My niece.
Almost 3 now.
Cutest kid in the world.
Cutest kid in the world.
This valley ain't dead
Down down we go!
Sand dunes in the distance. Small sand storm whipping up.
The valley floor.It was in the 70's on the floor and there was snow on the distant mountains.
Biosphere 2
Poking around in a desert canyon in Arizona you will find a stunning facility dedicated to human ingenuity and human insanity.
The entrance to Biosphere 2
Before entering Biosphere 2
Originally designed to be a self-sustaining community and inhabited by a team of scientists for 2 years and 20 minutes to determine the feasibility of humans living in such a space (we must remember the plans in inhabit Mars were in full swing back then) and being able to survive the hassles and rigors of such a life.
Not only was "serious scientific experimentation" (best read with a nerdy deep voice over) carried out on plants and animals, checking and rechecking the reality of human impact on the original biosphere, Biosphere 2 also seemed to be a hotbed of chaotic experimentation with the human team of seriously Type A personalities all packed into a 3.14 acre area.
Since the space race has cooled a bit for now and the experiments all gleaned amazing data, the wonders of Biosphere 2 are open to visitors with a whopping 2.3 million guests a year meandering through what is essentially the biggest, most expensive greenhouse in the world.
The Biosphere is still a giant working lab and is still spitting out data enough to flood the world with a paper trail waist high to be sure. It is also an amazing nod to human creativity, to the order of the original creation and to the beauty of masterpieces yet to be discovered.
In the Savannah over looking the ocean
It was pretty humid in this spot, but gorgeous over looking the water, and out the glass into the desert beyond.
In the desert
My favorite climate in Biosphere 2.
Flowers in the desert.
The Ocean.
Tiny but effective.
In the belly of Biosphere 2
Outside one of the lungs
These devices allow for the expansion and compression of the air inside the domes. Very cool.
The entrance to Biosphere 2
Before entering Biosphere 2Not only was "serious scientific experimentation" (best read with a nerdy deep voice over) carried out on plants and animals, checking and rechecking the reality of human impact on the original biosphere, Biosphere 2 also seemed to be a hotbed of chaotic experimentation with the human team of seriously Type A personalities all packed into a 3.14 acre area.
Since the space race has cooled a bit for now and the experiments all gleaned amazing data, the wonders of Biosphere 2 are open to visitors with a whopping 2.3 million guests a year meandering through what is essentially the biggest, most expensive greenhouse in the world.
The Biosphere is still a giant working lab and is still spitting out data enough to flood the world with a paper trail waist high to be sure. It is also an amazing nod to human creativity, to the order of the original creation and to the beauty of masterpieces yet to be discovered.
In the Savannah over looking the oceanIt was pretty humid in this spot, but gorgeous over looking the water, and out the glass into the desert beyond.
In the desertMy favorite climate in Biosphere 2.
Flowers in the desert.
The Ocean.Tiny but effective.
In the belly of Biosphere 2
Outside one of the lungsThese devices allow for the expansion and compression of the air inside the domes. Very cool.
Oh the things to be found in the desert
On a westward bound road trip recently undertaken, my mom and I happened upon a few signs strategically strewn along the highway advertising ghost towns. Intrigued, we decided to pull over at a small stop in New Mexico.
Once a happening place where the locals would jump and jive to the beat of the train whistle, this wreck of a town sits quietly by the truck laden highway waiting for time and sand to wear it down into oblivion.
Once a happening place where the locals would jump and jive to the beat of the train whistle, this wreck of a town sits quietly by the truck laden highway waiting for time and sand to wear it down into oblivion.
Welcome to Stein New Mexico
The old town store.
It had an American flag sticker in the window that I think may have been original.
When did stickers come to be anyhow?
A really old stagecoach.
Makes me very, very glad for shocks and struts and all that jazz.
An old barn/storage shed. I love the old rusted roof. Makes me wanna grab a Dr. Pepper and a rocking chair and sit around telling yarns and watching to moon rise.
