Space Camp isn’t just for Kids
An early Friday morning flight took me to Huntsville, Alabama to the US Space and Rocket Center. Space Camp, or Adult Space Academy, consisted of 14 adult participants. We were a diverse group of nine men, five women aged 30 to 82 years old from the US, Spain, Pakistan and Russia. Some there just as an item on their bucket list, and a few worked in the space industry. The 82-year-old actually worked on Gemini 8.
We checked into our rooms in the “HAB”, which felt a little like a prison. Usually there’s 1200 kids that descend on each camp, so each room has seven bunk beds. I luckily had a room to myself. The HAB looks industrial, more like the underground living of the Dauntless in “Divergent”, but there is a hotel next door if one prefers. You do have to bring your own pillows and linens like a real camp.
We had a packed agenda for the next 48-ish hours. After a short orientation we were right to work with our first group mission. This entailed an ISS stimulation where the shuttle would dock and exchange astronauts and return home. We did 2 missions, with a one hour practice before the real thing.
Each person receives assignment to a different job, from mission specialist and pilots to pay comms. Everyone had distinct activities to complete and time allotted to call it a successful mission. The tricky part were anomalies that are thrown in when you least expect it. This is when it came down to staying calm and communicating to fix the problems and get home safely. These simulations give a better understanding of Apollo 13, when all the red lights are flashing and you’re really limited in resources and reliant on those on the ground for support. Even though my pilot didn’t quite get us on the runway and many red lights were flashing, the experience helps you understand how challenging each mission is and how much time and energy is put into making it as safe as possible.
After completing our first mission we headed straight to rocket construction. Although we would complete them the following day, due to rain we weren’t able to launch until Sunday. An 8:45 p.m. lights out seemed early, but my brain was already ready to rest. With a 6:30 a.m. wake up, we are immediately back to rocket construction. But our next activity of “breakfast with a docent” was a real highlight. We asked lots of questions and heard experiences of those who’ve been around the NASA space program since its inception. It helped us understand the advances and the technology that we’re able to use today because of the space race.
What I didn’t expect was to immediately go to the MAT, the multi-axis trainer, right after breakfast! Although they explain you won’t get sick or lose your stomach because you never rotate on the same access, I was not convinced. We each got about a minute in the MAT and as someone who doesn’t ride roller coasters I was a bit nervous. The sensation was like none other and all of us wanted to go again, even though I was screaming half of the time. And luckily we weren’t tasked with attempting to right ourselves, as astronauts would, it barely seemed possible.
Before lunch we did a second mission, this one to Mars. My job was driving the Rover out to collect equipment, kind of like a video game. Then we got on the Orion capsule to take us home. Again having to handle anomalies on the journey. We toured the rocket museum, and learned more about the upcoming Artemis missions and the sustainability projects that go into that, like getting protein from bugs as a food source. We toured an ISS replica and learned how astronauts exercise two hours every day to maintain their bone density in space. Getting to see archives like the astronaut’s Apollo boots, although they wouldn’t let me try them on, and an invitation from JFK for a dinner that would never happen due to his assassination were another highlight.
Control Station
Another fun activity was the 1/6 chair, for the Moon’s gravity ratio to Earth. It was fun to bounce around in but really quite difficult. But before wrapping up the day we had to build thermal protectors for our eggstronaut. We bought equipment to ensure they wouldn’t get charred or worse! Although my egg survived, it’s definitely interesting to think about the budgeting of the space program and how human life plays into those economics. Our last day was another early morning but we finally got to launch our rockets! Most of them didn’t work out how we wished which is why there’s a rocket Hall of Fame in the trees nearby. Our last activity was the planetarium. We selected the James Webb telescope presentation to view the amazing recently captured photos of stars and planets.
After a short graduation ceremony, our weekend was complete. I definitely learned a ton of information, got to see replicas of rockets, shuttles and simulate the tough job of an astronaut and all those that make NASA a success. Definitely worth it no matter what your age!
