I’ve been on the road for two weeks, and my blogging has been fairly erratic. Today I drove about 700 miles and surveyed 4 USHCN weather stations. I started early this morning in Dallas. let me give a shout out to Mike Smith of Meteorological Musings, president of WeatherData in Wichita, who I met up with in Dallas and who will have an essay posted after this on WUWT. Bookmark that site if you have not already.
But from the driving, I’m so pooped, I may miss the proverbial Bugs Bunny left turn at Albuquerque, where I’m writing this from. See skyline above. It is a great city, and I hate it that I have to blow through again.
From my learning on this trip, I’ve got some very interesting news about USHCN climate stations, but won’t be able to share until later this week when I get time to do a proper writeup. There’s a surprise, and that’s about all I can say right now.
Thanks to everyone who has helped out. It made a world of difference.
We’ll be back to regularly scheduled blogging later this week.
To help you get your bearings, if tomorrow feels like yet another Monday, rest assured that it really is a Monday (working road trips can mess with your head).
I am a lover of the road. There is nothing more glorious. Lots of organisms have been designed to increase their range by being spread on the wind. Us humans used the wind rushing past our cars to spread ourselves. Sure there are negatives. But how truly wondrous it is: a living entity that recognizes it’s own existence, and will carry on, thus validating the existence of the universe.
My favorite “Met tower” was loaned to a local university by NASA. They placed it next to their “quiet” wind turbine. Think the data is accurate? I doubt it! Please listen to the wind turbine go nuts at the end of the video.
YouTube – Appalachian State University Meteorological Research Station Next to the Screaming Weasel http://goo.gl/IRsKy
So, please provide editing capabilities to items submitted by SurfaceStation contributors. Promises made. I don’t seem to be the owner of my contributions without the ability to correct errors I may have made.
Sandia Mountains in the background, it’s a beautiful city … although like most cities it looks lovelier at a distance.
Stay safe on the road, my friend.
w.
I love hitting the environmental Google Ads, first with the iPad and then the Mac Mini. I can hear the nickels roll all the way to Chico. Drive safe!
I grew up in the mountain area just behind the low spot of the ridgeline in the center left of the photo. On a related issue, our friend Joe Romm unfortunately alerts us to the news that the Sandia Labs has people who have succumbed to the global warming thing: http://climateprogress.org/2011/03/08/sandia-labs-study-uncertainty-climate-change/
In a quick glance of the paper’s abstract, they say it is based on the IPCC’s AR4, and one of the reviewers of the paper was Jonathan Overpeck….
I remember chasing blue tail lizards all through Kirtland AFB when I was in grade school. The solar power plant there was impressive. ahh memories…
I gotta wonder, though, which directions Bugs was coming from the various times he missed that left toin at Albuhkoikee.
Please give a holler if you’re coming through Denver!
…or, as Bugs called it, “Al-bee-koi-kee”!!
Get some rest & be safe, Anthony, your mods have done their usual excellent job while you were out. Cheers, C da DrPH
Worked in Albuquerque about 20 years ago.
That picture captures something about the place that makes it special. You’ll notice how the man-made elements of the city are dwarfed by the Sandias. With the peak staring you in the face every time you turn around it keeps you humble. People down there, at least back then, were very much in touch with the real world. Much different then the people of Manhattan where I worked just prior to this. They were much more consumed by man-made issues and were largely clueless about the real world.
Im another road junkie. I love to drive. However, when there is work involved it definitely takes some of the fun out of it. Pop “Radar Love” in the old 8 Track and relax and enjoy the view.
Be safe!
Down town Abq. at 2:00 A.M. you just may get in the cross fire of rival drug gangs sorting out who sells on what servicestation/food mart parking lot.
Hi Anthony,
Happy Trails 2 U. Maybe you should do a little House Hunting on your trip and
get out of CA while you can still sell your house for what itz worth.
Thanks for all you do.
pRadio
Lived for 3yrs on the backside of Sandia Mt. (Edgewood) while working in Rio Rancho. Downtown ABQ looks good from a distance but pretty ugly up close, I found it a good place to avoid.
Willis Eschenbach says:
March 13, 2011 at 9:10 pm
> Sandia Mountains in the background, it’s a beautiful city … although like most cities it looks lovelier at a distance.
That’s a good way of putting it. I was there a couple times about 20 years ago. The first time I accidentally left the rental car unlocked. Came back to find a MacDonalds bag in it and the owners manual missing from the glove compartment. (And it was one of the first rental cars I had that came with a manual!)
The walls topped by barb wired around the bigger houses was another clue that there might be problems.
One thing that is rather disconcerting to east coast visitors like me is that the city is flat, but tilted. You can a long way out to the desert across the river, and feel a bit exposed to people looking back. OTOH, people come to New England and feel confined by the trees and unseen dangers nearby. Tornadoes are infrequent, but you don’t know they’re coming until they’re on top of you!
But yeah, beyond its problems, it’s a neat place and worth exploring. I can see why Ansel Adams spent time in the area.
Hey now, I live in Albuquerque and it is a nice place so long as you stay north of I-40. I live in the NW area with Petroglyph National Park just a mile away and a straight shot across the river to either the Balloon Fiesta Park or the Sandia Tramway. Too bad you had to just blow through Anthony because the weather right now is just beautiful. Mid to high 60’s with a light breeze.
Well, now I’m hanging here in suspenders for a while wondinger WUWT….
FWIW, I’ve “blown through” Al bee quer kee a few dozen times. I always look forward to it for one reason or another. One year the family deliberately chose to spend a few days there at the Marriott. Had a wonderful time… (Even if we did find out they have “lawn police” who measure your lawn to make sure you do not have ‘too much’ water using grasses and even if they DID have a law that “under 12 can’t use the hot tub for health risks”… The joy of watching my 9 year old son see me look at the the “Hot Tub Police” in the hotel and say, with very straight face and a glare in the eye saying “just try to prove otherwise”, YES, HE IS 12. Was well worth it… He never enjoyed a hot tub more…)
FWIW a few miles out of town some other cities with much more sane laws have the same wonderful environment…
But enjoy your trip..
The most interesting thing about driving from Dallas to Los Angeles, across half a continent, is that you’re starting out in the middle of Texas and ending at the far side of California, and when you’re halfway to your destination you’re still in Texas. Almost 700 miles from Dallas to El Paso!