1,250 Feet Above Sea Level

This past Memorial day weekend I ventured to the heart of an unexplored territory, the East Coast of the United States. Interestingly enough, despite having done a fair amount of traveling internationally, before this weekend aside from layovers in Dulles I had never visited anywhere east of Chicago, and even my time there could scarcely be termed a 'visit.'



With a whole branch of the family living along the Eastern Seaboard, I decided it was high time to alter this state of affairs. After viewing the shockingly high prices of Manhattan hotels I contacted my (second, third?) cousin Kris to see if I could arrange a bed at her home in New Jersey. Luckily for me, a bed was available so I booked a flight and was soon on my way.



While I have often been a bit nervous while scrambling across the scree fields of Colorado's 14ers, I do have a passion for high places and the spectacular views they afford. With the hearty endorsement of Kris's husband Steve my first stop in the city was The Empire State Building for a panoramic view of Manhattan and the surrounding Burroughs and states.



Previous travels have seen me at the top of the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral in London (108 Meters), the Landmark Tower in Yokohama (296 meters), the Eiffel Tower (324 Meters) and Tokyo Tower, (333 Meters). Stretching 381 meters (1,250 feet) the Empire State Building is far and away the tallest man made object I have had the pleasure of ascending. Despite the fact that it was completed back in 1931 it still ranks as the 15th tallest building in the world and since the tragedy of 911 is back to being the tallest building in New York City.



Indeed, while the Empire State Building has been surpassed by other taller structures, I would say that it's never been surpassed in popular imagination. After all, King Kong hasn't climbed Taipei 101, or any of the behemoths under construction in Dubai! In a way, the Empire State Building is still The Skyscraper, just as the city below is still The City.



There are two observatories at the top of the building, an outdoor one on the 86th floor, and a smaller indoor one perched at the very top on the 102nd floor. I had to see both. The view, as expected, was mesmerizing, and the 102nd floor was shockingly devoid of tourists. Most people opted for the almost as fantastic view, at a cheaper price. I'm glad I paid the extra though, both for the amazing vistas in ever direction and for the bragging rights!



Interestingly enough, on the ground floor was a Chipotle Mexican Grill, with the requisite photo of the world's first Chipotle, located a few blocks from where I grew up here in Denver. Also, while on the 102nd floor, I overheard a tour group from Scotland chatting about the view... and correctly picked out the one from Glasgow! After descending back down to the bottom, I headed to the subway to see if I could find my way uptown to the American Museum of Natural History.

A Change of Scenery?

Ever since I first traveled overseas, to Ireland in 2000, I have wanted to live in Europe. While my two years in Japan has left me with a love of Asia and a deep desire to move back there, I still haven't lost that desire to live in Europe too.

Luckily I now have that chance. Ever since 2003 I've pondered getting a Masters degree abroad, in Europe. I've visited schools, canvased web sites, and pondered degree programs galore.

I finally found one of major interest when my friend forwarded me the website for Lund University, in southern Sweden. Lund has a large selection of Masters programs taught in English, which given my lack of Swedish speaking ability is a plus, and more importantly has no tuition.

Yeah, you read that right, no tuition fees, even for international students. Now you still have to be able to cover expenses in one of the most expensive countries in the world, but that lack of tuition fees saves at least $15,000 a year right off the bat over your standard masters program.

You may wonder what this has to do with my life. Well, I found out last week that I was accepted to study at Lund University's Center for Asian Studies! Needless to say this is an amazing opportunity, and one that I am thrilled to have been offered. I'll have a very busy summer, but come fall I'll be going back to school, in Sweden!

I suppose I'll have to find a new name for the blog. From "Grant in Japan" to "A Guy in Shorts in a Nation in Pants" to "Kanazawa Tales" to "Denver Tales" this blog has gone through many a metamorphosis in its four year year life span, and it looks like I have another major change of scenery to come, and I look forward to the additional challenges and discoveries that lie in my future.

Nuclear Apocalypse

One of the other things we found out about while at Mt. Rushmore was the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site. During the Cold War the great plains were covered with thousands of missile silos, ready to respond at a moments notice to any hint of Russian attack.




The historic site consists of two parts, the command center, housed below a nondescript building in the middle of the South Dakota prairie, and a silo with a (deactivated) Minuteman II missile inside. We met up with the Park Ranger guide after a 90 mile drive along I-90 from our overnight at the town of Spearfish.



Above ground at the command center we saw living areas for the Air Force missileers and security forces who were stationed there. Below the surface was the actual command center, where two men would be stationed for a 24 hour shift. All the familiar tropes are present, with a missile launch requiring two independent keys within the command center, and the agreement of two command centers to actually launch. The center itself is 31 feet under ground, behind a huge blast door (with the Dominoes Pizza ad on it) and mounted on shocks, ready to withstand a near miss from a Soviet nuke.



