Palomar Mountain

Yesterday, Gail and I celebrated our first "anniversary" by going on an adventure to Palomar Mountain.  The drive should have taken about one and a half hours, but it looked like there was a scenic route going up the mountain.  This route quickly turned into a 10 mile dirt road, that was narrow, steep, and strewn with rocks and pot holes.

Thunderstorms have been frequent in the mountains this month due to humidity and heat.

The slow going was perfect for birdwatching, etc.  We only saw one other vehicle.  I had an epiphany of sorts, and came up with the name "Dusty" for our trusty Honda CRV.

At the top of the mountain is the Palomar Observatory, finished in 1947.  It still is a workhorse telescope today, when the skies are clear.  It was the world's largest light telescope for a number of years, and can see galaxies over 11 billion light years away.  The concrete containment dome is 135 feet high, and rotates smoothly.

George Hale was the impetus for making this telescope twice as large as his pevious one, also the world's largest.

Inside the containment dome, you can watch the scientists behind glass, puttering around.  That round object at the bottom of the picture is the 200 inch reflecting mirror - "The Big Eye" as it was called by the thousands of folks who lined the train route to see the Pyrex mirror blank pass by at 25 mph on its journey from Corning Glass Works in New York, to Caltech in Pasadena.  When the mirror blank was cast, it took 10 months to cool.  At Caltech, another four years was spent grinding the concave, removing more than five tons of glass! 

To give you an idea of the size of the equipment, look for the woman scientist standing behind the ladder.  The scene looks like a cross between Star Wars and St. Peter's Basilica!

There is a separate building with kiosks explaining some of the wonders of the universe, and recent discoveries.

We later hiked and found a place to have our picnik - just in time to watch the sun starting to set.  The mountain was very active with acorn woodpeckers, western bluebirds, band tailed pigeons, goldfinches, juncos, red tail hawks, and our most exciting bird ID - a pair of Swainson's hawks.  Check the nifty picnik pack that Gail found at the Escondido Goodwill!

Parts of the mountain have burned in the past few years, but regrowth is well on its way.

Going over the trail map as the sun imparts its glow.

Southern California haze makes for pretty sunsets!

The sunset setting on the camera and digital zoom adds drama!

As we drove out of the state park, we spotted a Southern Pacific rattlesnake on the road, soaking up the heat.  We stopped and shooed him off the road for his safety.  And so ended another fine day of discovery, celebration, and adventure.