The old outhouse. It seems to have been one in Stein.
Perhaps this is why Stein is now a ghost town.
The old town store.It had an American flag sticker in the window that I think may have been original.
When did stickers come to be anyhow?
A really old stagecoach.Makes me very, very glad for shocks and struts and all that jazz.
An old barn/storage shed. I love the old rusted roof. Makes me wanna grab a Dr. Pepper and a rocking chair and sit around telling yarns and watching to moon rise.
The old outhouse. It seems to have been one in Stein.Perhaps this is why Stein is now a ghost town.
Never In a Fog
This month I had the joy of flying to visit friends. As the plane headed for Indianapolis we were enveloped in a snow storm. From 17A all of the wonders of being in the clouds of a snow storm were clear. There was nothing above, below or beside us that was not white. No blue sky, no crisscross patterns of farmed land below. Not even the soothing blink of the wing lights was visible.
Happily wrapped inside a massive aluminum can hurtling through this blank void, I was completely disoriented. It would be so easy to become lost. Horizontal, tipped, veering all would have been something relative. And in the swirl of solid white, the lady in 17A was thrilled to have a pilot in charge of the flight path.
As we landed, quietly and bumpless, onto the runway the gray pavement and the fence lines of the airport were just peeking through the white.
Each of us is essentially flying blind. We cannot see beyond the snow white, blank canvas of right now. We can plan and strategize and prepare and hope things go according to plan. But really, we don't control the plane or the weather. We can tip and tilt and get off center so easily because of our blindness.
It is also very comforting to note that we do not have to fly the plane. We can have a pilot who leads the way through the swirling mist of the storms securely onto pavement, inside the fences of safety.
So...
Are you your own pilot? Or are you ready for Someone else to take the controls?
Happily wrapped inside a massive aluminum can hurtling through this blank void, I was completely disoriented. It would be so easy to become lost. Horizontal, tipped, veering all would have been something relative. And in the swirl of solid white, the lady in 17A was thrilled to have a pilot in charge of the flight path.
As we landed, quietly and bumpless, onto the runway the gray pavement and the fence lines of the airport were just peeking through the white.
Each of us is essentially flying blind. We cannot see beyond the snow white, blank canvas of right now. We can plan and strategize and prepare and hope things go according to plan. But really, we don't control the plane or the weather. We can tip and tilt and get off center so easily because of our blindness.
It is also very comforting to note that we do not have to fly the plane. We can have a pilot who leads the way through the swirling mist of the storms securely onto pavement, inside the fences of safety.
So...
Are you your own pilot? Or are you ready for Someone else to take the controls?
Living with gratitude
So I failed in the blogging realm this month. I tried, tried, tried to be good and blog once a day all month long. I failed. But NaBloPoMo has issued a challenge of giving something to someone every day of the month of December. I know I got at least one day covered. Maybe I can get them all covered and tell about it? We shall see!
But the chance to sit down everyday and look at my day and see what really matters, what really makes my day... that has been priceless.
I find I need a lot fewer trips out randomly shopping, spend a lot less time feeling blue, or lonely and don't worry half as much about what i look like when I am focused in the 'Thankful' direction!
Just what I needed. One big, massive perspective check.
An attitude of gratitude - Day 26
I am back in the US. After a very dramatic phone call home Friday morning NZ time to wish the parentals Happy Thanksgiving, I found out Mom had been rushed to the hospital after blacking out. She is back home now, as am I. So today, the longest Friday ever in recorded history (it has to be!) I have much to be thankful for!
Day 26
1) My mom is home alive and is healing. THANK YOU GOD!
2) My planes all flew well.
3) My Dad found me at the airport
4) I have now taken a shower. Sooooo thankful
5) I have rediscovered clothing I left here 7 months ago! It's like a whole new wardrobe!
6) These fragile broken bodies we inhabit are but a temporary shell. Jesus is coming soon and this frail hull with be made incorruptible! Woot! Woot!
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