Episode 7: The Ruins

I kinda like the idea of urban exploring. I can't say I like urban exploring, since I have never done it before. But, the idea of it sounds thrilling. I heard rumors of remains (not human) of something in Rock Creek Park. An expedition is to be had.


In 1958, the East Portico of the US Capitol had begun to decay. It was, after all, about 150 years old. Around that time, some thought the Capitol needed an expansion of the East side. So, the East Portico was dismantled, and a new, expanded one built in it's place.

In the 1980's, the columns were re-erected in the National Arboretum, but the rest of the structure has remained in Rock Creek Park for 56 years. I set out to find it.

My research indicated it would lay just southeast of the maintenance facility, an easy walk on a trail from the Horse Center.

Now, not being in possession of a printer for the summer, and needing to customize my directions to the facility, I drew a map (naturally).

Alright, so I get on my way. I get on the right bus, and took it north to the right stop, on Military Rd NW. So far, so good.

I didn't plan on Military Rd not being walkable. That's OK, there's another bus that runs along Military Rd. No big deal. I got this. #LikeABoss

Without too much effort, I locate the park and find the nature center, which has maps. I take a map and correspond the landmarks with my own map. With a refill of the water bottle (Noteworthy: but without an emptying of the bladder), I set out on my journey.

Scratch that. I'm already on my journey. I set out on the next leg of my journey.

Determined to do this without the aid of my iPhone GPS, I head south across the parking lot, where I run across some horse pens. Great! Found the Horse Center.

There's a clearly marked trail that appears to be following the contours of the map I drew and the path indicated on the park map, so I start down it.

Finally, I reach the end of the trail. It looks like there's something down there. Could it be...

Nope. It was Ross Dr NW and Military Rd NW.

Oops.

So, I backtrack, through piles and piles of horse poop (seriously, people don't at least pull their horses to the side of the trail?). I make a left turn at a sign marked "No Horses" (thank goodness) and continued down that trail, keeping a weather eye out for any signs of ruins to my right.

And then I saw a bear. I froze... I really hadn't thought of such an encounter. And I had nothing with which to defend myself. Could I hit it with my water bottle? Dazzle it with my previous-generation iPhone? Tell it a joke?

The bear steadily approached, and revealed itself to be a woman's large dog. So I did what any reasonable person would do when trying not to appear stupid... I told the woman her dog looked like a bear. She responded with some sort of joke I wasn't ready to get at that time.

After she passed, I fashioned myself a walking stick that could double as a weapon. Should I encounter a wild and dangerous animal (more dangerous than my own incompetence), I was going to be prepared this time.

Look, I'm really not a nature person, alright? I want my computer lab back.

(In my natural habitat).

Finally, I reach Ross Dr again. Remember that whole thing about no GPS? I left that rule in the dust a long time ago. I now knew exactly where I was. I had made it clear across the park, with not one sign of any ruins.

Alright, so I head back. My trail was kind of along the top of a ridge, so on my way back I start wandering off to both sides of the trail, looking downhill for any signs of ruins or anything man-made, tapping my stick on the ground in front of me as I walked through the brush, just in case anything was living under there. I stopped along the way to empty my bladder behind a tree, au natural.

 

The situation was perplexing. The ruins were around here. They had to be. My research was good. What was I doing wrong (besides taking the wrong trails)?

Finally, I make it back to the original "No Horses Allowed" sign, and decide maybe I need to do more research and venture back another day. I had been wandering for probably an hour and a half at this point.

But, on a hunch, I walk just a bit further the other direction past the sign. This isn't on my map, but I don't care any more. I walk a little more down that trail, and I see something...

And there it was, in all it's glory... the ruins!

Out of the woods, forgotten.

Each one carefully numbered and indexed, like someone was going to come back for them.

Endless piles of rock.

These woods have grown up around the stone. It is nothing new to them.

Under these very stones, every U.S. President from Andrew Jackson to Dwight D. Eisenhower was inaugurated. And now, in the middle of the woods, I can walk up and touch them. So I did.

Turns out, the ruins were exactly where I thought they would be. My intel was good. After wandering around Rock Creek Park for almost two hours, the ruins were within 10 minutes of my starting point.

And there you have it. I made my way back, used up the entire battery life on my phone, and lived to tell about it. I'm fortunate enough to get off the beaten path of Washington, D.C. and find something not a lot of people get to see.

Next weekend, I plan to find the columns.

