Day 11

Today started with a long drive up the road and mountain to Kitt Peak.  The peak has 27 telescopes on it including the solar telescope.  The day at Kitt Peak included touring multiple telescopes and learning a lot about each one.  My favorite would have to be the Solar Telescope.  The reason for this was because of the shear size of the telescope building.  After touring this telescope we went to look at the 90 inch telescope.  We were given a private tour of the facility.  This telescope dome was designed to deflect the wind and seemed to work, considering the fact that wind speeds can reach up to 100 mph up on the peak.  We were talking to the engineer and he told us about how he fell from 30 feet and landed on concrete and obviously survived.  This was really amazing, however the height of the dome was more amazing. I then bought a coffee mug in the gift shop and we headed down the mountain.  On the way down when we left the Indian reservation we got stopped by boarder patrol, wanting the dogs to sniff the car and van.   This was fun but scary at the same time. 

Day 10

Our day here starts with a trip to Mt. Hopkins to see the 6.5 meter telescope.  This telescope was absolutely amazing.  The trip to the telescope started with a curvy trip up the mountain and then a short walk from the cars to the door.  Once inside the dome, my mind was blown at how big the telescope was compared to the dome.  The engineers were moving the telescope and it lacked inches from hitting the wall.  Also, the effort to move the telescope was minimal.  This amazed me as well that this huge telescope was so balanced and moved so well.  We then headed down the elevator and to the floor again.  The engineer moved the cover off the mirror and this revealed the mirror in all its glory.  I was again amazed at the massive size of the mirror.