Citizens of the Milky Way

March 3, 2009 Ft Davis, Texas

All of us are citizens of the Milky Way. Personally, it is my favorite galaxy. Tuesday night we drove to McDonald Observatory for their Star Party. We were surprised at how many people showed up at that remote spot to view the stars.

We arrived about 6:30 p.m. and walked through the interactive museum. At about 7:30, we were instructed to follow the path lined in red lights (red does not interfere with the telescopes as does white light). We found a seat in the outdoor amphitheater.

A UT astronomer, using a laser pointer, gave an interesting, humorous and informative talk on the night sky and the constellations visible on this particular night. We saw Orion, the Big Dipper, the North Star, Gemini, Saturn, Venus and the North Star, among others. There is no light in this part of the mountains and no air pollution, so the stars are clear and bright.

Then, we lined up at the giant telescopes to view the craters of the moon, Venus, the Orion Nebula and the rings of Saturn. This tour was well worth the visit. I wish we had arrived earlier to catch the solar show as well. The visitor's center's interactive museum made me wish I had the grandchildren along.

While in line, we noticed the couple in front of us speaking with a British accent. It turned out to be the same couple we talked to in the parking lot of Texas Fusion the night before. They did finally eat at the restaurant and found the food to be very good, as we did. We told them that we had lived in Holy Loch, Scotland when the US Navy was stationed there. They said, "well, that was a LONG time ago, wasn't it?" Well, now that you mention it, I guess it was.

Last night we slept really well after viewing the stars. We only woke up once, when the coyotes started to yelp and cry. These coyotes do not sound like those in Missouri. Texas coyotes make a loud, long, mournful sound. It is sad, and beautiful and chilling - all at the same time.

Wednesday we are on to Carlsbad, New Mexico. I loved visiting West Texas again after so many years. I was reminded why I love this part of the country so much.

One thing I forgot to mention about Marfa. It was the location for the filming of the movie, GIANT, one of the most boring movies in the history of film, but I believe it was James Dean's last film before his death.