The Stars at Night . . . by Diane Kelly

To the above left are my guys at the McDonald Observatory. Aren't they cute?

When you go on vacation in a remote area, it's important to take emergency provisions. That's me above on the right with my industrial-size tub of cheez balls.

The stars at night,
Are big and bright,
Deep in the heart of Texas!

My guys and I spent the weekend stargazing at the McDonald Observatory, which is probably more accurately described as being in the armpit of Texas rather than the heart, but was beautiful nonetheless. Given its isolated location near Fort Davis, there was no light pollution, making the Milky Way very vivid. I’ve never seen anything like it! Of course learning that the earth is basically a tiny, insignificant speck in the enormous vastness of space sure can make a person feel like a little Who in Whoville!

As a mystery lover, what I found most intriguing was not what astronomers have learned about space, but what they haven’t. Is there life out there? Do black holes really exist? Have we been visited, and had our orifices probed, by more intelligent creatures or is that just a bunch of hogwash? Who knows!

The second mystery of our trip involved a thirty-mile drive down the road to Marfa, Texas. We had dinner at the Paisano Hotel, the place where Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, and James Dean stayed while filming the movie “Giant.” That place serves the best portabella mushroom burger in the universe! Once it was dark, we headed out to the viewing area for the “Marfa Lights.” These mysterious lights, which are of various colors and reportedly appear to dance across the desert, have been documented for centuries. Unfortunately, these lights are elusive, appearing only when they darn well feel like it. Last night they apparently weren’t in the mood. Though it was disappointing that we didn’t get to see them, the fact that they didn’t appear made them all the more mysterious to me. And now I have an excuse to come back to the area. I never expected to fall in love with this high desert, but the cooler weather and the clear sky have sold me on it.

Of course not everything on the trip was a mystery. As we drove through Pecos, Texas, a teeny town known for its cantaloupes, we noticed a sign proudly proclaiming Pecos as the home of the world’s first rodeo. No mystery there. The place is no more than a wide spot in the road in the middle of nowhere. Not much in the way of entertainment. I’m guessing one Saturday night long ago, a bored cowboy looked at his buddy and said, “Hey, Bubba, I double-dog dare you to ride that mean-looking bull over yonder.” Bubba agreed, on the condition that Billy Joe then wrestle a three-hundred pound javelina. Now that’s entertainment!

Back when we lived in California, we visited a place known as the “Mystery Spot,” which is in the woodsy mountains near Santa Cruz. Although the proprietors claim the place is a vortex with a mysterious gravitational anomaly, it seemed to me to be nothing more than a funhouse built on a slope. We still had a good time, though.

I also enjoyed visiting Chichen Itza, an extensive Mayan ruin on the Yucatan peninsula. My hubby and I took an excursion there while on our honeymoon cruise. I was fascinated by the fact that such an ancient culture could build an observatory to exact specifications when the staff at my local fast-food joints can’t even manage to get our order right.

What are some of the most fascinating or mysterious places you’ve visited? We’d love to hear about them!

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