...zig-zagging through Arizona on the Fourth of July...
...there's some pretty scenic sights to see along the way...
...who doesn't like scenic waterways and giant semi-trucks filled with Little Debbie cakes?
We were headed towards Truth or Consequences, New Mexico to try something new.
We had a scheduled appointment for later in the evening but we weren't in any rush...
Detouring at every interesting road along the way...
Mr. Jenny took it in his pretty little head that we should follow a very tiny road over a very high hill.
It did not go as well as he hoped.
Volcanic rocks are slippery beneath two-wheel drive truck tires
There was a little bit of screaming in terror on the attempted trip up.
And I was screaming a little bit, too.
Ha!
Get it? Mr. Jenny was screaming? Get it?
Okay.
Never mind.
After we made it back to the main road, we agreed.
"Straight to Truth or Consequences. No more detours!"
We almost kept our word.
Until.
Da da da da da.
(insert Close Encounters of the Third Kind music here)
Far in the distance we saw some weird things.
We drove and drove and as we got closer we realized they were giant radio dishes.
Hmmmm...
There was a side road marked "VLA" so we decided to follow it to the radio dishes.
It was a really cool place.
VLA means 'Very Large Array' and Mr. Jenny realized it was the place that the movie "Contact" with Jodie Foster was filmed.
We hopped out and toured the VLA facility.
It was quite fascinating.
Located at a high elevation, the weather felt much cooler than home.
(I guess it doesn't take much to feel cooler than 115 degrees, though...sigh)
Breezes made it comfortable as we walked all around the outside displays.
We only saw four other people there while we went through the self-guided tour.
It was a really, really interesting zig-zag.
We were glad we had stopped, but we realized that a monsoon was coming in and we still had some miles to cover to get to our 8 o'clock pm appointment in Truth or Consequences.
Posts
20 comments:
That looks very cool Jenny...hope you made it to your appt. on time and didn't get drenched!
Slippery hill, not so cool! VLA VERY COOL!!
Linda
That movie was filmed a long time ago, do these things do anything now, other that arouse curiosity and look cool? I'm surprised they've lasted so long without being completely vandalized.
Wow! So interesting, love the pics. It is very dry out there and looks HOT. Is there truly a place called Truth or Consequences? I'm gonna Google it right now.
Traveling in fun with y'all.
This is a cliff hanger! Now I want to know what happened in Truth or Consequences!!
It's nice to know that Mr. Jenny has a pretty little head. The Hurricane would love seeing where Contact was filmed. She loves that movie and cries every time she watches it. I don't know why.
Love,
Janie
I thought those things looked familiar when I saw your first pic! I kinda wish we had explored New Mexico a little more when we were there.
Great adventure....hope you made it to your destination before the monsoons~!
That looks seriously cool. I loved the pictures.
Loved your photos, Jenny! I'm going to love exploring New Mexico when we get a chance!
The VLAs really are cool (even at 100 degrees -- a cold snap in your neck of the woods). And I remember that Jodie Foster film! Waiting to hear the rest of the story....
Oh my goodness, how fun! I love detours but Jeffrey is more of a "do you know how much gas that will waste?" Kind of guy. But look, you got to see some wicked awesome satellite dishes! Very cool, indeed.
My husband and I drove around some interesting things like that in our tour of the Southwest a few years ago!
Oh, I loved that movie! The wilds looked interesting, too. zig-zaggin' is the way to go! :)
Truth or Consequences, eh?
You two have a lot of adventure still left in there. Sounds like fun.
One never knows what will be found on the side of the road.
:)
That is SO cool. I remember that movie; I loved it.
I'm a fan of your zig zagging travel style; but lets slow down on the screaming in terror. Ok, Mr Jenny?
I love the way you guys travel!
Very nice photos also. Some nice scenery and Little Debbie pastries and I'm good...
I just looked up the VLA and it appears to be used more now and have more uses than back in the day.
Sure did not look like satellite dishes from afar! I would have needed a closer look also.
Post a Comment