January 31, 2018

Jed's homeschool class is on Wednesdays, from 7:30 to 2:00.

It's a pretty good distance from our house, so we leave about 6:45.

When I heard there was to be a trifecta of astronomical wonders at 6:30 Wednesday morning,

I was so excited - I don't think I could have dragged Jed out of the house that early on a regular school day.  :)

The moon was to be in the north-northwest sky in our part of the world,

so we drove to the top of the mountain near us to get a clear view of the moon behind it.

We were so disappointed when we couldn't see it - the moon was to set around 7:00 am, 

and apparently it was already below the mountains to the west of where we were.

However, as a consolation prize, I took a few pictures of the valley that is Golden.

They're kind of dark - if you click on each picture, it will enlarge.

It was pretty amazing to see the sky change so quickly, just during the time it took to get down the mountain.

The first picture was taken from the top,

and this one and the next were taken about midway down.
The two mesas are South Table Mountain on the right, and North Table Mountain on the left.
Golden lies between the mountain we were on, Lookout Mountain, and the two mesas (and in between).
Denver in on the other side of South Table Mountain, where the more intense light is.

This picture was taken near the bottom of Lookout Mountain...

the sky was starting to turn orange by this time, 

and it was time for us to be about our day.