Maunakea

/

The Maunakea visit was probably the most planned day of our stay in Hawaii for several reasons. We had to rent a car from a local company that permitted taking the car up the mountain (the nationwide car rental companies don’t allow it) and we had to prepare ourselves for the altitude change. Our rental house was at about 3,000 feet; the Maunakea vistor center is at 9,200 feet and the summit (where the telescopes are) is at 14,000.

We started our preparation for our Maunkea adventure the day before by taking a gingko supplement and planning our water supply. The next morning we got up and took another gingko and my daughter put us on a schedule for drinking water. We stopped at the Kipuka at the intersection of the saddle road and the road leading up the mountain.

We climbed the Kipuka and had a snack. I could already feel that the elevation has changed a little. A thin layer of very dark lava is along both sides of the saddle road at this point.The kipuka provided and opportunity for some close up pictures of common mullein (an invasive at higher elevations in Hawaii) and

Some other plants.

Then we drove up to the Maunakea Visitor Information Station. This part of the road is still paved and easy enough in a regular vehicle. Everyone is required to stay at the information station for at least an hour before proceeding up the mountain. We drank a lot more water and ate some crystalized ginger. Our strategy worked…no headaches, no nausea…our bodies were responding to the altitude change reasonably well although we were intentionally not doing any fast walking or running. We made use of our hour with some shopping in the store, observing the cloud deck that was below us and

The side of the mountain above us.

The road from the visitor information station and the telescopes is not paved and often bumpy. It requires a 4-wheel drive vehicle. At the top it is cold and windy. We were prepared with coats and gloves. Our original plan was to tour the Keck but it was not open when we were there but we drove around on the road connecting the telescopes taking pictures of them from the outside and down the mountain. It was bitterly cold and windy…and the altitude (14,000 feet!) made it hard to do anything quickly.

We got our parking spot for sunset. There were other people with the same idea. Everyone huddled in their cars between forays to take pictures. The two round domes connected to each other are the Keck.  The sunset at the cloud deck….and you see the mountains of Maui peeking through the clouds in the distance behind the telescopes.

As we got ready to head down the mountain, we commented that it must have been too windy for the telescopes to open…..but as we made our way down the road our line of sight changed and we saw that one of the Keck’s had opened.

Everyone is required to come down the mountain within 15 minutes of sunset. The visitor center hosts star viewing…..and then it is time to head for our vacation rental in Volcano HI.

Previous Hawaii Posts:

Staunton River Star Party

/

My husband and I spent last Monday and Tuesday at the Staunton River Star Party (held at Staunton River State Park). The park is an International Dark Sky Park….lots more stars visible than in the area where we live. The park prepared well for the event – with star party themed jack-o-lanterns, red cellophane on all windows were white light my leak, and paths marked with red snake lights or small red LEDs on stakes.

The observing field already had a lot of people setting up by the time we got there but we managed to get a spot that was close to one of the electrical hubs – good to be able to run equipment directly and/or easily recharge batteries during the day. We started to unpack and quickly discovered that we had forgotten our tent! Fortunately we did have the tent-like cover for the back of our SUV and some extra tarps. My husband and I managed to sleep inside the car on an air mattress (it helped that he was observing until the wee hours of the morning since the space was a narrow enough that we could only roll over in unison)!

We tied one side of a tarp to the roof rack and used tripods we had brought for our cameras to hold the corners away from the car. The wind came close to knocking the tripods over before we hung heavy equipment bags as weights. Having the tarp helped during the day when it got a bit warm in the bright sunshine.

I took sunrise and sunset pictures too: Sunrise on Tuesday morning. Note the various tents, trailers, awnings and cars…the whole field looked like this with a lattice of drive lanes to provide just enough organization so vehicles could get in and out.

Sunset on Tuesday evening. There were enough clouds at sunset that everyone was looking around for signs of clearing…and it did by the time it was fully dark.

Sunrise Wednesday morning – a few hours before we left. There were quite a few crows greeting the sun and they seemed to like the bare tree – stopping there before moving about and sometimes coming back to perch again for a little while.

The clouds on that last morning looked like they were losing part of themselves as they floated into morning.

The dew was heavy both nights we were at the star party and people generally called it a night before 3 AM. Those that did not have heaters to keep condensation off their mirrors had to stop earlier. I took pictures walking around during the mornings when the telescopes were generally neatly covered.

 

 

I took one short hike and found more fungi than I expected. There were a few colorful trees as well. Otherwise – I was feeling relaxed and lazy with the flurry of star party activity going on all around me.

 

 

North Carolina Barrier Islands

/

I’ve posted about the light houses and Jockey Ridge State Park in the past few days which are both part of the barrier island scene. Today I’m picking up the best of the rest from a couple of days on the Barrier Islands of North Carolina.

There was the beach of course.

Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate to provide a good sunrise. I contented myself with the morning light on the pines

And yucca pods.

There were a lot more beach houses right along the shore than when we were there years ago and many had their own private boardwalk over the dunes and roofed decks with stairs down to the beach.

We didn’t see as many birds as we had anticipated. I watched an egret long enough to get a picture after a successful catch!

There were a lot of birds overhead in nice Vs.

There was a kite surfing class in the shallows of the sound.

In one place we saw three different turtles. There was a large snapping turtle.

But I’m not sure what these other two are.

The sunset from our hotel room balcony was not bad. The pedestal in the distance is on a sand dune…The Wright Brothers Memorial at Kitty Hawk.

Tucson Sunset

/

Taking time to observe the sunset is something I do on vacation more than other times. I photographed three sunsets while we were in Tucson in January.

The first was when we were driving back into Tucson from our three day road trip that took us to Montezuma’s Castle, Sunset Crater, Wupatki, Grand Canyon, Meteor Crater, Painted Desert, and Petrified Forest…taking the scenic route through Show Low and the White Mountains on the last leg when the sun we down as we got close to Tucson. I was in the passenger seat and took pictures of the sunset as it progressed. There appeared to be rain that was not reaching the ground at one point but then there was enough clearing for the color to develop and reflect.

The second sunset was a disappointment although we did confirm that the Gates Pass Overlook in Tucson Mountain Park (taking Speedway west to W Gates Pass Rd) was an excellent place for sunset viewing. There are lots of saguaro and teddy bear cactus to catch the evening light. At first we thought the break between two cloud layers would make a great sunset but the lower layer was too thick and there was only a little color.

The third sunset was our second attempt from the Gates Pass Overlook. There were some modern technology intrusions - helicopters and a drone - but all was quiet as the sun actually set. It was worth the effort….the best sunset while we were in Arizona!  I started out with a picture of the teddy bear cactus glowing in evening light…then concentrated on the sky.