Little red schoolhouse. Photo by Jim Reed.
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At first I imagined a small tree growing in a planter in the corner of the old red schoolhouse when Kevin told me there was a tree inside.
"Why is that unusual?" I asked. "Lots of people put trees inside homes.
"No," responded Kevin, "It’s a big tree. They put a big tree inside the schoolhouse."
Sitting at a picnic table behind The Trading Post at Three Rivers, I had already spent the better part of the day mystyfied by more than 21,000 Indian carvings at the Three Rivers Petroglyph Site, 23 miles north of Tularosa.
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National Solar Vacuum Tower. Photo by Jim Reed.
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If you really wanted a close-up look at the sun, you could fill up your gas tank and head sunward. Traveling eight hours each day at sixty miles per hour you’d cover the roughly 93 million miles from the earth to the sun in about 189,583 or so days (519.4 years) and arrive just before Thanksgiving in the year 2,517.
Faster and far more realistic would be a visit to Sunspot, located fifteen forested miles south of Cloudcroft, New Mexico, nestled between lovely tall pines and perched at the edge of Sacramento Peak . Here the Observatory’s numerous telescopes bring the sun’s activity to the human eye for study and observation.
Sunspot combines information, scenery and serenity in one small area. Stop at the Sunspot Astronomy and Visitors Center for an educational display of sun and star related exhibits along with photos of the area’s history. Pick up the brochure to learn about the first telescope built in Sunspot, the Grain Bin Dome, a telescope mounted inside a Sears and Roebuck mail order grain bin in 1950. The brochure will also act as a tour guide for your walk around the small area encompassing the Vacuum Tower, Evans Solar Facility, Hilltop Dome and Scenic View platform. On Saturdays from May to October, you can take the informative guided tour at 2 p.m.
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