Of Astronomy, Midnight Drives, and Rain

So yesterday was sooo boring at Scripps. Nothing, and I mean nothing, was going on. After sitting around with my friends for an hour or so, it was suggested by another friend to drive to Mt. Baldy!! An adventure! something new. Something not manufactured by the 5c's. I think we had forgotten what other fun things we could do that wasn't a 5c party.

Anyways, we load up in the car, the sky overcast and grey, the moon's rays blurry like seeing lights through water. We drove up the winding mountain pass, through the two tunnels, and through the very cute alpine village of Mt. Baldy. (they have a fish pond where you can pay to go fishing lol). We accidentally took the wrong turn up, and we were speeding towards some mountain pass in the San Gabriel Mountains. We quickly realized our mistake and turned around, but not before stopping at a small turnoff to admire the view. It was so silent there, the darkness reaching out, blurring the mountain ridges. If one squinted, one could imagine the darkness to be a vast ocean before the mountains.

An Ariel view of Mt. Baldy and Claremont

(Photo credit Claremont Digital Library Collection)

We drove back to Mt. Baldy Village and continued on the right road, the twisty mountain path up Mt. baldy that reminded me of the roads at home. At intervals, the glow of the lights from the Inland Empire spread out below us was visible.  Once at the top, we got out, walked around, danced a little, ate trader joe joe's, and had a generally good time. It was a little chilly so we didn't stay too long. Since it was late at night, no one else was up there, making it as quiet as the turnoff we had visited before.

What I did learn was very interesting things about Astronomy! One of my friends is taking an astronomy class so she shared some info. Apparently, the sun does not just stand still but actual has its own rotational path like all the other planets.

And I learned that the moon is actually moving away from us at a rate of 3 centimeters or something really fast. And when the moon has moved away far enough, we will be screwed because the Earth will have come to a dead standstill. (Maybe we need to build a death star like moon as a replacement) But that won't happen for another billion years, so when it does happen, I will be six feet under! Hurray!

This is a true fact, so if you don't believe me, go look it up and google will tell you the truth.