I’m on a necessary two week road trip to meteorology related trade shows to show some of my technology and content. Unfortunately times being what they are, the trip was more economical with me driving and hauling equipment than it was to fly and ship. I’m now beginning to question that decision after my 13 hour drive from LA to Albuquerque today. On the plus side, I got to see the section of I-40 that was the inspiration for the fictional town “Radiator Springs” in the Disney animated movie “Cars”. The wind sculpted terrain was right out of the movie as I passed into New Mexico.
But even though I’m away from blogging a lot, every cloud has a silver lining. There’s a 5 day lapse between the two shows, and I’m going to use that time to fill in some missing stations for the surfacestations project if I can.
Our first paper on the station surveys is in late stage peer review, and I hope to be able to announce it soon. This work would go towards a second paper being planned. I can’t go into any more detail on it at this time.
But if anyone can help with the road trip expenses for those 5 days, there’s an orange donate button on the right sidebar.
Of course I’ll post the station surveys as I get them, there’s bound to be an entertaining BBQ or a/c unit somewhere in the mix next to a climate monitoring station.
Evan Jones has been providing planning support, and I thank him for his preparation in getting candidates cataloged. As you can see in one of my previous trips, I’m a glutton for punishment.
Guest authors with ideas are encouraged to submit stories while I’m chasing stations.
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Excuse me, Dr. Dave, but I’m rather partial to the scenery from Moriarity east to the Caprock. The relative state of the grass (greenish, brown, black and smoking) lets me know how much real estate will come visiting in March and April. Granted, the back route from Santa Fe to Las Vegas and down through Conchas is more fun.
Dr. Watts, if you get a moment and are tired of New Mexican food, I suggest Sushi King at the east edge of Downtown Albuquerque on Central. The Vietnamese/Thai place up Central, maybe two blocks west of Sushi King, is very good, too. Um, yes, I’ve scoped out every eatery within two miles of the U of NM campus. How can you tell? 🙂
I love Winslow too-Stood on the corner many times, miss my friends that I made
over the years there, flying Airtankers out of Winslow. I hate Phoenix got stuck there once, tried to get back to Winslow, finally did. 120F on the ramp at PHX, 98F and windy at Winslow, like heaven on earth, by the time we broke out of the Phoenix Vortex..
One friend in particular was a Navajo-Silas White Eagle, he was one who basiscally stood and watched all the follies of the USFS and BLM shenannigans with detached interest and humor. He held that the white man was eventually going to regulate himself out of civilization.
I think he has a point…
I sent $20 via paypal, and look forward to any surfacestations additions for amusement and educational purposes. Have a safe trip, Anthony, and keep up the good work!
TXRed says:
March 2, 2011 at 12:01 pm
…Dr. Watts, if you get a moment and are tired of New Mexican food…
*Sacrilege!!* It is impossible to get ‘tired’ of authentic New Mexican food! 🙂
Of course, “New Mexican” food is not the same as “Mexican” food. They have very different tastes and textures. It’s also very different than “TexMex” which seems to be the usual ‘mexican’ fare in Texas and Arizona. Easiest way to tell is to see how they spell chile. Chile with an ‘e’ = New Mexican, chili with an ‘i’ is something else! If you want a good authentic New Mexican meal in Albuquerque, Anthony, hit Los Cuates on Lomas & Monroe for a combo relleno plate. (Though you might get the chile on the side if you’re not sure of your capsaicin tolerance!)
John Peter says:
March 2, 2011 at 9:35 am
“Amazing they can do it with such accuracy.”
It is also remarkable that whatever the medium used to record temperature, it’s expansionist propensities overwhelm it’s ability to contract, despite the application of the appropriate stimuli.
An interesting subject for a PhD perhaps, and one that would be open to many disciplines…………..
Nice painting, That met station is right next to a tarmacked road, a hard standing and close to a house. I trust that is due to artistic licence?
Thanks to commenters above for reminding me that I’m saving the cost of Science News, which I abandoned in disgust after their inept and false report on sea-level rise in the Maldives (I was going to say ‘amateurish’ report, but as Willis reminds us, that should not be a pejorative). I’ll fling some funds for your trip. Hope to get out there and see some of that country one day.
I notice that the Donate button is for Surface Stations.org, not WUWT, but as it’s all Anthony, I assume that’s not an issue. Is there any reason why neither is a non-profit organization, though? That makes donations tax-deductible.
/Mr Lynn
Yup, “Cars” (by Pixar, and marketed by Disney folks) was a good one. I travel that way when I can, singing the Route 66 song most of the way (until my wife slaps me…usually somewhere between Gallup and Grants…) I think that part of the country is just beautiful!
Mike
13 Hour Drive.
Thank heavens for fossil fueled cars is all I can say.
JamesS says:
March 2, 2011 at 6:48 am
Don’t forget to make that left at Albuquerque — Bugs Bunny always missed that one!
