Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Hale-Bopp Comet


Remember this?  The Hale-Bopp comet was around in 1996 - 1997.  It was the damnest sight.  A comet that seemed to go nowhere other than to just hang in the sky.  Captivating.

It was estimated that the comet is visible on earth every 4,200 years.  Get this: It's last visit was in 2,215 BC. 


During the time that the comet was visible I was working and living on the California coast.  A drive to work meant 20 minutes along the California coastline.  Nothing like it. 


It was about 11 at night, driving home from a meeting, when I stopped at a wide spot in the road.  I sat on the tailgate of the truck for at least an hour taking in the smell of the ocean, listening to the sounds of waves crashing against the rocks.  It was a clear, star-lit sky highlighted by the comet and it's long tail.

I can remember sitting there and saying, Wow....wow....wow.

It was one of those Wow moments in life.

3 comments:

La Roo said...

I would have love to have had a seat next to you on the tailgate that night. Sounds so cool.
Didn't a cult do some mass drinking of the kool aid waiting for this comet to come pick the up?

weeder said...

I remember that comet. My wife and I were just married, and we went for a late night drive to a park outside of town one evening, to see the comet away from the city lights. We spread a blanket on the grass, looked at the cosmos for a while and ended up having a fantastic lovemaking session under the stars. I doubt if I could convince her to do that these days.

Bob said...

Laroo: No you don't. Believe me, no you don't. The mass dudes waiting for the space ship were smoking doobies and downing shots. They were blasted before blast off.

Weeder: Sounds delicious. .. .

Blog Archive

About Me

My photo
Whiskeytown Lake, Very Northern California, United States