Namibia

Leaving Windhoek and heading out into the desert...
	We arrived at the HESS site as the sun was setting, so our first glimpse of the setting was bathed in shadow. Here you see one of the four massive 15-meter cerenkov telescopes. Each consists of dozens of 1-m diameter mirrors that are all aligned so as to point toward the camera, which is stowed in the shed to the left. I have to say I think they look like Ostriches in the day, with their heads buried. :-)
	This is a panorama shot I made of the horizon at the HESS site, with the Gamsberg off in the distance. If you click on the thumbnail, the file you'll get is 4 Mb, and shows a much wider range.
	Here is our first look at the ROTSE enclosure in the day time. It sits in the middle between the four HESS telescopes.
	These pictures all show the ROTSE enclosure from various angles with a HESS telescope in the background.


	Here's me, looking up into the mirrors of one of the HESS telescopes.
	The next few pictures are views near the telescope site. You see rocks and boulders like this, thrusting up from below the ground, all over the place.
	This is the road that runs between the telescope site and the "residence" a cluster of rooms and a kitchen, where we eat lunch.
	This is a gnarled tree I particularly liked.
	Another shot of that boulder mound, from a different angle. Most of the trees here take this form: a twisted trunk and then a bristle of leaves at the top.
	Here's a view of the site, walking back from the residence, with all four HESS telescopes in shot. The building in the center is the control center.
	The view south from the ROTSE enclosure. Note the mountains all along the horizon. Also note the electric fence, to keep out baboons. The white techno-gizmo in the foreground is a device to measure the heat in the sky, and thus detect clouds.
	Right now, you'll notice the striking lack of clouds in these pictures, but we are assured that this is winter weather, and that in summer it can rain buckets for days at a stretch. This here is the path (if you dare call it that) from the ROTSE enclosure back to the control center. We put out white rocks to help find our way by starlight, as flashlights would ruin the HESS observations.
	This is where we're staying: guest farm Weissenfels. It's got a kind of US southwest motif, which is really disorienting.
	The view out the front door of my room. This place is a fascinating mix of luxury and simplicity. Excellent food and service, but the generator goes out at 9:30 and it's kerosene and candles after that.
	The tree from the previous picture. I liked the color.
	My room is one of the doors on the right, and the door straight ahead goes to the common room and dining area.
	I liked the composition of this shot.
	Robbi, one of the dogs at the farm. Very friendly little tyke.
	The front entrance to the farm.
	The Weissenfels farm is about 20 km from the site, and most mornings we see at least some of a herd of springbok passing through. Here I got a couple good shots of them crossing the road, but I didn't get any of them jumping. They bound up, all legs straight down, and their heads pointing down as well. Most strange... It's hard to get wildlife pictures, as they are usually too far away, and trying to get away from you as fast as they can.

	Another view of the site, from the northeast. You can see the Gamsberg on the horizon at the left edge of the picture, and the little peaked dome of the ROTSE enclosure in the middle.
	I just liked the composition and color contrast of this leaf lying on the pavement outside my room.
	The moon was approaching full when I got here, and this is one or two days before full moon.
	Typical view around here. Red dirt road, big birds' nests in the trees, Gamsberg on the horizon. This is driving to the site in the morning. No springbok today, alas.
	The rising full moon at dusk. I wish I could have captured it a few days later; we were walking to the residence, and this amazing, orange, just-past-full moon rose out of the ground right in front of us. Stunning.
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