Sunspot Observatory - Oct 2005

The Sunspot Solar Observatory was listed in the Alamogordo Visitor's Guide as a nearby attraction. It definitely piqued our curiosity, so we decided to check it out. The observatory was about 30 miles from Alamogordo and near the town of Cloudcroft, NM. In addition to three good-sized telescopes, they had a small museum with great, hands-on exhibits. The displays were definitely geared for school-aged children, so we were fascinated and able to grasp most of the concepts!

Sunspot is located in the Sacramento Mountains to the east of Alamogordo. The Observatory sits atop Sacramento Peak at 9,255' elevation and is one of two national solar research facilities. It's purpose is to study all aspects of our sun including identifying and tracking sunspots and solar flares. This 136' tall tee-pee shaped building houses the Dunn Telescope. We were able to go inside and watch monitors that were displaying images of sunspots.

Right down the road from Sunspot was the Apache Point Observatory. It's home to at least three large telescopes, but unlike Sunspot, it's not open to the public. We were able to walk around the grounds and enjoy awesome views down to the valley below. There were no signs prohibiting us from climbing up on the steep staircase to the largest of the domes, so climb we did. I made it to the half-way platform and Frank got almost to the top before chickening out. His fear of heights made him have to crawl down -- mostly on his butt. At least he got farther up than I did. Since the steps were open grating, it was like walking up an "air stairway" that looked straight down to a very steep drop.

The drive to Cloudcroft was lovely although the road included a seriously steep grade -- something like 13% for almost 10 miles. The road began in the high desert of eastern Alamogordo, then progressed into a rocky canyon and then emerged into a lovely valley dotted with farms and ranches. The trees were already beginning to turn to gold in the valley. From there the road went up and up and up, finally reaching the pine and aspen trees as we arrived in Cloudcroft.

The town itself was cute -- kind of touristy with a western theme. We stopped at the Chamber of Commerce to stretch our legs and get some info before heading over to Sunspot. The next 16 miles to Sunspot were pretty incredible -- pine forests dotted with aspen groves and every now and then the road would approach the edge of the mountain and give us an outstanding view.

There was a national forest picnic area just outside of Sunspot where we stopped to enjoy the view and the autumn colors before making our way back home.