Exploring the variety of Texas State Parks
I already spend a lot of time outdoors, but like many people during the pandemic, I was looking to spend more time in the state parks. Texas has 51 state parks, compared to its 2 National Parks. So, this was a good year to invest in a Texas State Park Pass and state exploring. Here’s a few of the stops I made.
Bastrop State Park – This is a small park super close to Austin, and the proximity makes for an easy camping weekend or day hike and keep this park quite busy. Many will remember it was ravaged by wildfires 10 years ago, and the burnt trees still standing are an important reminder. There are few miles of easy hiking trails and good paved trails for biking, or hook up with the neighboring Buescher Park for some hilly road cycling.
Palmetto State Park – This little park was a great day trip but camping is also available. You can SUP, they even have rentals, or enjoy hiking some easy flat trails through the Palmettos.
Goliad State Park – This historical park has short trails but is right on the San Antonio river, where you can camp, paddle and learn more about Cinco de Mayo. Spend time exploring the mission and the museum down the street. Even if you don’t hike or camp, it’s worth a stop for the beautiful mission.
Caddo Lake State Park – Close to the Louisiana border, this park was definitely worth the drive. We booked a shelter only because it was the last camp stop available, which was lucky when a thunderstorm rolled in the first night. I couldn’t believe it didn’t flood and wasn’t very muddy, and the shelter was just enough to keep up dry. And the bathrooms were clean. Make sure to SUP or paddle, weaving in and out of the spooky baldy cypress trees takes you to the river. There’s only about 2.2 miles of trails, but we spent most of the day on the water. For the scenery and water fun, this was an excellent road trip.
Inks Lake State Park – Another very popular park in the Texas hill country. On a calm day you can SUP, but it’s very hard on a windy day! Lots of people enjoy hiking and boating here, and there lots of shaded picnic tables for day or overnight use.
Palo Pinto Mountains State Park – I signed up for the Ultra Expeditions Hidden Hills Race specifically to check out this new state park that’s not yet open to the public. The race gave us a small glimpse of the park with fields of wildflowers galore and also a lot of mosquitos. The hills weren’t too bad, and there were good stretches of the 10k that were relatively flat. I can’t wait for the park to be open, but that will probably be a few years out.
Mustang Island State Park – The Padre Island National Seashore protects 70 miles of beach, in addition to that there are other protected areas. Indoor and outdoor showers, and covered picnic structures make beach days even better.
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge – We went for the whooping cranes, but got to see so much more wildlife than I expected. Deer, alligators, and a variety of birds like spoonbills can be seen from the trails or view points. Bonus – this park is near the oldest tree in Texas.
Lost Maples State Natural Area – I’d been wanting to go here for years, and even though I thought the timing was right the maples weren’t showing off just yet. This park is very popular for day or overnight camping. The primitive camp sites are an easy mile+, but some of the hikes that offer amazing views are very steep. I’m glad I finally went, but it wasn’t more amazing than many of the other parks.
Hill Country State Natural Area – I was here for a trail race and what most struck me was the trails I explored were all exposed. Which is something to consider in the summer, although my primitive campsite was shaded. Well marked trails and nice vistas, and close proximity to Bandera, but otherwise not a park I’d go out of my way to visit.
Guadalupe River State Park – An easy two hour drive from Austin, but definitely in a flight path, as we heard many planes passing overhead. Even though Guadalupe River State park is close, it was my first visit and definitely worth it. I’m sure with the easy river access, it’s a popular park in the summer. We rented a teardrop camper for the two night trip, and it was a lovely sunny couple of days. 70 degree high in February is perfect camping weather. Our camper had a bed and kitchen, so the clean and brand new bathrooms with private showers were very ideal. It was an easy 6 mile afternoon hike, although there were more miles of trails on the other side of the river you can drive to. The wildlife was pretty good – 3 does, more armadillos than I could count, one possum and lots of birds – although it wasn’t golden cheek warbler season yet.
What’s your favorite Texas State Park and why? The vastness of the state lends itself to a variety of parks, so get out there and enjoy!
Tips:
- Make reservations well in advance.
- Make it a day trip, if you aren’t into camping. Take a picnic and enjoy the great outdoors.
