In a little over 24 hours I'll be making my way back to Portland, and I think the weather knows it. We've had two weeks of sunshine, and this morning I woke up in a cloud. I'd almost forgotten what those look like...hee hee.
In honor of the end of this great adventure, I thought I'd put together a list of my favorite Astrocamp experiences. I realize that these lists are usually limited to ten, but...there's too much good stuff, so you get a dozen. In no particular order...
12. Thursday Night Soccer. I haven't played soccer since junior high, but my coworkers were kind enough to invite me to join them for soccer (and good-natured enough not to ask me to leave once they saw my "skills"). We laugh. We chase the ball. And then we all go for cereal afterwards. What's not to love?
11. Fifteen Seconds of Fame. Chris Malott asked me to help with the summer QUEST Lab video. I got to whack another instructor in the head with a toolbox. Whacking this particular instructor has made me something of a celebrity around camp. :)
10. Ultimate SoCal Geology Trip. This weekend was full of so much rock nerd win. Fossils, the San Andreas Fault, a volcano, and the Deathmobile. What an awesome time! Thank you again, Milly, for all your planning.
9. Solar Cookies. We harness the power of the sun to bake cookies in a solar oven. How could this NOT be on my list?!
8. The Zipline. I love riding the zipline. I love working the zipline, especially with fun-loving characters like John, Perie and Geo. I think my favorite zipline shift was working with Gwen, Eric and Christina...what a good time!
7. I Live in a Zoo. And that's just the kids! I love the wildlife in my backyard (well, everything but the snakes). I feel like Cinderella waking up to birds singing outside my window and squirrels scampering across my roof. (Well, they sound like elephants, but I'm pretty sure they're squirrels.)
6. The Rock Wall. A year ago, I would've laughed at you if you'd suggested I would enjoy rock climbing. Goes to show what I know! It's amazing stress relief, as well as a good physical and mental challenge. And I love cheering on the kids when they climb...some of the little monkeys are waaaay better than me! I've only mastered 6 of the 10 routes on the wall, but that's not too bad for a gal who didn't know how to put on a harness before January.
5. Construction Equipment Education. Gus, my manager's three-year-old son, has invested many hours educating me on the differences between compactors, combines, bulldozers, dump trucks and I can't remember what else, often while pretending to be a dragon or dinosaur. Entertaining? You betcha! Thanks Gus!
4. Hiking. If I've got amazing views and good company, I will hike almost anything. Luckily, the trails around camp have both in spades. Whether taking the kids up May Valley, chatting with Geo down Ernie Max, or trying to keep up with Bob and Joe on Tahquitz, I've had a blast trekking the area.
3. 'Scopes. Having access to a telescope is like having the keys to infinity and beyond. Want to see the Orion Nebula? Here ya go. The Pleiades? Right there. And planets? Saturn's rings? Jupiter's stripes? A crescent of Venus? Done, done, done. The view through a telescope eyepiece is spectacular and humbling.
2. Karaoke. (You didn't really think I'd leave this off the list, did you?!) When you work hard, you need to play hard. And we do. We sing our brains out every Friday night. It doesn't even matter what you request, because you'll end up rapping with Jeff and Eric, singing 80's one-hit wonders with Laura, channeling your inner Katy Perry with Zach, belting out Disney tunes with John, Christina and Chris, and joining the huggy circle as Travis growls out "Friends In Low Places."
1. My Peeps. Not the marshmallow kind. The people I've worked, lived, played, laughed and cried with for the last five months are some of the smartest, silliest and generally wonderfullest people I've had the pleasure of meeting. Thank you for an awesome season. I wish you all the very best, and if you should ever depart SoCal and find yourself in NorOr, drop me a line!
Love you all!
Friday, May 25, 2012
Monday, May 7, 2012
SoCal Spring Adventures
Spring has finally arrived at Astrocamp! The lilacs are blooming, the black oaks are getting leafy, and my nose is tickling with all the pollen. I see almost as many lizards sunning themselves as I do squirrels scampering around. Unfortunately all this nice weather also means that the rattlesnakes will be making appearances soon, too.
We had a bit of a heat wave a couple of weekends ago, so a few of us decided to head off the mountain to La Jolla Beach to cool off. Boy, did we cool off (Mom always says "be careful what you wish for"). If I didn't know better, I would've guessed we were closer to Tillamook than San Diego! Since we were there, we all decided to run out for a quick polar bear plunge. After that, we checked out the nearby tidepools....which were AWESOME!
