Thursday, April 8, 2010

Star Parties, Off-Roading and Biker Bars

Last Saturday we took a little adventure, (all Brian's idea!!), to Mt. Palomar to see the big telescope there. Things started out nicely with a side stop at the Pala Mission- I love old Spanish missions!There were 2 roads to the telescope, and we took the road less traveled. Very less traveled! The Nate Harrison Road starts out innocently enough, winding through the avocado and blossoming orange groves in the valley (our favorite part, right, Lindsey?), then turning into a steep dirt road that climbed up the mountains in switchbacks. Bruce "didn't trust the dirt" but drove up just fine and we made it up just fine. Here a shot of the groves from our moving car:
It was cold at the top, but colder on the tour inside the observatory, since they keep it a chilly 36 degrees inside! Maybe it seemed even colder that that as we listened to an enthusiastic, but lengthy lecture on the history of the telescope! The lighting was dark inside, but I pulled off this picture by steadying my camera on a railing. There's a 30 foot wide mirror somewhere in there:Then we got to walk around the outside catwalk- we're about 40 feet up. C would never be able to pull this one off:
Of course we had to have a posing shot. I thought Brian and Lindsey were trying to be like the Angel Moroni in honor of conference, but they were really pretending to look through telescopes.
We took the more traditional way down the mountain, stopping at Mother's Kitchen for lunch. Lots of bikers at this sprout and what bread-friendly spot.A typical Brian pose- either he's pulling a face or purposely looking away...sigh.A fun day- finished with the menfolk going to the priesthood session and we girls watching:

3 comments:

  1. I love the orange grove shot!
    Looks like you had a great adventure.

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  2. Yeah, I'm hyperventilating just thinking about the catwalk thing....

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  3. Totally the best part! Except next time we are going to pick some fruit!!

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