Look up! Notable night sky events this week…
- Comet Lemmon (C/2025 A6) is still visible after sunset. Find the star ARCTURUS and locate it high to the west-southwest. Phone exposures and binoculars will aid viewing.
- The Moon reached its 1st Quarter phase on October 29th; the next supermoon occurs on November 5th with the Beaver Full Moon.
Roswell, Alamogordo, Phoenix, and back to Sedona
Have telescope, will travel
When I left Florida, I knew I wanted to travel the country hosting astronomy events. Especially on the sidewalk, putting telescopes in front of people and providing the opportunity to view the cosmos is my forte. While I haven’t had my full “mini-museum” up and running here out west (it’s sitting in storage in Florida), I’ve at least managed to replicate some of the experience.
Living in the van affords me the ability to travel on a whim. And with my solar panels, primary 2000W battery, microwave, minifridge, and makeshift pantry, traveling has become very cheap. If you saw my MicroAdventure from early October, you know that my six-day, 730-mile trip cost less than $300.
So when Bobbi from Majestic Adventures met me during her stay in Sedona, we got to talking about how she was looking for an astronomer to guide a group for stargazing on an upcoming bus tour in New Mexico. Soon after, we made arrangements, and on October 25th, I set off on the 500-mile drive from Sedona to Roswell.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25TH
After grabbing my coffee and a donut from my usual morning spot, I got on the road around 7:30am to head north to I-40 and east into New Mexico. It’s a drive I’ve done before, mostly in the dark, so getting to see everything I had passed all those months ago gave me a new perspective.
After 5 hours, I diverted off I-40 and drove south to Roswell. This section of New Mexico is extremely rural, nearly an hour of driving between towns. Coming from the north, you only pass two very small towns over the course of nearly 2.5 hours before reaching Roswell.
I stopped at the same “Welcome to Roswell” sign that I did during my trip to Arizona last year, got my picture, then went to meet the bus tour group at their hotel. After confirming logistics for the night, I went and set up the telescopes at Bottomless Lakes State Park for our first stargazing event of the weekend.
I endured mosquitos for an hour as I waited for the tour group to arrive after dark. By 7:30pm, the tour group arrived, and the mosquitos had buzzed off. Despite its isolation, the town isn’t a Dark Sky Community, so off to the western horizon was a line of white lights marking downtown Roswell. Even so, we could image Comet Lemmon, find the Andromeda Galaxy, view the Double Star Cluster, discover a few double stars, and see Saturn and some of its moons.
The group of 21 older adults loved the experience, talking amongst each other and shuffling between the telescopes to see what sights they could. They were so energetic and active, which enhanced the quality of the event overall. Having that back-and-forth conversation with people asking questions and being truly curious about the cosmos adds a dynamic layer to the stargazing tour.
Daily Totals
Driving Miles: 572
Spending: $11.77
Food: $0.00
Gas: $58.38
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26TH
After the tour group left Saturday night, the camp host walked over and told me I was free to stay the night so I didn’t have to go find dispersed camping (thank you, Will!) So I woke up in Bottomless Lakes and spent the morning charging solar, eating breakfast, washing up a bit, and researching some activities to do in Roswell for the day.
I started out with an iced coffee from Stellar Coffee Co. downtown, a whopping 32oz iced caramel cold brew (I’m basic like that). But, heck. I’ve seen 16oz; I’ve seen 20oz. but can’t say I’ve seen a 32oz before.
I took that quart of coffee with me as I meandered downtown, admiring the alien-faced lampposts, the giant alien holding up the Dunkin Donuts sign, the flying saucer-themed McDonald’s playplace, and all the other dozens of alien shops and signs and statues.
As I said when I was there last year, Roswell went all-out with the alien stuff. I also remember from last year when I went to the museums and shops, I truly think the Gen Z staff at many of these places are so over the alien hype surrounding Roswell.
