Day 6 Romera Trail, Biosphere 2, Mount Lemon Sky Lab

First off happy mother's day to my mother of 26 years.  I know I am your pride and joy and I am glad you had the opportunity to raise me.  I know you will miss me on this important day but be content I'm having a great time in Arizona.
 Today Tom kept me really busy.  We hiked the Romera trail in the Catalina mountain range for 3 hours, had a quick lunch and went to the Biosphere 2.  This is basically a very large greenhouse that is completely climate controlled and has 4 different climates, wet desert, rainforest, ocean, and dry desert.  This place is now owned by the University of Arizona and they are conducting climate change experiments inside.  Originally the structure was built and 8 individuals were sealed inside to see if they could live in a completely controlled atmosphere like what may be constructed on Mars.  This was all funded by a rich oil tycoon.  The experiment ended after 2 years because the humans were running out of oxygen.  They were at 14% and we breath around 21% oxygen.  The Biosphere 2 is an incredible structure but I felt they were trying to indoctrinate me into believing there is man made climate change.

Me by and extremely large Saguaro.

The pool we hiked to on the Romera.

The outside of the biosphere.

Rainforest room.

Ocean room.

Dry desert room.

Equipment in basement that creates the specified atmospheres.

After 2 hours at the Biosphere we headed to Mount Lemon Sky Center which has a research grade telescope that is used for public viewing.  Tom decided to take a back road to the place which required him to put his Jeep in 4 wheel drive and we had to stop twice in order to let the transmission cool down.  The road was incredibly rough and wasn't fit for much more than a mountain goat.  The drive was very scenic and we were able to see some really neat wildlife.  When we started we were in desert and by the time we had reached the top we had gained so much elevation we were in Ponderosa Pine forests.

Cous deer on the mountainous road.

 We finally arrived at Mount Lemon after winching his Jeep out of several ditches and finally writing "Honda" on it which made it run better.  Mount Lemon is the highest peak in the Catalina mountain range at just under 9000ft elevation.  The program started at 1700 and an astronomer gave us an introduction on how telescopes worked and some basic calculations they perform to measure age and distances.  We then looked at the sun with a telescope and then had a meal.  We watched the sunset and then used the big telescope, 530x mag power, to look at various stars and galaxies along with a few planets.  There are several telescopes on the peak and one is operated remotely by South Korea.  There is also the old Cold War radar installations still in place which are now officially "empty" though there were people going in and out and at times there are lights on inside.  It was incredibly cold and windy at the top of the mountain.  The program concluded at 2200 and we drove the 2 hours back to Tom's house.  I'm not sure we could have packed any more into the day and if anyone is wondering, Tom is a great travel guide.

The 2 telescopes in the world that scan the skies
for space projectiles that may collide with earth.

Telescope we were able to use.