Kitt Peak has been
neener-neenering me every day from our campsite, so I headed over for a face-off. Kitt Peak won, but I got my licks in, too.
Both the mountain and its observatory are actually in the Tohono O'odham nation, not Tucson, and there is a
treaty in place that allows the scientific station to exist on the peak. Turn your cell phones off. Think of this mountain as an airplane where the flight attendants will
take you down.
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| More convenient when it's open. |
I was there for the scenery, but had the good luck to happen in on the last guided tour of the day. In another stroke of luck for my wallet, I returned too late to shop in the visitor's center.
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| I should have pulled over to get this shot. |
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You can call me Flower if you want to.
Imma gonna have to because I don't know your name. |
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This made me think of Istanbul. Then it made me think of Constantinople, then Byzantium.
I've never been any of those places. |
This cement donut weighs 16 tons and is 4 meters across. Art by
Michael Chiago.
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| Looking down from the 4-Meter Telescope |
This is the approximate view you'll see at about 2:15 from the
live-ish webcam. This shot was taken from inside the viewing gallery.
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4-Meter Telescope.
The giant donut stood in as a dummy for the actual lens. Scientists needed to be sure the weight and diameter of the lens could be safely supported before the real thing shipped in.
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| Radio telescope |
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| A cool hallway |
There is no admission fee, but an affordable $2 donation is suggested.
Highway 386 takes you to the top, and provides many turnouts so you can stop and feel awe. Awe is also affordable, and I recommend it. Do you really have someplace better to be than awe?
While I was being awed at the edge of the mountain, a biker zipped down the 8% grade past me. We made eye contact and heard each other's thoughts:
Crazy SOB.
Lazy SOB.
