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Los Angeles - JPL / Mt. Wilson Observatory
Leaving the hotel, we will travel to Pasadena where we will take a guided tour of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). JPL is NASA's lead center for robotic exploration of the solar system and we will visit "clean rooms" and control rooms made famous during Voyager’s planetary flybys.

After leaving JPL we will stop by our hotel near the base of the mountain to check in and rest before heading up the mountain to Mt. Wilson Observatory (MWO) for our night of observing on the historic 60" telescope. Roughly a 45 minute drive, MWO is situated directly above Pasadena on a mountaintop approximately 5500 feet above sea level. After a guided tour of the facility we will enjoy a picnic dinner at the observatory.

Mt. Wilson Observatory is one of the most historically important observatories in the world, begun in 1904 by a young solar astronomer named George Ellery Hale. MWO once housed four of the world’s largest telescopes (the 60' and 150’ solar telescopes and the 60" and 100" telescopes) and scientists working at Mt. Wilson have made many fundamental contributions to astronomy and science in general including the discovery of the nature of sunspots, the expanding universe, and the measurement of the speed of light.

On this tour we have arranged to use the 60" telescope (with an eyepiece) from sunset until midnight. On this night the moon rises near midnight and seeing diminishes after that. If there are particular objects that you are interested in viewing, please submit a list and we will request the telescope operator to go to those objects. Mt. Wilson enjoys the best seeing conditions (air stability) in the continental U.S. and in May the skies are typically clear. We anticipate that the observing will be outstanding! After observing we will head by bus/van down the mountain to our hotel.

Temperatures during the night on Mt. Wilson and in the dome will be cool (40's to 60’s) and we recommend that people plan on wearing socks, closed shoes, pants, and a sweater or jacket. Temperatures may be suitable for light clothing but prolonged exposure chills most people. Closed shoes are always recommended on the mountain as the terrain is often uneven.

For more information about JPL and Mt. Wilson Observatory visit their websites:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov
http://www.mtwilson.edu

Palomar Observatory
This day will be taken at a slower pace due to the previous night’s activities. In the late morning the tour will leave the hotel and travel south to Palomar Observatory. This observatory is a fully operating facility and is only open for viewing during the day. We will explore the facility for a few hours before continuing on to our hotel near Mt. Laguna in the mountains East of San Diego.

For more information about Palomar Observatory, visit their website: http://www.astro.caltech.edu/palomarpublic/index.html

Tucson to Flagstaff - Biosphere 2 and Lowell Observatory
In the morning, the tour will travel north out of Tucson to the Biosphere 2 and tour this fascinating facility. Biosphere 2 is an ambitious project originally meant to test the feasibility of humans living in a closed eco-system, such as on another planet. Within Biosphere 2 are several different biomes which researchers use to experiment on Earth systems on a relatively large scale. Inside there is a rainforest, a million gallon salt water ocean, a coastal fog desert, and four other wilderness ecosystems. Biosphere 2 is at a higher elevation than Tucson as well and it will be cooler than in the city. It is always advisable to carry water and to bring a jacket when we go up to the mountaintops!

Travelling north from Biosphere 2 we will proceed to Flagstaff Arizona, a pleasant high altitude town (7,000 ft) situated at the base of the San Francisco Peaks. Temperatures here average 20 degrees cooler than Phoenix. Upon our arrival we will settle into our hotel and then tour Lowell Observatory, made famous by Dr. Percival Lowell who came searching for clear skies and devoted much of his time to observing Mars to see if there was any intelligent life there. Lowell Observatory is also famous for housing a 24" Clark refracting telescope. Alvan Clark was one of the foremost telescope makers in the late 1800’s and his work is, to this day, unequaled. We will also see the telescope used by Clyde Tombaugh to discover the planet Pluto. Overnight in Flagstaff.

For more information about Biosphere 2 and Lowell Observatory, visit their websites:
http://www.b2science.org
http://www.lowell.edu

Flagstaff - Craters Loop
In the morning we will visit Sunset Crater Volcanic National Monument and Wupatki National Monument. Sunset Crater is a natural volcanic feature, similar to features that we observe on other planets in our solar system. Sunset Crater is located adjacent to Wupatki National Monument, where Pueblos and cliff dwellings are so well preserved that it's hard to believe their builders moved on 700 years ago.

After lunch in Flagstaff the group will visit Barringer Meteor Crater, the most well known, best preserved meteorite crater on Earth! Used as a training ground for the Apollo astronauts to prepare for exploring the Moon, the crater was purchased by Barringer in 1903 and is currently owned in part by his descendants. Overnight Flagstaff.

For more information about Sunset Crater, Wupatki National Monument or the Meteor Crater, visit their official websites:
http://www.nps.gov/sucr/index.htm
http://www.nps.gov/wupa/index.htm
http://www.meteorcrater.com

Travel to Farmington - Four Corners and Mesa Verde
After breakfast we will travel from Page through the Navajo reservation, stopping along the way to explore points of interest such as Four Corners, where four states intersect at one point: Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado. Today, artisans of the Navajo continue to work in the traditions of their ancestors and their work is collected for sale in the reservation-run trading posts. The Navajo are famous for their beautiful and distinctive basketry, pottery, weaving, and metalwork. Following Four Corners, we will travel to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Mesa Verde. Mesa Verde is best known for cliff dwellings, which are structures built within caves and under outcropping in cliffs — including Cliff Palace, which is thought to be the largest cliff dwelling in North America

For more information about the Navajo Nation or Mesa Verde, visit their official websites:
http://www.navajo.org
http://www.nps.gov/meve/index.htm

Visit Chaco Canyon
Chaco Culture National Historical Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site hosting the densest and most exceptional concentration of pueblos in the American Southwest. We will travel from Farmington to the parks location in a remote canyon cut by the Chaco Wash. Containing the most sweeping collection of ancient ruins north of Mexico, the park preserves one of the United States' most important precolumbian cultural and historic areas. Evidence of archaeoastronomy at Chaco has been proposed, with the Sun Dagger petroglyph at Fajada Butte a popular example. Many Chacoan buildings may have been aligned to capture the solar and lunar cycles, requiring generations of astronomical observations and centuries of skillfully coordinated construction. Overnight in Farmington.

For more information about the Chaco Culture National Historical Park visit their official website:
http://www.nps.gov/chcu/index.htm