The Sky is Falling

It couldn't have been timed more perfectly. The Perseid Meteor shower comes to us while my girls have been so interested in the night sky. When I told them of the shower they were so excited see the meteors diving across the sky. They decided to make popcorn to take with us.

Here Ice Princess and her friend Bree are popping the kernels. There nothing like the scent of hot, buttery, popcorn.

We decided to drive up to Mount Charleston to view the night sky. So, we met up with Bree's family and headed up the mountain. It is only a short 25 minute drive from the house, but it is far enough away from the city lights. It was an amazing view. I couldn't believe just how many stars we could see. We also observed the milky way, which lead to many more questions about the stars and space. In the conclusion of which Ice Princess and Mighty Girl decided that they really had to have a telescope. There was a chill in the air so everyone was bundled up and smuggled together. But, at about 11:30pm, and after spotting many meteors we all decided that we were too cold to continue. So we said goodbye to our friends and headed home.

On the ride home however, the kids decided that they really weren't done watching the meteors after all. They just wanted a warmer spot to view them. So, I headed toward Indian Springs. After about another twenty minutes after we were back on the highway I located a turn off. It was just a little dirt road. As we pulled up we noticed that other star gazers had had the same idea. So we pulled out the blankets and pillows and cleared the big rocks off of the desert floor. At about 1am we could see up to 3 or 4 meteors a minute. Then we saw one that was about 3 times bigger than any we had observed before. This red and orange orb tore through the night sky quite slower then the others, leaving a pink and white tail behind. If I had only seen this one meteor the entire night it would have been worth it. It was an awesome night filled with friends, laughter, and a heavenly shower.