Day 10 – Our jobs start
Up at 7. We had coffee and looked at the work schedule and realized that we don’t understand the codes. We don’t know when to report or what. Our house mate came out and helped us out. Bonnie has to report at 10. I went with her even though it says I don’t report until 1 PM. Bonnie is put on the front desk welcoming visitors, answering questions. She is a fast study with the basics and has a good time except for one other volunteer who makes her a bit unhappy. She will have to tell you about that. This was our first day at work and like most first days it involves some orientation and training. You have to learn the job.
I set up a solar telescope (H-alpha) and another ranger set up a white light telescope in front of the visitor center. There is a sunspot group visible, which is good news, since sunspots have been in short supply for over a year (OK, pretty much a zero). Maybe this is the start of the next sunspot cycle. There is a steady stream of visitors so that in the 2 hours we were open for business we had about 100 people stop and look.
After filling out paperwork and signing forms we get lunch. I head back to work on the large telescope the park has, an 11” Celestron CPC series. I proceed to take the base apart to see what condition some nylon bearings are in. One nut I need to remove is 45 mm in diameter. I need a wrench that size. It takes me a half hour to locate one that will work. I get the unit apart and the bearings look fine, if a bit frail. The first versions of this scope used steel bearings. Oh, well. It takes me all afternoon to take the unit apart and to reassemble it. By that time, it’s time to quit.
For dinner we grilled burgers with our house mates and had a nice salad. Fresh baked brownies hit the spot as our living room turned into a gathering place and we listened to another volunteer regale us with his exploits of spraining both ankles in a fall while hiking alone and barely making it out of the canyon. He used his water to clean a cut and ran out of drinking water, a definite no-no. When he finally got out, he was exhausted and parched. Some people saw him and asked if he was alright. He explained that he took a fall and was hurt and did they have some water to share? They said yes, went to their car and drove off! (He said he did he looked a sight. In one of his falls he slid and his trouser backsides completely wore through.) BUT These were Americans and he had a ranger shirt on. Some German tourists soon came by and gave him some water. He is doing OK. Hurts more today for sure. He was trying to be careful, but did not observe proper protocol for such a hike.
Heads up: tomorrow is my first chance to see the really dark skies of this park. It will only be for 30 minutes or so after dusk until the Moon rises but it’s a start. Today was a beautiful day weatherwise. Lows are in the 50s, highs near 90. The mornings are wonderful, the evenings lovely, the afternoons very warm. But it is a dry heat so shirts don’t get clingy wet with sweat, excuse me, perspiration.
I set up a solar telescope (H-alpha) and another ranger set up a white light telescope in front of the visitor center. There is a sunspot group visible, which is good news, since sunspots have been in short supply for over a year (OK, pretty much a zero). Maybe this is the start of the next sunspot cycle. There is a steady stream of visitors so that in the 2 hours we were open for business we had about 100 people stop and look.
After filling out paperwork and signing forms we get lunch. I head back to work on the large telescope the park has, an 11” Celestron CPC series. I proceed to take the base apart to see what condition some nylon bearings are in. One nut I need to remove is 45 mm in diameter. I need a wrench that size. It takes me a half hour to locate one that will work. I get the unit apart and the bearings look fine, if a bit frail. The first versions of this scope used steel bearings. Oh, well. It takes me all afternoon to take the unit apart and to reassemble it. By that time, it’s time to quit.
For dinner we grilled burgers with our house mates and had a nice salad. Fresh baked brownies hit the spot as our living room turned into a gathering place and we listened to another volunteer regale us with his exploits of spraining both ankles in a fall while hiking alone and barely making it out of the canyon. He used his water to clean a cut and ran out of drinking water, a definite no-no. When he finally got out, he was exhausted and parched. Some people saw him and asked if he was alright. He explained that he took a fall and was hurt and did they have some water to share? They said yes, went to their car and drove off! (He said he did he looked a sight. In one of his falls he slid and his trouser backsides completely wore through.) BUT These were Americans and he had a ranger shirt on. Some German tourists soon came by and gave him some water. He is doing OK. Hurts more today for sure. He was trying to be careful, but did not observe proper protocol for such a hike.
Heads up: tomorrow is my first chance to see the really dark skies of this park. It will only be for 30 minutes or so after dusk until the Moon rises but it’s a start. Today was a beautiful day weatherwise. Lows are in the 50s, highs near 90. The mornings are wonderful, the evenings lovely, the afternoons very warm. But it is a dry heat so shirts don’t get clingy wet with sweat, excuse me, perspiration.
posted by Chap Percival at 12:40 AM
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