 The East Portico in the 1850's.

 Under construction in the 1960's.

The East Portico today.

Adjusting to Life

It's been too long since my last post. I've been doing an awful lot, trust me. In fact, I've gotten to experience flying in and out of both DC airports within a week.

2 weekends ago, I flew in and out of Dulles back to Iowa to go see some of my best friends get married (Congrats Jordan and Kara!). The following weekend, I flew in and out of Reagan National to Milwaukee to see my sister compete in the Miss Wisconsin pageant (She was awesome!).

United Airlines sucks, by the way. I just wanted to get that out there.

But that means, I haven't done a whole lot of exploring DC in that time frame. Still, I'm adjusting to living out here.

I'm doing an awful lot of walking. Getting groceries without a car is a pain in the neck, but I manage. I walk a half hour to work. I could take the Metro, but it only really saves me 5 minutes since I have to walk in a different direction to get to the station. Those trips are saved for when I feel exceptionally lazy.

I've memorized about the entire blue line on the Metro, and I've actually been able to correlate the Metro map with actual positions on the ground for a few weeks now!

The only bad thing has been my eating habits the past few weeks. I've not been bad, but I've not eaten very well either. I finally determined to get back on my carb-cycling diet that has been working for me for a few months now, with varying degrees of success (30 pounds off since January!).

I tried it again two weeks ago. All the walking makes low-carb days pretty rough. I don't have Mrs. Noble's candy stash to cheat off of anymore, so low-carb days truly are almost no-carb, and I am wiped by the end of the day!

I'm still having fun at the museum. Besides working in the observatory every day, I'm working on a school field-trip project. There have been a lot of hold ups, and we're sort of revising the scope of my project now; it's going to turn in to something that can be put on the website and used by any teacher and school planning a museum visit.

I've also been researching best practices in teaching the Next Generation Science Standards, writing reports and producing cool graphics on teaching strategies and Professional Development has become my thing. I think I'll have to officially become a science teacher after I finish my Master's Degree.

I'm trying to come up with a game plan for this weekend. A visit to the Spy Museum is in order, probably. I need to find a place to watch my NASCAR races besides my apartment, too. Looking forward to finally getting a lot of exploring in this weekend!

Learning: It's What's Cool

This week has been non-stop learning.

I have learned the difference between a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) and a Solar Flare. Most people think they're the same thing, but they're not.

I have learned an awful lot about something called Spectroscopy. Astronomers use spectroscopy to study the chemical makeup of distant stars and planetary bodies, and it's not as difficult as you might think.

I have learned why more than 12 different wavelengths of solar light are observed from the Solar Dynamics Observatory and how to interpret what I'm seeing (though I have not yet memorized this). By the way, the video embedded here is from a channel called A171. This channel is especially good at showing coronal loops - the arcs extending off of the Sun where plasma moves along magnetic field lines. The brightest spots seen here are locations where the magnetic field near the surface is exceptionally strong. It's also self-updating, so it pretty much shows you the past two days of activity.

(Reader's note: Firefox thinks this video is a security problem. It's not. Next to the "HTTP" in the URL, you might have to disable protection on this page to see the video. It's worth it.)


For more data go to http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/

By the way, folks, that is not what the sun looks like to the naked eye. If you could look at the sun with the naked eye (which you shouldn't... because it will become a blind eye), it would look like this:

 

The Sun gives off light, and light is white. The sun is not red, orange, or yellow. It is white.

I have learned that, when I don't watch much TV (and have a full hour for lunch), I can absolutely destroy books. I'm on my third book of the summer. I'm reading Failure Is Not An Option by Gene Kranz, one of the original NASA flight controllers. You might remember seeing him in the movie Apollo 13, played by Ed Harris.

I learned that Gene Kranz didn't start out as the stoic, controlled, in-charge person he ultimately became at NASA. He grew into that role slowly over the course of the Mercury and Gemini programs, under the guidance of other individuals within NASA. Something for me to keep in mind for the future.

I learned I enjoy reading about historic spacecraft and aircraft, then going upstairs to see the historic spacecraft and aircraft I just read about. One of the chapters in Kranz's book is about John Glenn's Friendship 7 mission, and some emergency troubleshooting they had to do when a sensor detected the heat shield had come lose. Long story short, they decided to re-enter with the re-entry rocket pack (retro-pack) still attached, instead of cutting it lose like they normally would. I wondered if there would be any visible charring patterns to the spacecraft because of the retro-pack.

