NCAR - National Center for Atmospheric Research

Teri and I traveled to Colorado where we enjoyed the company of old friends and then pedaled our way through, more accurately, up and over, 200 miles of the Rocky Mountains.

We had a dicey start as the deluge that cut Highway 2 West of Ashland made navigating West a challenge. With last minute diverts and a lot of luck we made it to Minnesota.  But, Colorado was not very hospitable. One of the darkest and nastiest thunderstorms I have endured, pounced on us from the Rockies. It hid in the mountains until evening and then launched itself East to meet us. We spent our first hours in Colorado under I-90 overpasses avoiding the worst of the hail storm.

The next day, by sheer luck, we made it to Del Norte, Colorado with-out encountering one of many forest fires afflicting the state. To give you an idea of our luck, our mountain highway route in, # 285, would later be cut by fire.

Everywhere in Colorado are signs telling people fires are prohibited and if you want to smoke, do it inside your car. That is a strange but practical twist on smoking, is it not?

In Durango, there were signs throughout the town thanking the fire-fighters. The city had just endured a close call. Had the firefighting teams of the U.S. Forest Service not intervened, the town may have been consumed.

Looking back, Teri and I should have filmed our trip for the weather channel!

To top off our weather intense trip, we saved a day to tour NCAR. NCAR, or the National Center for Atmospheric Research is in Boulder, Colorado near Denver.

NCAR is perched on top of Table Mesa right next to the iconic rock formations called the Flatirons. If you have an appreciation for Science, Art, and Nature, you can indulge yourself in all three at NCAR.

Inside NCAR, on the first floor, are interactive displays that teach us and our children about the history of weather observation, plus the mechanisms used to make observations. The second floor is dedicated to the science of climate change.

Outside are weather hiking trails. If you are lucky, you may catch a glimpse of a mule dear in the tall savannah grass on the mesa. We did, as the velvet covered antlers of a buck gave him away as they moved just inches above the tall grass.

NCAR is closely associated with UCAR, which is the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. There are over 100 university members. We have five proud members from Michigan and Wisconsin. These are Central Michigan, Michigan State, the University of Michigan and the Universities of Wisconsin; both Madison and Milwaukee.

As you may well know, these are hard times for science and education. If you respect science and education I want to stress that the government makes progress in science and education possible.  We should not take this for granted. Our current administration has sought to muzzle our scientists and cut science funding. If you value knowledge, and our children’s climate future, vote wisely this November.

NCAR is one of those places we can indulge our senses and our curiosity simultaneously, so I encourage you, if you are traveling anywhere near the Boulder/Denver area, to reserve a little time to take in the vistas and displays of NCAR.

To learn more: Center for Science Education: https://scied.ucar.edu

The late Stephan Hawking on science:

“Science is not only a disciple of reason, but also one of romance and passion.”

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