What A Comet Looks Like Up Close

From the New York Post:

After a 10-year journey aboard the spacecraft Rosetta, the lander Philae touched down on the nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and took a picture of its surface.  Although harpoons intended to anchor Philae to the comet did not deploy, it appears to be in a stable position.  The lander has to deal with a problem not experienced with spacecraft sent to larger celestial objects.

Gravity on the comet is 1/100,000th that of Earth, meaning the lander weighs only 0.04 ounces there.

Read the full story, and of course, look at the picture.

UPDATE:  The Guardian has more.

The Holy Cross Chapel

One of Sedona's most famous landmarks is the Holy Cross Chapel, located in the southern part of the city and seemingly perched between two red rock formations.

Above and behind the Chapel are more rock formations, such as these....

and these.

For more on the Holy Cross Chapel, go here and here.

Montezuma Well

Montezuma Well is a unit of the Montezuma Castle National Monument.  As explained in DesertUSA:

Montezuma's Well is a sinkhole, a collapsed underground limestone cavern filled with water. More than a million gallons of water a day flow continuously, providing a lush, verdant oasis in the midst of surrounding desert grassland.

As with the Castle, the Well has nothing to do with the Aztec Emperor.  Instead, as also noted by the DesertUSA link above, the area around the Well was occupied by the Hohokam, the Sinagua, and most recently the Apache.  Arizona Leisure also has some information on Montezuma Well.  For more on the Hohokam, go here.

This view of Montezuma Well is from the southwest.

A small cliff house was built into a niche in the Well's outer wall.

This view of the Well is from the southeast.

Just outside the Well is this house.

One trail in the park leads down to the outlet of the Well, from which water flows through a man-made (or perhaps man-modified) channel.

Montezuma Castle

Montezuma Castle is neither a castle nor was ever occupied by the famous Aztec emperor, but is a cliff dwelling in central Arizona that was built by Sinagua Indians.  It is now the main feature of its namesake National Monument.  The dwelling occupies a recess within the cliff.  The modern ladders, I would think, are used by park workers.

This shot is from a slightly different angle.

This pic shows more of the right side of the dwelling, and just a bit of the sky above the cliff.

This small cave is in a lower part of the cliff.

At the bottom of the cliff is another structure, known as Castle A.

For more on Montezuma Castle, go here and here.  For more on the Sinagua, go here.

More Hiking In Sedona

Today I found another place to hike, the Brewer Trail, which connects at its west end to a trail that loops around the local airport.  The Brewer Trail is fairly short, only about 0.6 mile one-way, but going west from its east end gains about 200 feet in elevation.  Fortunately, the hiker is rewarded with some gorgeous views.  Here's a rocky outcrop near the trail.

Near the west end of Brewer Trail, I could see western Sedona.

These two hikers went up to the top of this rock.  I think it might be the location of the airport vortex.

Someone made a friendly message from a lot of small stones.

Verde Canyon Railroad - Along The Ride

After we all got on board, the Verde Canyon Railroad train started its course through its namesake canyon.  Although the general direction toward Perkinsville is generally northwestward, the track runs through numerous curves.  As a result, we could often look out the side of our respective coaches to see the front of the train, such as in this shot.

Some of the land near the track is used for cattle ranching.  These cows graze next to the river, or take a drink.

In the next shot, you can see some of the track ahead of us, and some of the basalt cliffs that form sections of the canyon's walls.  We may have been close to a side canyon called S.O.B. Canyon, "S.O.B." standing for "Supervisor Of Bridges", or so we were told.

I don't remember what our guide said the green contraption was, but it was put there by the U.S. Geological Survey.

This section of basalt cliffs included a cave.

We arrive at Perkinsville, population 11.  Our guide said that the house seen here is unoccupied.

Here's the Perkinsville station, seen from the west.  The diesels, after detaching and moving around the coaches on a side track, are now attached to the caboose and ready to pull us back to Clarkdale.

On our return trip, we're about to enter the track's one tunnel.  Watch your elbows, guys!

After we got back to Clarkdale, I drove over to Jerome to grab a bite at the Haunted Hamburger.  It's a relatively small place, but the quality and portion size of the food were more than adequate.

Verde Canyon Railroad - At The Station

The Verde Canyon Railroad runs between Clarkdale, Arizona and a working ranch named Perkinsville, a distance of about 20 miles.  The tracks were originally part of a branch line of the Santa Fe Railway, connecting Clarkdale with the SF main line at Drake, and which is now owned by the Arizona Central Railway.  For more information, go to Verde Canyon Railway's official site.

Here's the entrance to the Clarkdale station, as seen from across the street.

This old railcar has been converted into a museum.

In front of a picnic area is a metal statue of a golden eagle, perched on a rail.

These two diesels were at the front of our train.

Some of the passengers wandered down to their cars.

North From Sedona

Going north from Sedona, state highway 89A runs alongside Oak Creek.  About 15 miles north of Sedona, the road goes through a bunch of switchbacks, gaining several hundred feet of elevation in the northward direction.  At the top of the climb is an overlook.  Here's a view back down the canyon.

The next view looks westward and shows a few switchbacks.

This view looks eastward into a side canyon.

After continuing north to Flagstaff, I went west to Williams.  In downtown Williams is the southern terminal of the Grand Canyon Railway.  Here are a few of its coaches.

An old retired steam locomotive stands near the station.

Also near the station is this caboose from the Santa Fe.

Next to the Williams-Grand Canyon Chamber building is an old supply wagon.  The steam locomotive seen above is in the background.

Greetings From Sedona

Located in the north-central part of Arizona, Sedona is known for its thriving art community, new age attractions such as vortexes, and its impressive landscape.  The city also includes quite a few trails for hiking, so naturally, I set out to explore one, named Margs Draw.  From a branch trail leading to Margs Draw, I took this picture of a rock formation called Snoopy's Belly.  I don't think I was facing the formation from the perspective where it looks like Snoopy, but I'm assuming that the map is correctly labeled.

From the Margs Draw trail, I got a closer shot of part of Snoopy's Belly.

I was high enough to see across much of Sedona.  This view looks a bit north of westward.

Here are several rock formations north of Sedona.

The north end of my hike afforded me a view of this red rock formation.

Dan Bongino Concedes

Republican candidate Dan Bongino, who ran against incumbent Democrat John Delaney for the House seat from Maryland's 6th District, has conceded the election.  During the counting of absentee ballots, Delaney's small lead saw a slight increase, which caused the Associated Press to declare him the winner.

Bongino is a veteran of the New York City police department and the Secret Service.  Two years ago, he lost his bid to unseat Senator Ben Cardin (D).

Read more at The Baltimore Sun and CBS Baltimore.