After that we got to see an actual, unmanned, Minuteman II silo. The key to the Minuteman II system was that it was a stable, solid fueled missile that could be kept at the ready for decades without danger or degradation. Previous liquid fueled ICBM's couldn't be kept in a ready state, and had to be fueled before launch, a laborious and time consuming process when Russian nukes where headed your way! This way American strategic forces could be ready to lay waste to any corner of the globe with a mere 30 minutes notice. It revolutionized the American nuclear deterrent, and was in place from the late 60's through to the early 90's. However even today there are active missile silos all around Wyoming, Montana and ... Colorado!

Jewel Cave

At the Mt. Rushmore office I plundered their supply of National Parks pamphlets looking for other sites of interest in the area. The road from New Castle to Mt. Rushmore passed a turnoff for Jewel Cave National Monument, and the site looked like the more interesting and the closest of the two federally administered caves in the area (the other being Wind Cave.)



Jewel cave got its name from its many beautiful cave formations, especially the 'popcorn' and the crystals the dot the cave walls. For many years after it's designation as a national monument in 1908 Jewel cave was known only as a particularly beautiful cave, but in the late 1950's that changed.



A pair of local cavers on an exploration mission found that the cave kept going, and going, and going. When we visited in January, a little bit over 130 miles of cave had been mapped. As of May 3rd the total explored area of the cave measures 145.17 mile, making it the second longest known cave in the world, behind Mammoth Cave (360+ miles long)in Kentucky. However, neither Mammoth nor Jewel cave have been fully explored, and wind sensor readings say that there will be new passages to map in Jewel cave for a long time to come.



We really lucked out with traveling in the off season (again), with just Michael, myself and one other tourist on the cave tour. The guide said that often in the summer months the tours sell out, with over 50 people in each tour group. Obviously, we got a much more personalized experience, and had a great time interacting with the park ranger who led us around the 'scenic' tour.

Mt. Rushmore

Waking up early, in part due to the train tracks that ran perilously close to our hotel, Mike and I saddled up and struck out for Mt. Rushmore. Through no fault or planning on our parts, we arrived on the morning of the Inauguration. To celebrate the next president, this shrine to past presidents was free to enter all morning!



I'll admit, my first thought as we walked up to the rocky edifice was, "I thought it would be bigger!" Though as I got closer to the sculpture, I saw that it was plenty big enough. Washington's head stretches 60 feet from chin to forehead, and his nose is a shocking 20 feet long.



We really lucked out with our timing, the deep blue sky seemed more early May than late January, and the lack of high season crowds was a serious bonus. We could wander around and photograph the monument to our hearts content, with no competition or wailing youngsters.



While the actual mountain is certainly the centerpiece of the park, there was also a (closed for the season) museum that was dedicated to the creation of the monument, and the work of the sculptor, Gutzon Borglum. There was also a really interesting little area dedicated to each of the presidents enshrined in the granite face, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt. I think Mike especially appreciated that display, as his knowledge of US history is a bit limited. (Rightly so, my knowledge of New Zealand's history is probably far more limited.)



Of course, I couldn't leave without trying my hands at a couple of HDR images with my new remote. While the tripod/ remote worked out perfectly, the bright blue sky and direct sunlight didn't really provide the contrast needed for an effective HDR. After all, who needs more dynamic range when there isn't much range in the values in the first place? I had a little more success with a shot taken of the columns and benchs near the bookstore.

The Long Drive

With Mike in town, the main plan was to do the Great American Road Trip. Our original idea was for me to take a week off and drive through the Southwest to LA, but when renting a car for a one way drive proved prohibitively expensive, we recalculated and decided to drive to Mt. Rushmore instead.



As befits a pair of hard partying 20-somethings, we got a late start heading north on Interstate 25. I'll admit that I had been a little bit worried about being the main driver on an epic cross country road trip. People who know me can testify to my distaste for all things automobile related. However, as we reached the northern reaches of the state and the highway opened up I discovered the glory of cruise control.



As we passed into Wyoming the first thing we saw was the huge signs for fireworks stores. Mike and I had often whiled away the time in Japan by lighting off fireworks, so we just had to stop and peruse the selection. (On a related note, if anybody knows a good place to detonate enough fireworks to take over a small South American Country, let me know)



As it got dark we opted to stay in Newcastle Wyoming, the Gateway to the Black Hills. All in all we weren't too impressed with poor Newcastle, like a lot of small towns there is a lack of young people, and a resultant lack of things for traveling young people to do. We relaxed in a local bar with a quick beer and bite to eat before we hit the sack in preperation for the next day's drive.

