Sky Watch: Starry, Starry Night

Being above 7,000 feet has good sides and bad sides.  On the negative, for me, is the lack of oxygen.  Being slightly anemic and a life long asthmatic, I like to have a plentiful supply of oxygen, thank you much.  Another negative is the dry air.  Having the water sucked out of my body slowly over time isn’t a lot of fun.  There are good things too . . . alpen glow, Quaking Aspens, and the stars.

If you are lucky enough to be above 7,000 feet on a clear, moonless night . . . . well, you’re lucky enough!

Cameras can not capture the moment but knowing that did not stop me from trying.  At 2am, one night, I woke up, got a drink of water (it’s really dry up there, did I mention that?), and went up to the cab of the motorhome to look out the front window at the stars.  Breathtaking.  Despite it being 42F, I put on my flip-flops, grabbed my tripod and camera, and took some shots.

It was most disappointing, however, not only was I unable to capture the starry skies beautifully enough, I only got like 2 stars showing up in each shot.  Oh well, FAIL.  No big thing.

Fast forward to my getting home and processing all my pictures.  Just for fun, I asked iPhoto to punch up the shadows and . . .

TA! DA!

I know I’ll enjoy the fireworks tonight in honor of our nation’s birth.  But part of me will be longing for the simple, complicated beauty of High Sierra Fireworks!

For more skies worth watching, visit Sky Watch Friday.