water everywhere

It was a rainy Saturday last weekend when we went to Zion National Park.  We were planning to do some hiking and sightseeing but it looked like the trip was ruined.  There were no other cars on the road and the downpour was heavy.  We had a dark sky even though it was already 8 am.  I thought of suggesting Vegas, but I decided to wait and see what will happen instead.  Who knows maybe the rain will let up.

Around 10 am, we arrived at the visitor's center and asked if it was okay to go on the easy trails.  The rain stopped a bit but we were worried of landslides or flash floods.  The guide said it was okay so we took some maps and waited for the bus.

As it turned out, Zion became even more amazing because of the rain.  The air was clearer and there were waterfalls everywhere.  We enjoyed taking pictures of the lower and middle Emerald pools.  We spent some time up in Weeping Rock, looking at the hanging gardens and the different colors that showed up on the formations.

One the guides on the bus said that the mighty Canyons were formed simply because of the river.  It rushed and broke through the rocks, paved the way and created a deep chasm.  It sculpted beauty as it moved along.

That's the last trail that we did, the Zion Riverside Walk.  We didn't go through the narrows, we just hiked along the Virgin River, taking pictures and enjoying the view.  We didn't walk as a group and I preferred it that way.  I just went on my own and listened to the sound of the river.  I felt at peace just by being near it.  I read that the term Zion means "a place of refuge, a safe spiritual homeland, like in heaven, or a kind of peace of mind in one's present life."  It's true.

Sources:
http://www.urbandictionary.com
http://www.desertusa.com/zion/du_znpdesc.html

Treasure trove: the Original Mile High collection

the Find
Around 18,000 to 22,000 comic books most in mint condition, all printed between 1939 - 1953. One of these is the very first edition of Action Comics, where Superman makes his grand debut. This copy alone costs $1,000,000.

the Lucky
Chuck Rozanski, owner of the comic book store Mile High Comics.

the Place and the Time
Mile High Comic store in Boulder, Colorado; mid-January, 1977

How in the world!?
Chuck's friend received a call from a Realtor explaining that they needed to sell a house, but the house was full of "junk". This junk was a hoard of comics, periodicals and posters collected by Edgar Church, an artist who used the images for his work.

So Chuck drove down to the house and was amazed to find about 60 stacks in the basement, 75-100 comics deep. It wasn't just that, there was even a walk-in closet overflowing with comics. Even luckier, the owners weren't particular with how much they were going to get, they just wanted to get rid of the stuff and go on and sell the house.

Here's a transcript from his website, milehighcomics.com, about how he felt the moment he saw the collection:

"...It wasn't until the negotiations were over, and the surprise closet full of Golden Age was opened, that I was finally overwhelmed with emotion. My mouth became so dry that I asked for a glass of water. When it arrived, I was staring at the closet, while leaning against the basement wall for support. I couldn't take my eyes off that closet, and became so transfixed that when I tried to take a drink from the glass, I ended up missing my mouth entirely, and poured most of the glass of water right down the front of my shirt. Fortunately, no water spilled on any of the comics.

Believe it or not, what was going through my mind as I was looking at the closet was fear. Not just a fear that the deal would get screwed up somehow, but also a realization that my life was about to radically change. It's one thing to have slowly built up a small business over a period of many years, and quite another to suddenly win the lottery. I could see very clearly that discovering this collection was going to completely change my life, and that nothing would ever again be the same. I was excited at that prospect, but also very trepidatious. Radical change can be good, but it can also destroy much of that which you hold most dear..."

Sources:
http://www.milehighcomics.com/tales/cbg12.html
http://listsoplenty.com/blog/archives/6717
http://blog.oregonlive.com/steveduin/2007/03/edgar_church_and_chuck_rozansk.html
http://scrimbrown.wordpress.com/2010/08/page/2/

lonely planet

Last month, astronomers found another planet that could possibly support life, Gliese 581g. It's in a habitable zone near a star, not too hot and not too cold. Such an atmosphere is perfect for having liquid water, and when there's water, there's life. The only problem with this planet is it doesn't rotate, one side is always in the dark and one side always faces the light. This is an exciting discovery though because there could still be places in there that could support life.

"The fact that we were able to detect this planet so quickly and so nearby tells us that planets like this must be really common.", says Steven Vogt, an astronomer from University of California at Santa Cruz, in the report from BBC News.

Discoveries like this remind us just how big the universe is and how maybe, we're not really alone at all. There are so may worlds out there that we do not know of, so many places to discover. There's much to explore, even just on our own planet.   I'm on an onshore job assignment right now in the US and I went to Yellowstone last weekend and it was amazing. The place was beautiful and it was my first time to see a bison in real life and up close. They look funny and cute!

Yellowstone was such a grand place but nothing compares to the happiness of just simply being with the ones you love, wherever that is. I saw the video of the Chilean miners today and I felt so jealous of the hugs they were getting, everybody was waiting for them to come out. I missed home, with all its pollution and craziness. It was kind of sad travelling. Everything was so pretty and clean and really perfect, but it only made me realize just how far away I am. Like an alien in another world.

Source:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11444022
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/sciencefair/post/2010/09/gliese-581g-habitable-planet-/1