A Kiwi at the Stock Show

Back in January my good friend Michael stopped by Colorado on the last leg of an around the world trip. He had started by flying from his native New Zealand to Tokyo, from there to London and Munich, then to New York, Chicago and finally Denver. Yes it does seem strange to see Denver listed among those great cities of the world. Of course a big part of the reason he stopped here was to see me!



Since he was in town at the same time as the National Western Stock Show, we figured it would be fun to go to the Rodeo. I enjoy seeing the cowboys strut their stuff, and it is a great activity that is a good look into the culture and history of the area.



The best part was (as always) the mutton busting, with very young children holding on to rampaging sheep. I always really enjoy the barrel racing, I suppose because it takes skill, is unlikely to result in serious injury, and can make for some good photographs.



Mike was agog that people actually wear cowboy hats, he said that in New Zealand, you can only buy them at costume shops!

Snow Days

As I write this overdue entry, the wind outside howls for my blood. You would be forgiven in wondering just why I've angered the wind.

Flashback to a few weeks ago, and I was telling everybody that "Colorado didn't have a winter this year." It was true, especially when compared to the last few years, we had a very mild winter in Denver. In January we posted record high's, sometimes temperatures reached as high as the upper 60's or more. This phenomenon stretched beyond Colorado, even when I was in South Dakota on our road trip (more on that later) I had to run the Air Conditioning in my car. Yes, you read that right, run the a/c while in South Dakota in January. You can see how I could assume that the worst wasn't very bad to begin with, and it was over.

Which brings us back to the wind, and why you never assume anything about the weather in these parts. Last week we had quite the storm, the first real winter storm all year, and the worst one to hit the Metro Area in a while. Denver pretty much shut down around 2, and everybody went home. I got leave a little bit early at around 4:30, by which time the streets were empty and everything was closed. Since then we've had several days of snow, and today was predicted to be another heavy Blizzard. Luckily that prediction hasn't come true yet, and snow fall was light last night, but the wind has been blowing hard since last night. I can here it howling against my windows, and I'm glad I'm in my warm apartment with a nice cup of coffee. I've always found that its a bad idea to insult the weather in Colorado, and once again that has been proven right. Next time maybe I'll remember that if anything stays constant around here, it's that the weather can and will do anything at anytime.

Vulcan's Forge

Growing up in Colorado, I've long been fascinated by geology. In some ways I think it ties into my love of history. After all, geology is the history of the earth, laid down in the rocks. If you can read the rocks, you can read back millions or even billions of years. While the study of history, human and Terran, is wonderful, sometimes it is nice to see history happen, to see things be made. I think that is one reason I had wanted to travel to Hawaii. The chance to see rocks that are younger than I am is a rare chance indeed!



On Halloween Megan and I flew from Honolulu to Hilo airport for a trip to Volcanoes National Park, the centerpiece of current activity on the Hawaiian Hot Spot. Interestingly enough, we were there in time to see a very interesting bit of science taking place. Volcanoes (traditionally) feed from a single magma chamber deep in the earth, and so (traditionally) erupt from one area at a time. While this eruptive vent can shift around the volcano, usually only one vent is active at any one time. At least, that was true before March of 2008. The vast caldera at the summit of Kilauea had been dormant since 1924, and the constantly spewing lava that the volcano is known for had moved to the east. Then, last March, a new vent in Halema‘uma‘u Crater (above) on the summit of Kilauea exploded. When we were there it was still erupting ash and noxious gases into the air, at the same time as vast amounts of lava flowed into the sea from another part of the volcano. Kilauea is the first volcano to erupt simultaneously from two separate vents, and you can imagine the geologists are busy little bees trying to figure it all out!



Near the summit is the Thurston Lava Tube, which was another amazing spectacle. Lava tubes are formed when erupting lava congeals on the surface of the flow, which protects and insulates the rest of the river of rock. When the eruption stops, the molten rock runs out of the worm tunnel it has created, leaving a very different sort of cave behind. Part of the Thurston tube is paved and well lit, and part of it isn't. Exploring the pitch black of unimproved tube was amazing, and a bit creepy.



Near the lava tube is Kilauea Iki crater, where in 1959 a vent nearby filled the area with a lake of lava. As the lava has cooled over the last 50 years, it has shrunk, cracking along the edges. The total lake was 400 feet deep, and by the year of my birth (1981) about half of it had solidified. It is totally safe to walk on, and in fact a trail leads around the edge of the crater, and out onto the surface of the lake.