Forget what Hollywood says. This is the real California coast. It's *almost* as cold as the Oregon coast.
(r-l) Christina, Bobby and Bob check out life in one of the tidepools.
The Incredible Mr. Limpit....and Mrs. Limpit, Junior Limpit, Baby Limpit and the rest of the Limpit family!
Don't be crabby! Even with grey skies, the beach is awesome. :)
Cosmic phenomenal beauty....itty-bitty living space.
The following Sunday, I joined a few of the astro-experts for a Messier Marathon. **Warning: Teacher Mode commencing NOW** Messier was an 18th-century comet hunter who found a lot of other awesome things in the night sky besides comets (nebulae, star clusters, and galaxies, oh my!). A Messier Marathon is an insane attempt to stay up all night and view all 110 Messier Objects in one go.
I failed. Miserably. We started at 7:30, and I was already falling asleep on my feet by 9:15. Before I called it quits, I did get a few nice pictures of the evening sky.
The bright spot in the center left, just above the eastern horizon, is Saturn. I have really enjoyed showing the kiddos this amazing planet through the telescope, though many of them think it looks too much like the pictures in books and online to be real.
Here's a couple of old favorites...Venus (r, just between the trees) and Orion in the western sky.
That brings us to my most recent adventure....Expedition Tahquitz Peak, Take 2. I succeeded in rounding up a couple of hiking buddies (as well as a ride up the forest service road to the actual trail head), and yesterday we kicked that mountain's booty!! With an 8.2 miles round trip, and a 2,000' elevation gain from the trail head (finishing at 8,800'), this is definitely the hardest hike I've ever done.
My hiking companions Joe and Bob pondering the meaning of life and the existence of the universe...or maybe just when we should stop for a snack.
Good day, Sunshine! It was a little overcast, but these cheery little flowers lined part of the trail.
Bob sez: I got this, guys. You go on ahead, and I'll hold these rocks up.
We had an amazing 360 degree view from the top. Here's a peek from the peak looking south toward Gardner Valley and Lake Hemet.
This is a cloud. This particular cloud snowed on us as we approached the top. Rude? Why yes, yes it was, especially considering all three of us were in shorts and tee shirts.
We had a bit of a heat wave a couple of weekends ago, so a few of us decided to head off the mountain to La Jolla Beach to cool off. Boy, did we cool off (Mom always says "be careful what you wish for"). If I didn't know better, I would've guessed we were closer to Tillamook than San Diego! Since we were there, we all decided to run out for a quick polar bear plunge. After that, we checked out the nearby tidepools....which were AWESOME!
Forget what Hollywood says. This is the real California coast. It's *almost* as cold as the Oregon coast.
(r-l) Christina, Bobby and Bob check out life in one of the tidepools.
The Incredible Mr. Limpit....and Mrs. Limpit, Junior Limpit, Baby Limpit and the rest of the Limpit family!
Don't be crabby! Even with grey skies, the beach is awesome. :)
Cosmic phenomenal beauty....itty-bitty living space.
The following Sunday, I joined a few of the astro-experts for a Messier Marathon. **Warning: Teacher Mode commencing NOW** Messier was an 18th-century comet hunter who found a lot of other awesome things in the night sky besides comets (nebulae, star clusters, and galaxies, oh my!). A Messier Marathon is an insane attempt to stay up all night and view all 110 Messier Objects in one go.
I failed. Miserably. We started at 7:30, and I was already falling asleep on my feet by 9:15. Before I called it quits, I did get a few nice pictures of the evening sky.
Here's a couple of old favorites...Venus (r, just between the trees) and Orion in the western sky.
My hiking companions Joe and Bob pondering the meaning of life and the existence of the universe...or maybe just when we should stop for a snack.
This strange-but-lovely flower is called Sarcodes. Evidently it's a parasitic high desert plant that thrives on the fungi hanging out on tree roots...um, eewww.
Good day, Sunshine! It was a little overcast, but these cheery little flowers lined part of the trail.
Bob sez: I got this, guys. You go on ahead, and I'll hold these rocks up.
We had an amazing 360 degree view from the top. Here's a peek from the peak looking south toward Gardner Valley and Lake Hemet.
This is a cloud. This particular cloud snowed on us as we approached the top. Rude? Why yes, yes it was, especially considering all three of us were in shorts and tee shirts.
I'm in the home stretch of this grand adventure. Less than three weeks, and I'll be back in Portland for good. As much as I'll miss this, I'm looking forward to being with friends, family, and humidity once again.
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