Something I’ve come to realize about vanlife is it doesn’t all have to be an adventure, or sightseeing, or some grand spectacle. Often, its just…life. Home is always on the move. So after walking downtown a while, I found a park–Enchanted Lands Park–and just relaxed a while, walked down the path for a couple miles, just did a totally normal thing without glamour and touristy-stuff embedded into it.
Following that, I discovered a free zoo across town, the Spring River Zoo. While it’s not large by any means, it was a great place to continue strolling around with no rush necessary. There was an eagle, and black bears, and bison, and capybaras, llamas, coatimundi, and more. It was a good place to spend 45 minutes.
I still had some time until I needed to meet the tour group for dinner at Cattle Baron, so I found the Old Frazier Schoolhouse, an abandoned schoolhouse about 25 minutes outside Roswell. It was neat to see a distant part of the area’s history, though it’s not the most family-friendly spot, what with graphic graffiti sprayed onto many of the walls, particularly on the back structure. If you follow the overgrown road southwest of the schoolhouse, you’ll also happen across the Acme Cemetery (you’ll notice it’s spelled Cemetary on the rusted sign).
Be careful if you’re allergic to bees; hundreds of wasps were buzzing around the main schoolhouse structure.
At 6:30pm, I met the bus tour group for dinner at Cattle Baron and talked with many of the older adults about travels and astronomy, and listened to some of their own stories as well. It was a good way to end the evening, and as we joked, it was good to actual see each other, not just be in the pitch black!
After dinner, I drove an hour west toward Alamogordo and found a dispersed campground on a forest road up the side of a mountain just outside Ruidoso. In the black and freezing nights, the stars glimmered above me. I particularly loved seeing Orion rising right in the dip of a valley to the east.
Then I heard a scary noise and locked myself in the van for the night.
Daily Totals
Driving Miles: 122
Spending: $61.67
Food: $0.00
Gas: $29.97
MONDAY, OCTOBER 27TH
I woke up to cows mooing outside. Mountain cows, I like to call them. They’re all over the west. Most of the time, and this was no different, they aren’t all that curious about humans and kind of just want you to go away. Still, when I opened my back doors, there was a cow standing a few yards away staring at me, clearly muttering “tourists…” under its breath.
I put myself together, went on a short walk in the cold mountain air, then continued on my way toward Alamogordo. A few minutes up the road was the ski resort town of Ruidoso, outside Ski Apache and Alto, New Mexico. It had all the makings of a wintry ski town: cabins, shops and cafes and restaurants all lining the roads, and a number of mountain activities both summer and winter.
I found Casitas Cafe at the edge of town. Though I was the only person when I walked in at 8:30am, by 9:00am the place was hopping, packed to the brim with people stopping for coffee and breakfast. In true fashion, I ordered a southwest breakfast burrito, a peach smoothie, and coffee (with unlimited refills!)
After eating, I continued westward through the mountains in Lincoln National Forest. Soon I was over the top and coming down the western face. Out in the distance, a massive field of glittering white sand spread to the San Andres Mountains: White Sands Missile Range, and White Sands National Park.
Fun fact: that entire expanse is as big as Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Washington DC combined. It’s quite huge.
I came through the quiet town of Tularosa, then down the long, straight road leading to Alamogordo. Along the way, I passed Trinity Turtle Healing Labyrinth Park, a wonderful campground and meditation project, where we would be stargazing later that night.
Farther down the road is McGinn’s Pistachioland, home of the World’s Largest Pistachio. They aren’t kidding:
While it’s mostly a roadside attraction and general store, there is also a guided tram tour you can take around the pistachio fields to learn more about the desert nut.
Funny enough, I randomly came across the tour group here!
After leaving, I went to Walmart to get a dinner for the evening, then headed up the hill to the Space History Museum, a five-story museum about how much of the United States’ space program was fostered in Alamogordo and White Sands. It’s also home to the gravesite of HAM, the first chimp in outer space, who was about seven years old when he went to space, and lived nearly three more decades afterward. Plan to spend 2-3 hours at the museum, there was A LOT to do.
