Colorado Springs Singles
The experience was mesmerizing for both Anne Warren, an experienced night hiker, and her brother, Scott Hedrick, whom she had had to drag along for his first full-moon experience. "I told her she was crazy when she asked me to do this," Mr. Hedrick said as the hike ended. "But now I get it."
Forum: Travel in the News
At Chimney Rock Archaeological Area, near Durango, Colo., as many as 150 people hike just half a mile on full-moon nights, up a trail lined with wild blueberry and Indian paintbrush, to spread out blankets and watch the moonrise in a spot where ancient Puebloans lived from around 950 to 1125 A.D., placing their homes in reference to the moon. As the sun went down on the night of the May full moon, Ron Sutcliffe, who studies the astronomy of ancient cultures, gave a talk on the heavens while Charles Martinez quietly played an Indian flute. Shadows of the giant Chimney Rock and Companion Rock crept across the valley and began to climb a mountain on the other side.
The cloudless sky grew dark; Saturn made its appearance, then Venus, then a couple of stars. After what seemed an eternity, a faint moon glow appeared behind the mountains. Then, just barely, a celestial sliver pierced the horizon, eliciting gasps from the onlookers. The full moon inched up, rising slowly but steadily, until it hung in the sky, huge and close.
In the crowd were Melinda Krebs, 11, from Plano, Tex., and five other members of her family, who had planned their weeklong vacation around the full moon. Melinda had done a full-moon hike at summer camp but pronounced this one "so much cooler," explaining, "I could see the pine trees over on the mountain in a silhouette against the moon."
Some are drawn by the science as much as the spectacle. Kimberly Schonhorst, 10, had come to Chimney Rock with her father, Mel, and family friends. Everyone in the group made a prediction of where the moon would rise; Kimberly's came closest. "I looked up on the Internet where the moon rises in comparison to Saturn," she told a group of surprised adults.
The moon has huge influence: the literal power to control the tides, the fictional power to turn men into werewolves. It has spawned mythology and been anecdotally linked to crime, disasters and fertility. Its Latin name, luna, is the root of "lunatic," a word that modern moon enthusiasts wryly apply to themselves.
As the moon orbits the earth, its position relative to the sun and earth determines what fraction of its surface the sun will illuminate. Its most powerful position occurs every 29.5 days, when it becomes full, luring people outdoors. Lauren Brand, athletic director at Allegria Spa at the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek in Colorado, which organizes full-moon walks, had a simple explanation for their popularity. "People forget that there's an opportunity to get out into nature at night," she said, "and the brightness of the full moon reminds them of that."
Allegria can arrange a summertime full-moon hike, but the tours run regularly only in winter (and on snowshoes), when the moon rises early in the evening. One person who swears by the wintertime walk is Chris Macur, a Colorado hiker. "The moonlight reflects off the snow," Mr. Macur said, "and lights up the whole area like sunshine."
Forum: Travel in the News
At Chimney Rock Archaeological Area, near Durango, Colo., as many as 150 people hike just half a mile on full-moon nights, up a trail lined with wild blueberry and Indian paintbrush, to spread out blankets and watch the moonrise in a spot where ancient Puebloans lived from around 950 to 1125 A.D., placing their homes in reference to the moon. As the sun went down on the night of the May full moon, Ron Sutcliffe, who studies the astronomy of ancient cultures, gave a talk on the heavens while Charles Martinez quietly played an Indian flute. Shadows of the giant Chimney Rock and Companion Rock crept across the valley and began to climb a mountain on the other side.
The cloudless sky grew dark; Saturn made its appearance, then Venus, then a couple of stars. After what seemed an eternity, a faint moon glow appeared behind the mountains. Then, just barely, a celestial sliver pierced the horizon, eliciting gasps from the onlookers. The full moon inched up, rising slowly but steadily, until it hung in the sky, huge and close.
In the crowd were Melinda Krebs, 11, from Plano, Tex., and five other members of her family, who had planned their weeklong vacation around the full moon. Melinda had done a full-moon hike at summer camp but pronounced this one "so much cooler," explaining, "I could see the pine trees over on the mountain in a silhouette against the moon."
Some are drawn by the science as much as the spectacle. Kimberly Schonhorst, 10, had come to Chimney Rock with her father, Mel, and family friends. Everyone in the group made a prediction of where the moon would rise; Kimberly's came closest. "I looked up on the Internet where the moon rises in comparison to Saturn," she told a group of surprised adults.
The moon has huge influence: the literal power to control the tides, the fictional power to turn men into werewolves. It has spawned mythology and been anecdotally linked to crime, disasters and fertility. Its Latin name, luna, is the root of "lunatic," a word that modern moon enthusiasts wryly apply to themselves.
As the moon orbits the earth, its position relative to the sun and earth determines what fraction of its surface the sun will illuminate. Its most powerful position occurs every 29.5 days, when it becomes full, luring people outdoors. Lauren Brand, athletic director at Allegria Spa at the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek in Colorado, which organizes full-moon walks, had a simple explanation for their popularity. "People forget that there's an opportunity to get out into nature at night," she said, "and the brightness of the full moon reminds them of that."
Allegria can arrange a summertime full-moon hike, but the tours run regularly only in winter (and on snowshoes), when the moon rises early in the evening. One person who swears by the wintertime walk is Chris Macur, a Colorado hiker. "The moonlight reflects off the snow," Mr. Macur said, "and lights up the whole area like sunshine."
Source...