The Sound of Silence

Photo credit: U.S. Corps of Engineers

FAR AFIELD: It's going to be super duper quiet here on the campus of MPA this week, as the kids and Christian are down at Packard Creek Campground, near the Hill Creek Reservoir in the booming metropolis of Oakdale, Ore.

According to Wikipedia Commons, the photo above is of Hill Creek Reservoir.  I'll have to take their word for it, since I've never been there!

Per the USDA/Forest service Web site, "The campground offers a variety of activities" and "there is a mix of vegetation in the campground which includes an abundant supply of Poison Oak."

Yeah, they probably should have spent more time selling its high points. ;)

Packard Creek is part of the Willamette National Forest. 

                
MOONGAWK:   Today I learned about an online archive that contains high-resolution film scans from every Apollo mission. It includes ALL all of the mind blowing photos taken during each of the missions — from Apollo 1 all the way through Apollo 17.  The gallery for Apollo 11, our first moon landing, has over 1,000 photos alone. 

Called the Apollo Image Gallery, it was assembled by the Project Apollo Archive, which scanned photographs provided by the NASA History Office, Kennedy Space Center and Johnson Space Center.

The site is a little clunky to navigate, but the hunt is worth your time, considering the treasures it contains.   Here are a few gems. ...

You might recognize the shot above as the first photo Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong took after setting foot on the Moon.

And here, below, Apollo 9 astronaut Dave Scott emerging from the command module hatch.  How 'bout that view?!?!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY: Speaking of NASA, it was 55 years ago today that President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act.  Eisenhower commissioned Dr. T. Keith Glennan (right), as the first NASA administrator and Dr. Hugh L. Dryden as deputy administrator.