After the museum, I ate lunch, then found a short hike to Bridal Veil Falls (no, not the Yosemite one, or the Columbia River Gorge one, or the….) The full trail is about 3 miles one way, but there’s an abbreviated version that’s just over 1/2 mile one-way. Fed by a spring, the falls flow year-round, but I’m assuming are better during snowmelt and after rain, as it was more of a heavy trickle than anything I saw in pictures.
After the hike, I drove back down to Alamogordo and all the way up to Trinity Turtle Healing Labyrinth Park. I drove to the back and began setting up for the stargazing tour, and a few minutes later, one of the owner/caretakers drove out and we got to talking. If you’re ever out that way, his name is Larry, and he is incredibly nice and kind, and always excited to meet people staying at the park. He brought over chairs and water for everyone on the tour and made sure that I knew the story of why the park was created and how its purpose and mission have expanded.
Once I finished setting up, I walked the labyrinths as I waited for the tour group to arrive. The labyrinth burned orange in the sunset, and at one point I looked up and saw a SpaceX rocket flying over the San Andres, a neat addition to the evening.
wind your way through the labyrinth
The group arrived just after 7:30pm and immediately upon getting off the bus, they sang me happy birthday (my birthday was the next day). Then we got to stargazing, seeing the Pleiades, Saturn, the Moon, Mizar, and the Ring Nebula, an ancient supernova. There were also tons of satellites, a few of which members of the group saw crossing through the eyepieces.
Even with the Moon out, I’d say it the overall sky was darker than the skies above Roswell. I can only imagine the area on a moonless night.
I stayed up a little while longer to stargaze after the Moon went down. The stars outlined the silhouettes of the mountains rising in the distance, and a dim glow above Alamogordo was the only sign of any significant civilization in the area.
I woke up the next morning with Jupiter directly above me and Venus low in the east, twinkling white in the glow of the coming sunrise. A blue veil hung over the San Andres, then a vibrant yellow and pink, and as the Sun rose higher, the white sands turned pink, glittering like jewels of the desert. Quite honestly, it was one of the prettier sunrises I’ve seen in a while. I sat on my van’s roof and watched the colors changing for a while, then, with a nearly 8-hour drive ahead of me, I ate breakfast and started the drive to Phoenix.
Daily Totals
Driving Miles: 83
Spending: $17.21
Food: $27.89
Gas: $0.00
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28TH
These roads go on forever in straight lines. First sideways, then a turn toward the mountains. For nearly an hour, the dunes of White Sands run alongside you, an endless expanse that quite literally feels never-ending until the road finally goes from being flat, to slightly elevated at the base of the mountains.
Having driven from New Mexico into Arizona multiple times in the past two years now, I always try to take a different road. Last year I drove the I-10 route. In May I drove the I-40 route. So this time, I drove the Highway-180 route that branches off I-10 and runs into the middle of the Arizona desert, through small towns (and one bigger one, Safford), and then turns off before you reach Globe.
Being an older van (shoutout to Sagan with its now 243,000 miles still truckin’ along), my van did not enjoy the 10% grade coming out of the eastern AZ mountains. Need to get my transmission flushed. Those downhills with no passing lanes (why???????) were nerve-wracking with a line of cars behind me and me doing my best to not make the engine struggle. I did manage to pull over and let everyone by, but it was dumb.
Finally, I reached friends in Phoenix around 3pm after 7.5 hours crossing a little under 500 miles back. While I still had the drive to Sedona the next day, I count this as my conclusion to the New Mexico adventure.
Where will I be drawn to next?
Daily Totals
Driving Miles: 421
Spending: $9.78
Food: $0.00
Gas: $38.39
New Mexico Adventure Totals
Driving Miles: 1,198
Spending: $100.43
Food: $27.89
Gas: $126.74
Total Cost of the New Mexico Stargazing Tour Adventure:
$255.06
This world is beautiful.
Alex
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