Above the lake is the Devastated Area, where the Pu'u Pua'i vent that filled Kilauea Iki is located. The blasted landscape lives up to its name, with the area that used to be a road now covered in lava flows and cinders.



From there we drove down Chain of Craters Road, passing a plethora of recent lava flows, most from the 1970's and 80's. In fact, Chain of Craters Road used to pass out of the park along the coast, at least it did until 1986, when a huge flow covered the road.



And that is one of the things that is so fascinating about Kilauea. When I look at a piece of granite from Pikes Peak, that rock is billions of years old. But a shard of basalt from that 1986 flow was erupted in my lifetime, and that makes it much more immediate and easier to relate too. It's hard to understand the concept of a billion, but but 23 years is a number we can comprehend.



Of course, the craters, calderas, and past flows were all prologue. The real fireworks started at dusk, at the lava viewing overlook a little ways outside the park. If it is interesting to see flows that have erupted since my birth, how much better is it to see flows erupting at that very instant? The answer is "Very Interesting!" We were exceedingly lucky, Kilauea was feeling very active that day, and we had quite a show as the river of molten rock flowed into the ocean. Sometimes seawater will flow into the lava tube, and cold water and hot rock make an explosive combination!



As the sun set, we were treated to a real fireworks display put on by Mother Nature and Vulcan himself, complete with oooohing and ahhhhing from the spectators. It's almost hard to describe how I felt, except to say that I felt supremely lucky. I've seen three "active" volcanoes now, but to see an actual eruption, with lava and fountains of steam and ash, that's certainly not something you get to see every day, or even every lifetime.



It was an interesting walk back to the car, after all we were walking on uneven and sharp black rock, at night. Even with a flashlight, it wasn't easy. As we walked we could see the glow of the lava flowing further up the slopes of the volcano. The photograph is rather blurry, but it does offer a glimpse of what we saw. I promise next time I'll take my tripod!

This post was made possible by the generosity and sense of adventure of Megan, and was prepared with the armchair assistance of Roadside Geology of Hawai'i by Richard Hazlett and Donald Hyndman. If you are ever interested in the meaning behind the rocks you see, the Roadside Geology series is invaluable. I got this particular edition at the gift store in Volcanoes National Park, and it looks great on the shelf next to Roadside Geology of Colorado (I'm going to the Grand Canyon in May, so i suppose I will have to add Arizona to my collection!

Snowshoeing in Rocky Mountain National Park

A couple of weeks ago a pair of co-workers (Cristian and Tim) and I went to Rocky Mountain National Park for a bit of snowshoeing.



The day was one of the perfect Colorado days, sunny, and warm, with hardly a cloud in the sky. You couldn't have asked for better weather, so of course there were a lot of people there.



Of course, that's one of the great things about the outdoors, even if there are a ton of car's in the lot, you can still find a place to be by yourself. Especially as a fair number of people didn't have any snowshoes with them, and that made it pretty hard for them to walk in the deep snow.



Even with snowshoes its pretty hard to walk in deep snow, especially if you aren't in the best of shape anymore. One of these days I'll start going to one of the free gyms that's available!



Back in Denver, the light was glorious, but my options for shooting in the late afternoon light were limited to the old apartment buildings on Capitol Hill.



While at the park I got a year pass, so I expect to go back up at least a few more times over the next year. It's really criminal that I hadn't been up to Rocky Mountain National Park in YEARS. It's so close to Denver, and so beautiful in all seasons, there is just no excuse not to go.

U.S.S. Bowfin

Now back to my trip to Hawaii, and the visit to Pearl Harbor. After the Arizona Memorial, the next stop on the Pearl Harbor museum loop is the U.S.S. Bowfin, a World War II era submarine that went on nine very successful patrols between 1943 and 1945.



I've often read about how cramped those old submarines were. However, walking through the tiny pressure hull really brought it home. Imagine weeks and months at a time trapped in such a small place with so many other stinky men. Yet these sailors did their part in ending the war, starving the home islands of raw materials, especially the oil that was the life's blood of the Japanese war machine.



In the Pacific theater, the American submarine force succeeded in doing what Kriegsmarine tried to do to Britain in the battle of the Atlantic. As the war dragged on, ever fewer numbers of the vital tankers and transports made it to the factories on the Japanese Home Islands. However, this success came at a high cost. The American submarine force suffered 22 percent total casualties, 47 lost submarines, around 3,500 sailors and officers. This was the highest rate of loss for any branch in the US Forces during World War 2. However, this was nothing compared to the rate of submarine loss for the Japanese and the Germans, 128 and 781 respectively.