Name:__________Date:______
Scavenger
Hunt for the road trip down Hwy 60 West to the Very Large Array
The fifty mile
trip from Socorro to the Very Large Array along Hwy 60 west is a beautiful,
scenic by-way. This activity is designed to be a personal log of your trip with
a combination of suggested points of interest and your own observations. Write
or draw your observations that document your experience. On your mark, get set,
GO!
1.) Begin your
personal log by recording the first green mile marker you spot along the way.
Green mile markers look this…
2.) The suggested
points of interest in this activity begin with mile marker 137. Once you pass
mile marker 137, look for a green highway sign. How many miles to the VLA?__________ Please notice that the mile marker numbers get smaller as you
get closer to the VLA.
Along your trip to
the VLA you’ll be able to spot the white dome of the Magdalena Ridge
Observatory (MRO). The observatory seems to play hide and seek as you travel
past this beautiful mountain range; The
The black arrow
marks the MRO dome as seen from Mile Marker 136:
3.) Watch for an outcrop of beautiful red
rock hills on both sides of the highway beginning around mile marker 133. Draw
this outcrop:
4.)
Look for mile marker 132. Look carefully for a sign, on the South (left) side
of the highway that tells the name of this canyon.
Fill
in the name of this canyon:
5.)
Look to the South (left) at the
(hint: the black
arrow is pointing to it!)
6.)
Around mile marker 126 you’ll find beautiful, open country. Look for cattle,
horses, antelope, cowboys and cowgirls! Draw or write a description of what you
see:
7.)
Make a note of the time day, the month and season, and weather conditions
happening right now during your trip. How might these factors impact what you
are seeing?
8.)
At mile marker 124 start looking for a green sign for
Fill
in the number on this picture of the sign.
9.) At mile marker 120 start looking on the
North (right) side of the road for a large pile of rubble. What do you think
that pile of rubble used to be? Maybe a farm house or a hotel for tired cowboys?
Draw what you
think this structure might have looked like when it was new.
10.)
You have been traveling going up hill. At
this point in your trip what mile marker is the start of yet another uphill climb
on your journey?
11.)
Between mile markers 116 and 112 you will be traveling through the beautiful
town of
12.)
At mile marker 112, start looking for the green VLA sign.
How
many miles to the VLA? _______________
13.)
At mile marker 109 there is a windmill on the South (left) side of the road.
Look out the side window of your vehicle to the South and see if you can spot
the MRO on top of the mountain! Draw what you see.
14.)
Notice you are still going up hill headed toward the Plains of San Augustine.
Record the next mile marker that marks yet another climb: ____________
Watch for mile
marker 103. As you pass it watch for your first view of the Plains of San
Augustine. You are now at about 7,000 feet in elevation! Are your ears popping
yet?
The turn off to
the VLA Site is just after mile marker 93. Have a great time at the VLA
Visitor’s Center and on the self-guided walking tour. Don’t forget to buy a
souvenir at the VLA Gift Shop!
15.)
Draw or write about your experience at the VLA. You might want to consider
including drawing the Radio Telescopes, wildlife, and listing what you learned
and what you questions you may have.
Visit
www.nrao.edu for more information. Consider
submitting a question to our “Ask an Astronomer” section and sending a photo
you took while at the VLA to be posted in our “Visitor Photo Gallery” at jstanley@nrao.edu
THANKS FOR VISITING THE VERY LARGE ARRAY!