So, I went upstairs to look. (There was nothing out of the ordinary).

My next book will be about the Wright Brothers. I had lunch with the author on Monday.

I learned that, if you want to get something done, sometimes you have to come to DC. Elon Musk, the president of SpaceX, unveiled two weeks ago the Dragon V2, their design for a manned space vehicle they hope will win a NASA contract to take astronauts to Earth orbit and the ISS.

Since he figured Congress is making many of the decisions about the manned space program, he decided to bring the Dragon V2 to DC, and let any congressmen or senators climb aboard a "real 21st century spacecraft." I don't know how many did, but I just had to go check it out and get a photo of the future.

This weekend, I won't be exploring DC. I'll be headed back to Iowa for one of my best friend's weddings.

Shameless plug: Next weekend, I'm leaving DC again. My sister is running for Miss Wisconsin. Basically, if she raises enough money for charity, she's automatically in the top 10. Anyone with a dollar or two to spare should visit this page to vote for her: http://www.misswisconsin.com/vote/

'till next time!

What a Difference a Week Makes

Hi Everyone

A week ago, I was with my 8th graders on the back side of our DC trip. The next day I was moved into my apartment. 

After my first day at work, I think all the excitement and stress of the first few days finally caught up with me. I had a back ache, a headache that turned into a fully-blown migraine, and ended up vomiting for, like, the first time in 5 years. It was a whirlwind of a few days where I literally had experienced no sense of familiarity in anything I did.

But that was the worst of it, and it's been up ever since! I'm still pinching myself that I get to walk past Apollo 11 on my way to the office every day. I'm glad I get to spend time at the observatory, where I can spend some time teaching, instead of just working at my desk all day. My co-workers are great, passionate, and enthusiastic. The Smithsonian was founded for the "Increase and Diffusion of Knowledge," and the mission of the Air and Space Museum is to "Educate, Commemorate, and Inspire." I'm happy to be a part of that, and I've only just begun. 

I could look through the solar telescope all day. The image above is one I took by sticking my iPhone camera to the lens of our Hydrogen-Alpha telescope. It's not perfect, but it is adequate for this post. It doesn't do justice to the actual view, though. It's interesting how the sunspot activity has been increasing all week. On Tuesday, there were only two visible sunspots. By Saturday, there were at least 6 distinct and complex groupings. Amazing.

I can't really share many details of the project I'm working on, only to say that it will certainly change some of the way I do things in my class in Indianola... which is my desired outcome of the summer.

On Thursday, I went down the road to Lincoln Park to read for the evening. I live in a neighborhood called "Eastern Market," and our central park is Lincoln Park. In the center of a park is a statue of Abraham Lincoln that was commissioned by a former slave who put her first $4 she earned as a free woman toward the statue; the statue was entirely funded by donations from emancipated slaves. 

Besides smelling like dog (because everyone in Eastern Market brings their dogs to Lincoln Park), it was a nice place to sit on a park bench and read for an hour or two).

I guess the most important thing is I feel safe in my neighborhood, and I'm starting to gain a since of familiarity with my surroundings. Most of the streets around here run East-West (named after letters) or North-South (named after numbers), but occasionally I end up going on one of diagonal streets (named after states) without realizing it. Just one of the funny things.

Oh... and I finally found a legitimate grocery store (praise God).

Friday, I decided on the spur of the moment to go to the National Symphony concert at the Kennedy Center. They played Brahms' Double Concerto for Violin and Cello, and Tchaikovsky Symphony no. 6 (my favorite Tchaikovsky Symphony). The Orchestra was great, but the audience could have used a little work... seriously, people in the front row stood up to give their standing ovation between the 3rd and 4th movements of the Tchaikovsky! Oh, the horror! I mean, c'mon people... this is the Kennedy Center! Don't you know proper classical music protocol?

On the way to the Kennedy Center, I shared a cab (long story) with a dentist who basically wanted to show me how rich he was. He said he worked at one of the most "hopping" places in town, where the rent is sky-high and developing rapidly. Patients will have $50,000 in work done at his office, which doesn't accept insurance, and pay with their credit cards. Then he gave me his business card, in case I want to have any work done.

Unlikely.

At least he paid for the cab.

Finally, I made a pilgrimage to National Cathedral for the service this morning. Went out to breakfast and it took about an hour to get to the Cathedral between the Metro and on foot, but it was worth it. I probably won't do that regularly though.

