Albuquerque Zoo,  VLA (Very Large Array),  Monument Valley, and the Code Talkers Memorial.  Four  Buck List Items Completed !!!

I went through about 300 photos from my New Mexico trip and forgot I had shot so many at the Albuquerque Zoo  This is one serious looking Bald Eagle !!!!!! Notice how I had to get focused on the Eagle between the Bars of his area.  My friend Kevin Morgan commented " That is how I would look if I was behind bars " !!! Excellent Kevin !!!!

We spent today, October 6, 2011, at the Albuquerque Zoo and I spent a couple hours trying to get two pictures and succeeded !! First was a newly born (July 21, 2011)  Snow Leopard and second was a Wood Duck.  I have only seen one Wood Duck in Montana and never got close enough in two years to get a picture..

Mike, Debbie, Linda, Steve, John, Danielle, and I drove to the VLA (Very Large Array) about 50 miles west of Socorro, New Mexico.  Although a bit cold and windy in the high desert at about 7,000 feet, we had a wonderful time seeing a pretty special place for Radio Astronomy !!  

I walked through the doors, around the corner, up the stairs and into the control room that Jodie Foster ran in the movie "Contact" after she heard that signal while sitting on the hood of her car listening.  Now that was cool !!!

The tour was really informative and I stand corrected as each antenna weigh's in at about 230 tons and there are 28.  9 antennas on each of the 3 legs of the array for 27 and one spare.

There is also a Expanded Very Large Array which uses other radio telescopes around the world linked together to make a radio telescope 10 times more sensitive. The aperture is almost the diameter of the earth !!!!! 

As you can see, the 230 ton antenna is really not that big from a distance !!!!!

Until you stand under one !!!!!!  This antenna is in the final section of the movie where Jodie Foster was talking to a group of grade school students about astronomy !!!

Here is Larry the VLA operator in the control room where the movie Contact was portrayed.  Actually, this control room was copied back in Hollywood as the VLA said science cannot stop not even to film a movie !!!!!!!  They did film outside the main control room for the rest of the movie on the grounds of the VLA.

It was explained that the antennas are in a D configuration ( Darn Close) as apposed to the A configuration (Along ways away). Cute !!!  The system was actually taking a image of the Sun for a researcher.  Larry explained that it takes about two days of data processing all the input to generate the image.

Pictured below is a panoramic of the entire array taken from the balcony outside the main control room. It is very wide so you need to slide the picture to the right to get view of the entire VLA !!!!

Me and Scuby Doo at Monument Valley, Arizona.  Having way to much fun on this photographic adventure !!!!

My First View Of Monument Valley Arizona today Oct 31, 2011. More to come as I shot about 100 pictures. This is a panoramic of two pictures, taken on the east side looking west,  stitched together so you need to slide the picture to the right to see it all....  Enjoy !!!! 

I drove to the west side of the Monuments to take a picture looking to the east.

In this second picture, I again attempted to try and give the picture a three dimensional appearance. The bushes in front to the sunlit red mountains to the shaded ridges to the sunlit wall and finally the sky.  Out in this country with clouds altering the landscape this is possible to get the appearance of three dimension. 

I climbed up a small rock on the south side of the Code Talker Memorial and took a picture of the entire area.  Window Rock is the center or capital of the Navajo Nation and the picture shows the Window Rock in the background. Here is a link to the official site of the Code Talkers  http://www.navajocodetalkers.org/ 

I then took a close up of the actual memorial below Window Rock of this sacred place of the Navajo People.  It was quite an experience walking through this area dedicated to a special group of folks.  The Code Talkers .

Two of my sisters Linda (Left) and Debbie (Right) on our adventure to the home of the Navajo Nation and the Code Talkers Memorial. We sure had a fun day !!!!

I finally completed another Bucket List item !!!! Picture below tells it all from the Vikings vs Saints Game on 18 December, 2012.. A picture with two of the Vikings Cheer Leaders..

A great friend, Don Houck, and I try and get together for a home Vikings Game at least every other year with his wife Mary's permission. Just kidding !!! This year was fun as always and Don got to visit his mother and daughters.  We had breakfast with his daughter Vicky who really a great lady !!!!  After three tries over six years, I finally got a picture with two of the Vikings Cheer Leaders and they both signed my Cheer Leaders Calendar !! I am all smiles !!!!!