Phoenix to the VLA

After living in the Phoenix area for about three months and losing what may have been a promising job I headed back to Chicagoland. Instead of taking the normal route (I-40) which traces old route 66, I decided to take Route 60 through the mountains and into New Mexico. I wanted to see the VLA (Very Large Array).
View Phoenix to the Very Large Array in a larger map

View Phoenix to the Very Large Array in a larger map

Route 60 is a crazy route that winds with hairpin turns through the mountains in Arizona, and the edge of New Mexico. You simply can’t haul ass on Route 60, you have to take your time and really pay attention to the turns and steep grades.

Shrine at the roadside before Miami, Arizona along Route 60

A satellite view of the VLA, basically the VLA is a series of antennas that are moved around via a rail system. The lady at the visitor center said they move the separate antennas into different positions every three months for each study project.

My old Honda Prelude in front of an antenna of the VLA. The funny thing about driving from Datil, New Mexico to the VLA is that there is no cell phone coverage. I spoke with a woman at the NRAO visitor center and she said the companies purposly block cellphone transmissions in a large radius around the VLA so that the transmissions would not interfear with the pictures they get from space.