Merced, CA to Lake Tahoe, CA

Morro Bay, CA to Merced, CA

Finally!! The Pacific coast...

Most of the "dots" on the beach are very large seals, sunning themselves, but there were also some males fighting in the surf.

The camera does not capture the extreme switchbacks very well, but here are two attempts:


(The road between two mountains: we are heading to the right, and have come right-to-left around the mountain road visible in background though a valley switchback.)



(This picture shows the winding road ahead, and the switchback in the background left.)






The highway hugs the cliffs all along the coast. Notice the bridge in the background centre of the picture. There was quite a bit on repair/construction going on, and we were stopped several times.





The iconic cliff/surf picture! There was no retaining wall or fence!





Unfortunately, as we approached Big Sur the the fog started moving in.







Although there were quite a few cars on the highway, occasionally there was a break and we could stop for photos. [The sign says "No Parking at Any Time".]




Big Sur, the highest cliffs and the best view south - when clear! When we reached it, the fog was rolling in and clouds were getting thicker.






Yes!! We did find the way to San Jose!

Barstow, CA to Morro Bay, CA

From the desert to the Pacific!

Flagstaff, AZ to Barstow, CA

Across the Mojave Desert: at night - of course!

Flagstaff, AZ: Meteor Crater and Lowell Observatory

Another hot day! The weather Service issued a heat warning again today. Yesterday Flagstaff hit a record high of 88F (31C) and today was just as hot.
We left first thing in the morning for Meteor Crater, but it was still incredibly hot when we got there. The exhibit centre has some great displays, including an 1100 lb piece of the iron-nickel meteor and a tribute to Eugene Shoemaker.

We went on the 1/2 mile hike along the rim and nearly got heat-stroke, but it was well worth it; got some great pictures!
For lunch we found a great micro-brew pub in Flagstaff, the Beaver Street Brewery, where we had enormous salads! and two great local pints. Suitably fortified, we went to Lowell Observatory for the afternoon, seeing both the blink comparator used by Clyde Tombaugh to discover Pluto, and the Clark telescope used by Percival Lowell for his Mars studies.

After a short rest to cool down, we returned to Lowell for the night observing program. Surprisingly, there were quite a number of people there; we stood in line to see Saturn through the Clark (unfortunately, not Mars) and M13 through a 16" Dobsonian which was set up on the grounds.

Richfield, UT to Flagstaff, Arizona

Heat!
The day started at ~22C and steadily got hotter.

Grand Junction, CO to Richfield, Utah

What incredible scenery today!
Although the temperature was still warm ~17C to start, it was overcast again. (Denver boasts 300 sunny days a year, and yet we've been here for three cloudy days in a row.)
Drove along the Colorado River to Moab. The twisty, narrow road runs right next to the steep canyon walls.



There are adventure companies that will take you rafting down the river.







About 4:30, we turned a corner and were greeted by a herd of cows. We waited!

Denver, CO to Grand Junction, UT

Denver, CO

Spent the day at DFM Engineering. Frank and Kate Melsheimer welcomed us and showed us some of the pieces that will become our 0.6m telescope. They are building another 24-inch at the same time as ours, so there were "two of everything" on the shelves: the tube, mount yoke, pedestal and mirror cell.

Although DFM has the facilities to grind and polish mirrors, they only do larger (1 m or greater); our mirror is being produced by a company in Florida.

They also demonstrated the articulated eyepiece which will allow easy viewing for children and handicapped persons - it smoothly moves in all directions; Frank's design won him an award.

The University of Victoria's newly completed 0.8m was there for testing. Except to the size of the tube, our mount will be the same size (we will also have a closed tube, whereas UVic's will be an open frame.

Frank let us watch his optical technician Renee finish the grinding of one of the 1.3m telescopes they are making for an Indian research institute. He has designed his own special testing and grinding machines and the lifts for moving around the heavy (and expensive) mirrors.

Software specialist Mark Kelley explained his specially designed control system which is mated with The Sky "planetarium" program. and let us "test-drive" a 0.4m. The set and slew drives are very smooth!

After the tour, Mark Kelley invited Doug us to his home in Boulder for a meal and took us on a hike to see the famous "Flat Irons".

Day Seven - North Platte, NE to Denver, Colorado

Overcast day, 18C. Started with top down. The land is incredibly flat and boring!
Flat countryside with corn and beef cattle is gradually changing into grassy prairie with only black (Angus?) cattle dotting the rises. Saw a small herd of Longhorns just before crossing the Colorado border. Spotted wild turkeys by the side of the road, and some kind of broad-winged hawk wheeling overhead. A crop-dusting biplane made several passes over the field next to the highway about the same place; flashes of Cary Grant in “North By Northwest”!
Just past Fort Morgan we started to see the mountains on the horizon. Arrived in Longmont (just outside of Denver) about 2pm. Will spend the afternoon planning what to do in Colorado; tomorrow we go to DFM Engineering (the company manufacturing the new telescope).

Day Six - Des Moines, IA to North Platte, Nebraska

Still another gorgeous day, 18C and sunny. Gently rolling farmland - corn and hay(?) - gradually becomes flat corn and hay fields, some cattle and horses. Omaha looks bigger than ever and Lincoln didn’t look any more interesting.

Lunch at Perkins just outside of Lincoln. This is a big western restaurant chain; it was difficult to find anything on the menu that wasn’t deep fried (deep fried green beans?? I kid you not!), didn’t have cheese on it, or was fried in butter! I thought I was safe with the Grilled Chicken Spinach Salad, but the chicken had been pan fried in butter after being grilled and it came with Hot Bacon Dressing!

After Grand Island, the highway follows the Platte River - not very wide or deep, but remarkable for just BEING there. Trees seem to grow naturally only next to the river, so you can tell where it is, even though it isn’t very big.

Given all the steak on the hoof outside, we wanted to try a steakhouse in North Platte for dinner, but after finding mixed reviews on all the local ones, we opted for Applebee’s (another large US chain). It was possible to order a small (7 or 8 oz.) steak, and both ours were good, but a little more rare than ordered. When the waitress saw our VISA from the TD Bank, she mentioned how her Polish father emigrated to Winnipeg first, then came to the US, so when she was born he gave her dual citizenship.

Thunderstorms overnight made the car wet, but didn’t clean off the bugs and dust. Decided to wait to wash it until Denver, even though it’s pretty disgusting.