Last look at the Milky Way, last book of the year

Can you see the Milky Way? Probably not, anymore.

Light pollution, where night fades from our lives, is increasing around the world faster than population growth.

So I learned reading my 31st book this year, a Christmas present from sons Vance and Travis Clark, about our beloved Glacier National Park in northern Montana.

Glacier National Park, After Dark, by John Ashley, records a 30-year, 100-night project of this photographer, writer, naturalist, biologist and more.

Yes, he's been up all night shooting stars and planets and more, sometimes in -21 degree weather, in one of the last "dark places" on the planet.

He mixes science, astronomy, biology, history and Native American traditional stories and names with his fantastic photography. A deep bibliography, astronomy schedules through 2024, tips on night photography, and a plea to curb light pollution fill out this wonder of research and meticulous footnotes.

I can remember seeing the Milky Way when I was growing up. Now you have to be in rural areas, and sometimes then with binoculars. In darker areas, the stars knock your eyes out. 

It's no accident that astronomy clubs, like the one in Oklahoma City, go to the end of the Oklahoma Panhandle once a year to view the stars. I can remember watching them wheel overhead when camped out at Chaco Canyon. 

Light pollution is not just about seeing stars--it affects the lives and life rhythms of all live on this planet. 

Ashley's photography calls me back, to go again to Glacier, and to be able to see the stars, before they, like the glaciers, are gone.

A quote from iconic Doug Peacock (if you don't know who Doug Peacock is, I'm sorry) on the back cover brings it home.
Here's a snippet: "Ashley shows us how we are losing the heavens that we humans have watched and have informed our kind for millennia; artificial light pollution is erasing the night sky. And, on our radically changing planet, we will need that stellar anchor."

Books, books, cool books, Ed abbey, bears, Bill Gates & more

 "You have some cool books," said  Susan last night as I was telling her about Ed Abbey, and Sean Prentiss' book "Finding Abbey" about trying to find Abbey's hidden grave in the Arizona desert. I'd written about it earlier,  "Characters, not cookie-cutters" , and today I finished it, the first book of this year.
I won't tell you if he found the grave or not...you'll have to read the book.
But then I started looking at my bookshelves, reawakening my interest in Abbey's friends and authors, including two who have written about my totem Grizz, David Peterson, "The Ghost Grizzlies," and Doug Peacock, "The Essential Grizzly," both of whom Prentiss interviewed for his book.

There they are in my grizzly section, waiting to be reread, next to some of my Abbey books.

Right underneath it is my New Mexico section, many first editions--more cool books.
Speaking of re-reading, I now must go and find a new copy of his "Desert Solitaire" and reread. 

1968 1st edition cover

Then this morning, I find a New York Times article on Bill Gates reading about 50 books a year, and the ones he recommends on his blog, Gatesnotes. Oh, and by the way, he reads books on paper, not digitally. I knew I liked the guy.
Here's to cool books.