How far away is the horizon?
Dec. 30th, 2004 04:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
asthranAnswer: After extensive observation and careful measurement (ie, watching the mile markers as I approached Mt. Tucumcari) I can say with absolute certainty that the horizon is exactly 35 miles away.
My trip down to Phoenix went well. Instead of taking the interstate all the way there, I opted to take some shortcuts to reduce my mileage and for a bit of sightseeing.
I took Hwy 54 across Kansas, and spend Monday night in Liberal, which has a replica of Dorothy's house. Joy.
Tuesday night I bummed around Albuquerque a bit, then crashed at a rest area. Waking up to a panorama of mountains was incredible.
On Wednesday I got to hang out with Shamira, which rocked. (Who rocked? Meh, both the visit and she rocked.) We chatted for a bit while I ate breakfast at her Denny's, then visited the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge and her husband at his cafe.
Then I opted to take Hwy 60 to Phoenix, which was quite the educational experience. I found out Kass doesn't like going uphill - on more than one occasion, I could just manage to plug along at 35 mph in a 65 mph zone.Thankfully, not too many other cars were on the road.
Even though I knew of its existence, I didn't quite fully realize that by going down Hwy 60.... I'd be driving past the V.L.A.!!!!! That was so cool! Dishes along the road the size of houses, it rocked! Next time through I'll have to swing by the visitor's center.
I went through the continental divide at 7,800 feet. It didn't look as cool as Tali told me it would. It was still really pretty, it just didn't seem any different than the rest of the mountains.
Things I learned on the trip:
I learned I have very high expectations of wildlife. At the wildlife refuge, I kept on expecting to see whole families of animals wander (or leap, or crawl) right in front of me. That didn't happen, of course, although we did see lots of duckies, and a few other miscellaneous birds. Then, driving down Hwy 60, whenever there was a generic deer crossing sign (not one specifying 'next 10 miles' or whatever), I would be vaguely disappointed that there weren't deer (or gazelle, or elk) bounding across the road at that very moment. /sigh However, I did get to see one unfenced mammal at least, when I needed to slow down for a wounded doe that was limping across the road.
I learned that driving through the mountains...
- at night
- in lots of pounding rain (and a little hail)
- with a car that doesn't like inclines
- on narrow twisty mountain roads
- with elk, deer, and gazelle just waiting to bound across the highway at any moment
- while needing to watch out for fallen rocks
... is really stressful. I don't recommend it. However, I'd like to try again during the daylight, in fair weather.
I learned that using your high beams is good not only for watching out for fallen rocks and miscellaneous wildlife, but also that turning them off serves as a reminder to other drivers to turn theirs off as well. (I got way too many high-beams-in-the-eyes because I occasionally decided to not have my high beams on for small parts of the drive.)
I learned that when you're between two mountain ranges, the sunset to the east might be prettier than the sunset to the west.
My trip down to Phoenix went well. Instead of taking the interstate all the way there, I opted to take some shortcuts to reduce my mileage and for a bit of sightseeing.
I took Hwy 54 across Kansas, and spend Monday night in Liberal, which has a replica of Dorothy's house. Joy.
Tuesday night I bummed around Albuquerque a bit, then crashed at a rest area. Waking up to a panorama of mountains was incredible.
On Wednesday I got to hang out with Shamira, which rocked. (Who rocked? Meh, both the visit and she rocked.) We chatted for a bit while I ate breakfast at her Denny's, then visited the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge and her husband at his cafe.
Then I opted to take Hwy 60 to Phoenix, which was quite the educational experience. I found out Kass doesn't like going uphill - on more than one occasion, I could just manage to plug along at 35 mph in a 65 mph zone.Thankfully, not too many other cars were on the road.
Even though I knew of its existence, I didn't quite fully realize that by going down Hwy 60.... I'd be driving past the V.L.A.!!!!! That was so cool! Dishes along the road the size of houses, it rocked! Next time through I'll have to swing by the visitor's center.
I went through the continental divide at 7,800 feet. It didn't look as cool as Tali told me it would. It was still really pretty, it just didn't seem any different than the rest of the mountains.
Things I learned on the trip:
I learned I have very high expectations of wildlife. At the wildlife refuge, I kept on expecting to see whole families of animals wander (or leap, or crawl) right in front of me. That didn't happen, of course, although we did see lots of duckies, and a few other miscellaneous birds. Then, driving down Hwy 60, whenever there was a generic deer crossing sign (not one specifying 'next 10 miles' or whatever), I would be vaguely disappointed that there weren't deer (or gazelle, or elk) bounding across the road at that very moment. /sigh However, I did get to see one unfenced mammal at least, when I needed to slow down for a wounded doe that was limping across the road.
I learned that driving through the mountains...
- at night
- in lots of pounding rain (and a little hail)
- with a car that doesn't like inclines
- on narrow twisty mountain roads
- with elk, deer, and gazelle just waiting to bound across the highway at any moment
- while needing to watch out for fallen rocks
... is really stressful. I don't recommend it. However, I'd like to try again during the daylight, in fair weather.
I learned that using your high beams is good not only for watching out for fallen rocks and miscellaneous wildlife, but also that turning them off serves as a reminder to other drivers to turn theirs off as well. (I got way too many high-beams-in-the-eyes because I occasionally decided to not have my high beams on for small parts of the drive.)
I learned that when you're between two mountain ranges, the sunset to the east might be prettier than the sunset to the west.
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no subject
Date: 2004-12-31 01:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-31 02:31 am (UTC)Glad you made it 'home' safely.
~D
no subject
Date: 2004-12-31 02:23 pm (UTC)Curious
Date: 2004-12-31 07:03 pm (UTC)Good to hear that your alive and having fun at various intervals *grins and hugs*
Re: Curious
Date: 2005-01-02 04:06 am (UTC)