The Lowell Observatory was high on our must-see list while in Flagstaff, and we loved our afternoon and evening there.  Pluto was discovered at Lowell by Clyde Tombaugh, and we learned that its 2006 demotion to Dwarf Planet is still quite controversial.  The International Astronomical Union is meeting in August, and there’s a rumor that Pluto *might* be discussed.  As far as I’m concerned, I worked hard to memorize the planets way back in elementary school, and I’m not giving up that 9th planet!!  🙂

Open at noon, we arrived shortly thereafter and joined the tour group to the rotunda housing the 24″ Clark Refractor.

Next on the afternoon schedule was a talk in the Rotunda Museum.

We then went over to the Pluto Astrograph, which was reminiscent of the lighthouses we’ve climbed in the past, access-wise.  Clyde Tombaugh made the first sighting of Pluto using this device.

Our last stop of the afternoon was the Giovale Open Deck Observatory.   The sides and roof of the building are movable, making it possible for nighttime celestial viewing.

An added surprise that evening was seeing a rocket launch above the treetops from Vandenberg AFB.   Shortly after that, we made our way back to the truck, aided by a snowflake-like border along the walkways.  Looking up FAQs online, I found the following:

“It’s made by a company called CORE gravel, from a product called Virgin Polypropylene, so less product is used to get the structural stability needed. Light weight and recyclable! Recycled plastic – a thicker plastic, but produced with 100% recycled material.
How it glows- Our phosphorescence material is Strontium Aluminate. It is a solid, odorless, nonflammable, pale yellow powder which is both chemically and biologically inert. It is 10 times brighter and glows 10 times longer than its predecessor Zinc Sulphide.”

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Tomorrow, we’re going to Sunset Crater Volcano and Wupatki National Monuments.

We continued on to the Lava Flow Trail.

We continued on the park road to the Wupatki National Monument, stopping along the way to take pictures of the Painted Desert.

Moving along, we arrived at Wupatki. The Navajo Reservation is at the eastern border, with the Colorado River in between the two.  It’s easy to see how these grasslands continue to thrive.

We continued on to the Nalakihu Pueblo.

Next is the Citadel Pueblo, an uphill walk with beautiful views from the top.

We ended our day here, since it was getting quite hot.  We’re thankful for the National Park System and the preservation of sites like these.  And, a final PSA:  If you plan to travel to any of the National Parks and Monuments, go to your nearest park ranger station, visitors center, or go online and get an annual Parks pass or a lifetime pass.  It is well worth having and will save you a lot of money.

Tomorrow, we’ll go take a look at Walnut Canyon to see some cliff dwellings.