The Stars Are Disappearing

  Did you know that that the stars are slowly disappearing from our view?  I didn't realize this until yesterday and frankly, I am quite bummed to learn this new bit of information.

  I was reading some travel information about the trip we are planning for next summer.  One of the activities that I would love, love, love to carry the boys to do is a moonlit hike through Bryce Canyon.  Hiking boots are required and flashlights aren't allowed.  It is led by a park ranger, nicknamed the "Dark Ranger", who points out constellations that are clearly visible in the Utah sky. I have read that doing this is spectacular and that if you participate....you will never forget it.  It seems like a magnificent experience.

  While reading about this, I learned that Bryce Canyon is known to still have a "dark sky", which makes for great star viewing.  I also learned that "dark skies" are now very uncommon.  We, as humans, depend on artificial lighting so much that our night skies are lit up all night long....artificially. All of the exterior house lights and street lights prevent anyone nearby from being able to see the stars clearly. The umbrella of light that is given off by big cities prevents residents for HUNDREDS of miles from seeing the stars.

The photo below shows the difference in the same night sky from a city area and a rural area.

photo courtesy of: http://flickr.com/photos/79297308@N00/1035660145

  I learned that only about 20% of the United States can still view the Milky Way.  When I read this, the whole dissapearing of the stars became personal.  I thought back when I was a child and can clearly remember sitting out by the pond in my field and looking up at the Milky Way.  I remember my sister and I discussing that the Milky Way kind of looked like a cloud, instead of stars. 

  That's when I realized that I couldn't see it anymore. I can't see the Milky Way from the same field I viewed it from as a child. I hadn't thought about it at all in years.  I never thought about why I couldn't see it anymore.  It never even crossed my mind.  We have almost an entire generation of children who have never seen the Milky Way or viewed thousands and thousands of stars.

We are making our stars dissapear.

  That makes me sad.

Beauty Found...Right in My Own State of Bama!

   I know that I have said it 80 Bazillion times, but there is nothing more delightful to me than enjoying an adventure in nature.  I am constantly in awe of the things God placed on our green and blue rock for our enjoyment.  There are sights on this earth that are truly breathtaking.  So often, our family loads up the boys and drives for miles and miles across other states to find such rare beauty. 

  But this adventure was just a hop, skip, and a jump away. On Sunday, we carried the boys to Cathedral Caverns, which is in Grant, Alabama.  It only took us about an hour to get there and we had such a wonderful time! 

As we were entering the cave, Sawyer grinned and said, "I'm so excited! I've never been in a cave before!" (He really has. We carried the boys to Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. But apparently, it was so long ago that he doesn't remember.)

The photo above shows what 100% humidity looks like in the pitch dark with a flash to light up the droplets. 

Besides the amazing cave formations, the highlight of the cave tour was a moment in absolute darkness.  When we got to the farthest point in the cave, the guide asked our group if we would like to experience total darkness. 

If you have never experienced total darkenss, you should find a cave and do it.  At least once.

It was an unusual sensation.

Eerie maybe?

After our cave adventure, we picked up a trail map and drove to the trail head of a hike that we picked.  We chose one that was a mile and a half, because we were pressed for time.  Tucker had basketball practice, which was a total buzzkill to the whole afternoon.

We found the trailhead and started off on the path that was so creatively named....

 Blue Trail.

You can probably deduce the reasoning behind the name.

We walked about half a mile on Blue Trail enjoying the fall colors and the leaves carpeting the trail path.  We joked at how loud our feet were crunching the leaves and that we had absolutely no hope of seeing any form of wildlife because of our leaf crunching stomps.

We all tried....very unsuccessfully.....to tiptoe through the leaves without making noise.  This attempt just made us all erupt with laughter and be even louder.

The sign for Blue Trail indicated that we turn left through the woods.  We followed the signs which led us out onto the highway.  The remainder of the "hike" was basically just walking down the road.  Not an immersion into nature.  Not cool.

Some other highlights from this little hidden Alabama gem were.....

This little bridge.....

 Taking about 6 other photos before settling on this one because the other five made me look like I had double chins.  Bradley found the whole ordeal slightly amusing.  He thought the first snap was perfectly satisfactory.  (You gotta be a chick to understand.)

The boys exploring this little footpath while Bradley and I stood above them on a bridge......taking 6 photos of ourselves.

The massive opening of this cavern.  Holy Mackrell! 

 This view!

I know I sound like a commercial for Outdoor Alabama...or for Mother Nature....but seriously.....if you are sitting in front of the telelvison or computer all day....you are missing the good stuff.