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That was going to be my joke mister 🙂
As for music, try Midsummer’s Daydream and Little Boy Blues by Triumph on the Thunder Seven album
Now that the Aus dollar is at parity with the $US it looks pretty cheap. Donated towards the trip Anthony. I’ll take that out of the New Scientist subscription I won’t be paying anymore thanks to WUWT :-).
I just wish more Australian politicians and their advisers would take a look at WUWT. Mind you I have done my bit to try and let them know it’s here. Do any ozzies know if there is an attempt in Australia to do a similar project for surface weather stations? Is the US one extensible for other countries?
I hit the Donate button too, after I found it. It *could* be a little more prominent!
C’mon people, Anthony has arrived at a time of life (I’m there too) where his needs may not be excessive, but let’s not be making him to stay in a Motel 6 “for the cause” either!
Yeah, the Cdn$ is at $1.03US$ today. The Obama Discount has kicked in.
TXRed says:
March 2, 2011 at 12:01 pm
Excuse me, Dr. Dave, but I’m rather partial to the scenery from Moriarity east to the Caprock. The relative state of the grass (greenish, brown, black and smoking) lets me know how much real estate will come visiting in March and April. Granted, the back route from Santa Fe to Las Vegas and down through Conchas is more fun.
________________________________________________________
YIKES! I’ve driven the haul between Clines Corners (at US 285) to Tucumcari and back so many times it’s nearly ingrained in my brain. What scenery are you talking about? I lived in Amarillo for over 10 years so I KNOW flat. You don’t get real scenery until you head back north on 285 close to Santa Fe. But you’re right…the trip down from Las Vegas through Conchas is a blast. As an aside, I grew up in Michigan and the 2nd worst winter weather I ever drove through was between Tucumcari and Santa Fe in March. Juggling chain saws would have made more sense!
Anthony:
I lived in Omaha NE for some years. Drove the route, Omaha, Des Moines, Minneapolis. Thought I knew the most BORING contryside in the nation.
Then I did the drive, Mpls to PHX several times, because of my parents moving to PHX.
That stretch (I-40? The Old Route 66) from TX, across N.M., YIKES! It’s bad enough doing the Albuquerque to Flagstaff part of the route. But I’ve done the PHX to LA route (10) too at times. UGLY! Anyone that really thinks “urban sprawl” is a problem, has no IDEA of the amount of vast “wasteland” left in the American frontier.
You think back to the pioneers and doing those routes with “covered wagons”. God Bless’em, you can figure why the relatively arid CA coast (south of San Fran) seemed to be a “land of milk and honey” after making that trek!
@max Hugoson
Dude. The West kills on the boring scale, unless you are seriously into desolation. Ever driven across Nevada? Unless you are totaly into the comedic value of ‘Secret Air Force Base Next Right”, you just have no comprehension.
I am personally of the opinion that the Sharaan Africa and the American Southwest are goldmines of the undiscovered human experience. . . but they still suck to drive across at the current time. . . .
“But I’ve done the PHX to LA route (10) too at times. UGLY! ”
I *lived* out there for 12 years — between Phoenix and LA, about 10 miles north of I-10 about 80 miles east of Palm Springs. Believe me, the interstates are built thru the flatest, ugliest terrain they can find. Get off the freeway, take a backroad, better yet, a dirt backroad, and you’d be amazed what’s out there. But you have to know where to look.
AFAIK, the prototype for Radiator Springs is Amboy, California. Driving
East from Amboy on the 40 will place you in the state known as “Arizona”,
not that other state.
The drive to the tourist trap above Radiator Springs is a drive to Mitchell Caverns
above Amboy. There is a campground at Mitchell, and another nearby, but
no hotel carved out of stone.
Most of you Colonials won’t know this guy, but he is wonderful & until he was censored by the BBC & other media because he’s a mathematician who doesn’t believe in AGW, he was the “father” of bringing science & maths to young people by making it fun. Now the Beeb has none of this but just greenie propaganda shows, dumbing down as usual because the Socialists don’t want the educated workforce they calim they do, just a controlled one to accept every diktat issued by Big Guvment!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12609782
Happy driving, Anthony – when in Florida as soon as we get the car out of the airport pound I drive my wife nuts by turning the radio to 97.5FM – ‘Ninetyseven Country’ – Yee-hah..!!
Your trip sounds custom made for my truly WEIRD favourite track – C W McCall’s ‘Convoy’…
‘Breaker, breaker, one nine – this here’s the Rubber Duck – you got a copy on me, c’mon..?’
I think I need to go and lie down…
David @ur momisugly March 3, 2011 at 6:02 am—
“Convoy” was C.W. McCall’s last fling at the country charts. You’ll hear even better writing from Bill Fries (who with musician Chip Davis were ‘C.W. McCall) in “Wolf-Creek Pass”:
Haven’t played that one in while. Thanks for the reminder.
/Mr Lynn (aka Cousin Lynn, “Hillbilly at Harvard,” WHRB-FM, Cambridge, MA, Saturdays 9 AM – 1 PM Eastern, streaming at WHRB.org—shameless plug)