SEDONA AND THE PINK JEEPS

Tuesday, April 21

Bright and early, we caravanned into the northern part of the Verde Valley to Sedona.  The beautiful red rocks came into view as we traveled up the highway.

Our group divided up into four Pink Jeeps for our tour out to Honanki.  On the way our guides told us about the Sedona area past and present.

Sedona is a city northern Verde Valley region of Arizona. Sedona's main attraction is its array of red sandstone formations. The formations appear to glow in brilliant orange and red when illuminated by the rising or setting sun. The red rocks form a backdrop for many activities, such as spiritual pursuits hiking and mountain biking. The famous red rocks of Sedona are formed by a layer of rock known as the Schnebly Hill Formation. It is a thick layer of red to orange-colored sandstone found only in the Sedona vicinity

 

 

After being instructed to stay on the trail, not stick our hands in the rocks and keep an eye open for rattlesnakes (yikes) we hiked up the trail to visit Honanki.  It is an example of Sinagua architecture with towering stone walls held together by a mixture of water and mud. 

 

Built in an alcove for protection, portions of the structure were two stories high.  It had 70 rooms.

 

Some beams have been carbon dated to 1271.

These people domesticated the turkey.  Their lifespan was about 40 years.

 

 

Our guide pointed out the many images left behind which helped archeologist interpret which cultures made the rock art and when.  In addition to the petroglyphs (carved or pecked in the stone) and pictographs (painted on the stone) there was other graffiti on the rocks.  Anything dated before 1939 is considered "historic graffiti".

 

 

 

 

 

The images may have been a part of a ceremony or storytelling.  Others might represent clan symbols, supernatural beings and hunting trips.

 

 

Researchers believe the Sinagua abandoned Verde Valley about 1400 AD and moved to the Hopi mesas and to the Zuni and other pueblos of New Mexico.

 

Several more stops had us in awe of the spectacular rock formations.

 

Some time was spent exploring the town and of course shopping.  That evening back at the campground we enjoyed some Arizona wines brought back from the previous days wine tasting excursion and an excellent steak cookout.

 

Cooking the T-bones

 

 

 

After dinner, we celebrated the anniversaries of Frank and Marilyn, Don and Norma and George and Donna.

Sally showing off "bling" Sonny bought her It sure was flashing

 

Biosphere 2

BIOSPHERE 2

Saturday, April 18

Biosphere 2  

 

Driving north of Tucson to Oracle, at the base of the Santa Catalina Mountains at 4000 feet elevation, we arrived at an exciting place:  Biosphere 2.  Many of us have been wondering about that designation, and soon realized that Biosphere 1 is our Planet Earth.  This complex was built as a science research facility to study Earth systems without harming the Earth.

 

On our docent lead tour, we explored the chambers inside the Biosphere which was constructed between 1987 and 1991.   The glass and steel structure  is the largest closed system anywhere. There are five areas based on biomes, an agricultural area and human living and working spaces.  The interaction between humans, farming and technology with the rest of nature is studied.

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

There is a 1900 sq meter rain forest

 

 

 

An 850 sq meter Ocean with a coral reef

 

 

A 450 sq meter mangrove wetlands

 

A 1300 square meter savannah grassland

 

A 1400 square meter fog desert

 

 

 

Mission 1 closure experiment had a crew of eight people sealed in for two years (September 26, 1991-September 26,1993)  Scientists monitored the continually changing chemistry of the air, water and soil contained within.  Health of the human crew was monitored by a medical doctor inside and an outside medical team.  The agricultural system produced 83% of their total diet including bananas, sweet potatoes, beets, peanuts, cowpeas, rice and wheat.  Initially, the eight inhabitants reported continual hunger; and in the second year they produced a ton more food with an intake of calories allowing them to regain some of the weight lost.

 

kitchen where they prepared food
 

Some of the animals during the first mission included pygmy goats and one billy goat, 36 hens, three roosters, two sows and one boar as well as tilapia fish  Problems encountered were overstocked fish dying, death of pollinating insects, unintentional condensation causing the desert to be too wet, population explosion of green house ants and cockroaches as well as some plants overgrowing others in the rain forest.

 

We also explored inside the “lungs”, used to avoid the fluctuation of a constant volume.  The diaphragms of these “lungs” could expand and retract as needed.  When our docent opened the chamber doors to let us in and out, huge gusts of air almost blew us away (did blow some hats away).

"lung"

 

 

Getting Blown Away

 

In 1995 Columbia University took management of the facility for research and as a campus until 2003.  They changed the virtually airtight closed structure to a “flow through” system, manipulating carbon dioxide levels for global warming research.

 June 26, 2007 the University of Arizona announced it would take over research at the Biosphere 2.  They are now engaged in research projects including terrestrial water cycle and how it relates to ecology, atmospheric science, soil geochemistry and climate change.  In June 2001, the University assumed full ownership of Biosphere 2.

 

After checking out the gift shop, we all headed to Bread and More for an excellent lunch with enough leftovers for tomorrows lunch!

 

Some of the group toured Sabino Canyon and the De Grazia Studi

 

 

 

 

 

A home cooked spaghetti dinner awaited us on our return to the campground.

KITT PEAK EXPERIENCE.....LIKE NO OTHER

KITT PEAK EXPERIENCE......LIKE NO OTHER

Friday, Aprill 17

NOTE:   Sadly we had to bid farewell to Jerry and Anna Lee.  I will try to work on the blog when we have internet access.  Joann

 

 

The world’s largest collection of optical telescopes is located high above the Sonoran Desert under some of the finest night skies in the world. Kitt Peak, on the Tohono O’odham Reservation in the Quinlan Mountains southwest of Tucson in the Arizona-Sonoran desert, is home to twenty-four optical and two radio telescopes representing eight astronomical research institutions the largest diverse number of astronomical instruments in the world.

 

 

The observatory site was selected in 1958 and land was leased from the Tohono O’odham under a perpetual agreement      

Joe Grissilo (one of our caravan leaders) volunteers at the site and was our docent for the day.

  In the morning we hiked up the cold, windy hill to the 4 meter telescope.  When this telescope saw "first light" (first astronomical observations) in 1973, it was the second largest telescope in the World.  The largest was on Mt. Palomar.  Though it is now only the 26th largest, it is still in high demand.  The advance in the power of the detectors has allowed the older telescopes to still yield significant scientific results.  In three years, DOE will be taking over exclusive use of the telescope for a five year period.  The DESI (Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument) will allow DOE to pursue the source of dark energy.

Joe Explains how Solar Telescope functions

After a picnic lunch and with warmer temperatures and less wind, we walked to the McMath-Pierce solar telescope.  Though it is 53 years old this year, it is still the largest solar telescope in the World.  It is actually three telescopes in the same structure.  It is its unique design that allows study of the Sun in the infra-red spectrum.  Instruments also include two large spectrographs.  It is also used at night to study the atmospheres of Mercury, Venus and Mars

 

 

Solar Telescope

 

While we were looking through the glass partition at the sun and seeing the sun spots reflected down on paper through the tunnel, the telescope operator invited us in to see the place where experiments take place. 

inside Solar Telescope tower
 

 

At the Visitors Center there were interesting exhibits about the history of the Kitt Peak Observatory.  Also displayed were extraordinary photographs taken through some of the telescopes.

 

 

A full day of activities was followed by an outstanding dinner at the Guadalajara Grill with entertaining muscisians.  Food was plentiful, delicious and served in an excellent manner.  Some of the non-designated drivers enjoyed 32 ounce margaritas!!!