure, some of the legs would be very long. But most would be very doable.
I have no plans to stop at every tourist attraction along the way. I only have a few "must-see" places. One thing I wanted to do, was to follow in George Ellory Hale's tracks. He founded 3 observatories with four of the largest telescopes (of their time) in the world. The Yerkes refractor outside of Chicago, the Mount Wilson observatory outside of Chicago, and finally Mount Palomar observatory outside of San Diego. Big glass, and I wanted to see them all.
I found that Mount Rushmore (the dead presidents on the rock face) was actually in South Dakota. Silly me, imagined it to be somewhere completely different. Like Arizona or something. And the Crazy Horse monument isn't far away. Two giant rocky monuments for the price of one drive. Not bad.
And then following Route 66 back to Chicago. Well, more or less. I wanted to check out Memphis and Nashville too. Just for fun. And because.
How many photos will I take? Have no idea. The whole point of this trip will be to just drive. Look at the landscape. The small towns. The highways and byways. See wherever the road takes me. And just enjoy the ride!
I will blog when I feel like it, and have something to write about. Maybe add some photos if I have them. Otherwise, just stories, thoughts and observations.

Ragnar
Roadtripper