Ohio to California - Day 4

El Paso, TX It's always interesting to see the US/Mexico border. On the US side it's nice and clean, even from a distance. Look across the border and the hills are covered with ramshackle houses and streets. New Mexico New Mexico was amazingly beautiful. I think it was the sweeping rainstorms that gave the land a much more appealing look than either Texas or Arizona. Very Large Array - Socorro, NM http://vla.nrao.edu/ Wikipedia The VLA is absolutely amazing. In the movie Contact they showed it in it's D configuration where all the antennas are a mere 4/10ths of a mile from end to end. I saw it in it's A configuration, where it's 13 miles from the center to the end of the arms. It's really hard to imagine how far away 13 miles is, even when the antennas are gigantic. Just as I was getting there a snow storm hit. I found the road and risked driving in, I've wanted to see the VLA for ten years and I wasn't about to miss the opportunity. I found the center and was able to take a great picture of the mini next to the 230 ton antenna. On the way out I stopped on the side of the road and waited about 20 minutes, the storm passed and I was able to take some excellent photos of the area. Stopped for the night outside of Flagstaff, AZ at about 9pm. This was the worst hotel I've stayed at, *ever*. The door and window didn't lock, so I wedged a chair between the bed and the door and hoped no one would try the window. I slept lightly on the lumpy bed but made it through all right. Next time I *will not* stay at a place that has a damaged sign or that looks in disrepair. If they don't care about their appearance, they probably don't care much about you or your posessions either. On to Day 5

kallahar.com Home Page - kallahar@kallahar.com - Hosted by DreamHost