Ward, Wally, Theo, and I left Wednesday for a vacation in the New River Gorge area of West Virginia. The drive was foggy and misty. Occasionally, there was a parting of the clouds and by evening when we reached our destination, the the skies were clear. During the drive, we listened to a fascinating podcast, Aquired, featuring the history of Costco. It was interesting to stop the program occasionally and ask Theo his perspective as a Costco employee.
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| Seneca Rocks |
Our first stop was for lunch at Seneca Rocks, WV. Seneca Rocks is a popular hiking and rock climbing destination in Pendleton County, WV. The rocks are Tuscarora quartzite which has been upturned to vertical. We have hiked there before but stopped only for lunch this day at Yokum's restaurant beside the rocks. We had a WV chili dog, which had been voted the second best hot dog in WV. We all agreed that it was good and wondered what won the top spot. A little research shows that the best hot dog in WV is a matter opinion. I'm going to go with a grilled hot dog topped with my Aunt Doris's hot dog sauce. 😋
Our next stop was the main destination of the day -- Green Bank Observatory in Green Bank, WV. Green Bank is an astronomical observatory featuring different kinds of radio telescopes. It is in a 13,000 square mile radio quiet zone to minimize interference with the telescopes. Thus, no cell phones, watches, Fitbits, digital cameras, etc., are allowed outside of the entrance to the visitor center. Unfortunately, the visitor's center was closed on Wednesdays and there were no tours running, but we were able to take a walking tour among the telescopes. It blew my mind when I thought about the far away things in space these telescopes were discovering.
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| We weren't allowed any pictures past this point. |
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| This telescope discovered Sagittarius A*, the black hole at the center of our galaxy. (I was able to get this picture before I had to put my camera away. |
Then we had another three hour drive until we reached the Vrbo where we are staying for the week. Unfortunately, it took four hours because some how we got turned around and went several miles into Virginia before we figured out we had taken a wrong turn. Fortunately, we were able to reach our house while we still had some daylight. Good thing, too, because it is located on a narrow road with a steep driveway.
We unloaded the car and settled in for the evening. After pizza for dinner that we brought from home, we planned our next day.
We had a good day. and we were looking forward to the next one.
Until next time...
I am sorry you got turned around. How frustrating.
ReplyDeleteI recognized Seneca Rocks. Such a pretty area.
The observatory would be so interesting for your family!
The detour was through pretty country, but on some very crooked roads. Poor Wally did not do so well with them. My family had some interesting discussions around the telescopes - especially since Ward is an amateur astronomer.
DeleteWhat an interesting first day! Getting turned around on the way to the rental house would have been quite frustrating, though. But, at least you arrived there, safely, while there was still enough daylight to navigate that narrow road and steep driveway. Looking forward to reading about day 2. :)
ReplyDeleteThe detour was not too bad, except that it was at the end of the day when everyone was getting tired. We did drive by The Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, VA, that I've heard about and always wanted to see, so all was not lost.
DeleteRadio frequency interference, what I fight when using my remote control for the trap since the frequency isn't a controlled one. That is so fascinating, that telescope, would love to see it.
ReplyDeleteWhat I wonder is what the local residents do now that cell phones are ubiquitous. One of the local stores had to build barriers around their store because their cash register system was causing too much interference.
DeleteThat is one big telescope! And interesting about all the interference, who'd a thunk? Cannot wait to read about the rest of your trip!
ReplyDeleteThat was one of the smaller telescopes. We live in such a connected society today, a radio quiet zone is quite a different idea.
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