Saturday, May 14, 2016

The Lucin Sun Tunnels

I'm on my way to see the Lucin Sun Tunnels which are in northern Utah, near the Nevada border. I ride west toward Wendover.

Along the way I make a comfort stop and see this helmet sitting on the jersey barrier, as I ride away I realize that I didn't check inside the helmet to see if there was a head in it.

I pass Wendover Will..

A few miles after Wendover I leave the pavement and start on the dirt portion. After about 35 miles of dirt I come to this place; Area 52 aka Horseshoe Flats.

..........and there is the UFO...
 I pass this memorial...


and then stop for an excellent BLT at this place in Montello, Nevada. Some locals give me super directions on how to find the Sun Tunnels.


On my way to the Sun Tunnels I see these ruins from and old mine.






These are some tunnels.... but not the right ones..

And here are the right ones; 

The Sun Tunnels were created by Nancy Holt, and completed in 1976. There are four tunnels, one for Dracus, Perseus, Columba, and Capricorn. There are holes drilled in the concrete tunnel to correspond with certain celestial constellations.

The tunnels line up with the rising and setting sun on Summer and Winter Solstices.



As you can see the Sun Tunnels are in the middle of nowhere...but the peace and quiet was very nice. I wished I had more time to enjoy the feeling of the place.

I snap some pictures then.... I'm on my way home. 
A nice day of riding. About 425 miles total, 90 of that on dirt roads.

2 comments:

Trobairitz said...

Those sun tunnels are pretty cool. I'd never heard of them before.

Loved the picture of the reddish flowers against the dry landscape. I wonder if it is a type of potentilla?

Ken said...

I think they might be the "Red Ace potentilla".... ;) Thanks for reading!