Back in Colorado

I got back to Colorado last Tuesday. After a few days of taking instrument racks off the plane and loading and unloading trucks, the CalNex field project is finally over.

Two things that struck me about Colorado: how clearly one can see the mountains (less smog) and how green it is.

For example, here is a picture of Ontario I took from the P-3:


and one of the Flatirons from the NOAA parking lot:



Today, I took a short bike ride through the north Louisville Open Space.


I rode mainly so I could take these pictures of the Boulder Valley:

Touring around L.A.

I had the day off, so I went with Ken to the La Brea tar pits. There are a dozen or so pits in the park. The Lake Pit is the one I usually associate with the tar pits. I took a picture of it as methane was bubbling out:


They are continuously excavating the pits for fossils:


All sorts of prehistoric animals fell into the pits: mastodons, saber-tooth tigers, giant sloths, American lions, large camels, bison, and wolves. This wall in the museum displayed 400 of the 1600 wolf skeletons that have been excavated from the site:


The museum also houses a paleontology lab, where workers are currently uncovering a mastodon skeleton dubbed Zed. Its tusk is on the left:


Here's a picture of a tar bubble right before it burst:


On the way back to Ontario, we stopped in the hills of Hollywood to look at the Hollywood sign. Here is a blurry picture of the sign (my camera focused on the branches in the foreground):


On the way down, we had a good view of L.A.

Venice Beach

I went with Ken, John, Paola, and Harald to Venice Beach today:


Venice was modeled after its namesake in Italy, complete with canals:


Unfortunately, it was an overcast day:


But the promenade was still full of people:

World Cup Party

We flew back to Ontario yesterday. Today, John and I hosted a USA-England viewing party at our apartment.


We even had all-American snacks!

Redeployed

We're back in Tampa for two flights over the oil slick.

One more random picture

Birds sitting on stucco on the side of a building:

Random Ontario Pictures

The plants in Southern California are impressive. For example, the apartment complex I'm staying in has jacaranda trees in full (purple) bloom and palm trees:



Two pictures I took outside of the Jet Center:

Black Widow

Moonrise