Very Large Array and Pie Town

On Saturday, Dave and I went to the NRAO VLA (National Radio Astronomy Observatory Very Large Array) and to Pie Town.

The VLA is one of my favorite places ever. The radio antennas are beautiful. The land around them is beautiful. The sky around them is beautiful.



The antennas are 25 meters across and weigh 230 tons each.



Twenty seven antennas stretch out over the Plains of St. Agustin, covering about 23 miles. They work together, acting as a single antenna.



I love how they seem to listen to the sky. Every once in a while one will slowly and ponderously tilt its dish to a slightly different angle as though to focus more carefully on something being said, something that you can't quite hear.



It's quiet out around the antennas which seems about right for listening in on radio waves from distant stars and planets.

After you wander around and take photos at the VLA, you can drive another hour or so to Pie Town and have pie at the Pio-O-Neer.



Stop!

We had lunch first--a shared bowl of veggie soup, a quesadilla, and a grilled cheese. Then we had apple crumb-topped pie with ice cream.



We were lucky. We made it just in time to snag two of the last three pieces of pie.