Crew #108 Log Book for December 03, 2011 Photos of the dayCommander's Check-In ReportDate and time: 3 December 2011 / 7.45 pm Journalist's ReportDate and time: 3 December 2011 Written by : Ashley Dale Text: The journey from Grand Junction, Colorado to Hanksville, Utah in itself was beautiful. The transition from the norm to alien terrain was really quite breath-taking. After a last-supper at burger-bar we headed out to the Desert Station. No more than a minute off the main road and onto the trail, we were isolated and surrounded by significant and magnificent geological features. Other than the barely visible track we were following, there really was no sign of human interference. Twenty minutes later we had arrived. The Sun was setting over the nearby hills, hugging every last red, orange, and brown rock goodnight. The dance between light and shade over the landscape and the Station was ever-changing and beautiful. It really was an stark outpost lost in the ocean that was a desolate but mesmerizing world. After being informed of all the internal systems I would need to keep track of and maintain as an engineer, I stepped back outside into the cold night and walk out fifty paces. I stared into the darkness, the hills now like the licks and smudges of an oil painting, searching for just one point of artificial light on the horizon. There was none. With quiet wind whispering over and tickling my ears, I looked up to the stars. Majestic. I turned back to the Hab, bathed my sense in the contrast of its very artificial world, and realized when looking into the eyes of the people around me that I was going to share a very precious and deeply personal experience with all of them over the next two weeks. |
Day01
Crew #108 Log Book for December 03, 2011 |