And there you have it, week one.

By the end of this week, I'll be heading back to Iowa for one of my best friend's weddings. A good, short homecoming.

Genesis

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light - Genesis 1:3

The light is amazing. Today was the first time I saw the Sun live through a solar telescope; two solar telescopes, in fact. We have one large one with a white light filter that allows a spectacular view of the Photosphere (the first layer of the Sun's atmosphere that gives off light), and a second telescope with a hydrogen-alpha filter that allows us to view the Chromosphere (The h-alpha filter filters out most of the wavelengths of light, allowing through only the specific wavelength given off by the Chromosphere. On that, we can see any coronal mass ejections - solar flares - in progress).

Yeah! Science!

By the way, there were a few sunspots in view today. Each were slightly larger than the Earth.

The best part of the day, though, was seeing any kids that came through go, "Whoa!" when I showed them a scale model of the Earth up next to the sunspots... or told them that it's 10,000 degrees on the surface.

I have a few other projects I'll be working on, I'm just not sure what I can share just yet. I can't wait to prepare kids for more "Whoa" moments

Well, I made it.

(But I kinda miss my car).

Yes. I sit here in my DC apartment. It's not the greatest, but it'll do. It reminds me of my first college dorm room, except with a kitchen and a bathroom. Makes me feel like I'm in college again (undergrad, I mean. The beauty of getting my master's is that I don't have to live at school). 

I got my school group through DC alright. Except for the moments when playing "Civil War" was more important than getting sleep, the moments when I had all my important things in my hand so I could quickly drop it and jump in to rescue a kid from the tidal basin, and that one time when getting a cup of coffee was more important than making our flight on time, the trip went extremely well. Our recently graduated 8th graders have a great new experience and a plethora of new memories. 

And yes, 14-year-olds drink lots of coffee, apparently. And energy drinks. At midnight.

I have to share the airport story...

We are at the Atlanta airport for a layover. I have 11 boys under my purview, and they take pride in being a little rough-and-tumble. I have them all in one mass text conversation to facilitate communication (theoretically, preventing things like the following from happening):

These two gentlemen, whom I will refer to as Tom and Jerry, went off to look through the terminal. This was OK, as long as they were together and back by 10:15.

           Tom: Is it 10:60?

           Tom: *10:50?

           Me: Yes, 10:50. Be back at 10:15.

At 10:15, I distribute boarding passes to the group. Tom and Jerry have not returned.

It is 10:20. Our plane is boarding. Half our group is already on the plane.

           Me: Get back now.

And then, Tom lays down the precipice of nonchalance: 

          Tom: Be back in 5.

WHAT???!!!!???!?!?!?!

           Me: No. Now. 

Then, the rest of the "Doobsters" chime in.

           Doobster 1: We're boarding.

           Doobster 2: Tom u need to run back.

           Tom: We're trying.

Then I manage to get a hold of Jerry on the phone. By this point, it is 10:25 and we're only waiting for them. I finally see Tom and Jerry at the end of the hall. Jerry answers, and I say one word...

"Run"

and hang up. They run, coffee in hand.

This whole story is funny, because the rest of the weekend, whenever I would give a rendezvous time, Jerry would always ask, "At hh:50, right?"

But, they're smart, and can't help but make me laugh. Here was our text string at the American History Museum:

           Me: Time change. Go through and be at the entrance at 2:45.

           Tom: Is it 3:50?

           Me: Tom, I haven't killed you yet, but I still have 24 hours.

           Tom: 24 hours and 5 minutes. I got to get my coffee.

The kids were great, though. They got to experience:

• Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights
• Sculpture Park
• US Capitol
• White House
• Washington Monument
• Lincoln Memorial
• Vietnam Wall
• Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
• FDR Memorial
• Jefferson Memorial
• Holocaust Museum
• Air and Space Museum
• American History Museum
• Natural History Museum
• Arlington National Cemetary
• Potomac River
• Air Force Memorial
• Iwo Jima Marine's Memorial
• National Mall

Not bad for 14 year old's. And they're all still alive and, most importantly, so am I. Most of my sanity is intact as well.

But, now the kids are (just about) home, under the trustworthy guidance of our fearless leader. I walked all over DC trying to get my suit pressed, time my walk to Air and Space in the morning (30 minutes), and find some place to shop for food.

And now I'm beat. More later.