Leaving Bisbee was hard, as leaving any truly great place is. But sometimes in life, you have to make hard decisions, and with my flight booked out of Phoenix to the final WWE show before Wrestlemania eminent, it’s time to make the hard decision and head north.

A stop in Tombstone made that decision a little easier, for a few minutes.

I hitch Rain Cloud Follows to the sidewalk, and mosey down Main Street.

Tombstone is a tourist trap, but it is a cool one, because at least they have gunfights on the hour. Any tourist trap can be made infinitely better with the simple addition of a gunfight. Instead of watching the battle, which I have already seen, I stop into my favorite Tombstone watering hole for a quick beverage.

The beverage goes right through me, and I see this sign in the Cowboy’s room.

I Wonder If They Knew I Was Coming?

To my horror, when I return to Rain Cloud Follows, I can tell something is wrong. After a quick check, I realize some slimy little shit, some random scumbag stole my favorite possession, the Kingdom of Rhode Island flag that I’ve proudly flown on every ride I have taken on Rain Cloud Follows.

Missing – Reward for Capture of Flag Thief

Tombstone is still a pretty lawless place. Where is Wyatt Earp when you need him?

Shit.

After fantasizing about hangings, drawing and quarterings, waterboardings and other messy methods of punishing the Flag Thief, I resolve to get over my loss and somehow find the strength to carry on. The fact that I am heading to the Kitt Peak Observatory for an evening of stargazing makes this resolution easier.

But first, my Ghost Rider Tribute, which I changed up so the missing flag wouldn’t be noticed.

Kitt Peak Observatory, located about forty five miles outside Tucson, hosts twenty-six telescopes. A Nightly Observer program offers, for a small fee, the opportunity for visitors to use one of their sixteen inch telescopes to peer out at the universe. When I found out about the program a few weeks ago, I immediately signed up.

The ride up to the top of Kitt Peak is exhilarating, I’m easily the first to arrive. The group, almost forty strong, is excited to learn about the stars and see some up close and personal. But first, we gather outside to watch the sunset.

With the distracting sun safely out of the way, we are taken on a tour of the universe, first with binoculars, then, what everyone is waiting for, through the telescope.

I have to admit that the views were somewhat disappointing. While I was expecting this view of the Cigar Galaxy:

Through the sixteen inch eye of the Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, it looked more like this:

Then, our guide explained that the light from the Cigar Galaxy that we were seeing left that galaxy about twelve MILLION years ago, and is just now reaching the Earth. For all we know – and there is no easy way to tell with any amount of certainty –  the Cigar Galaxy might not even be there anymore.

Because of the enormous distance involved, what we are seeing at that moment is what the Cigar Galaxy looked like twelve million years in the past. This is such a huge mind fuck it still makes me dizzy just thinking about it. Telescopes have a way of putting everything in perspective, and making me feel incredibly small and insignificant.

The fun wasn’t over when the program ended, not by a long shot. At the end of the viewing, our guide announced, “Folks, as there is active astronomical research going on all night, we need a favor from you. Light from headlights can mess up sensitive telescopes, so we ask as you leave that you please refrain from turning on your headlights until you are one mile down the access road.”

Ummm…. Say what?

After asking if they were out of their minds, I tell them I can’t just switch off my headlights. The guide assures me he is serious, then offers a low tech solution – taping manila folders over my headlights. Oh yeah baby, I’ll just use the force to get down that first winding, windy mile of mountainous road.

This is what the first mile looked like:

And not just because I had my eyes shut for most of it.

The remaining miles back to Tucson were much less exciting as that first mile was. For anyone interested, I can highly, enthusiastically, one hundred percent recommend against taping folders over your headlights and descending a mountain road at midnight. My toast that night is to the Best Day Ever to Still-Be-Alive-After-Blatantly-Cheating-Death-on-the-Side-of-a-Mountain.

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Author: frenchy

One Response to “The Road to Wrestlemania XXVI – Day Four”

1. Ed Hill says:

   April 7, 2010 at 8:34 PM

   Going to add a pair of NightVision goggles to the kit next are you?

   Reply