Mesa Laboratory
We escaped the cold winds in Estes Park today by descending two thousand feet to Boulder where the sun was strong and temperatures were in the seventies. We wandered around downtown Boulder for a while and then drove up Table Mesa Drive to the National Center for Atmospheric Research, otherwise known as NCAR. If you’re familiar with the Discovery Channel’s Storm Chasers series, you might already know that NCAR happens to be where Josh Wurman and his storm chasing team are based.
NCAR has several educational exhibits open to the public that explain all sorts of atmospheric phenomena. My favorite was the tornado exhibit, an eight-foot-tall swirling column of steam and air that simulates the flow pattern of a typical tornado. A funnel cloud that could fit in my living room. Fantastic.
After browsing the exhibits, we went outside to explore. We found the Walter Orr Roberts Trail, a short path that is punctuated by educational signs describing the weather and wildlife of the area. NCAR turned out to be a nice afternoon outing and I’d definitely like to revisit the area and explore some of the other trails in the area such as Mesa Trail, Skunk Canyon and Mallory Cave.
Assortment
- Mendenhall Glacier
- After Tracy Arm Fjoryd, our next stop on our cruise was Juneau. While in Juneau, where took a helicopter tour to Mendenhall Glacier.
- January Busy Work
- January always seems to be one of the busiest months of the year for me. On the job front, I usually receive a flood of new projects and responsibilities that need my immediate attention and require many hours of overtime.
- Shanahan Mesa
- Another busy week of work, which means another week spent sitting at my desk, staring into my computer screen. Saturday arrives and I’m spoiling for a hike. But I don’t want to bother with an elaborate excursion, so it’s back to Boulder to hike Mesa Trail and the nearby canyons and mesas.
