Las Vegas is normally known for its very dry summer weather
conditions but lately it is uncertain what each day will bring. The week leading up to the 2012 Perseid
Meteor Shower brought monsoon-like conditions with thick cloud cover and occasional rain bursts. A few nights prior the
clouds split open in spots teasing with views of Venus, Jupiter and a small red
constellation forming a triangle pattern.
The night before the Perseid peak, the sky was thick dark cloud cover
and light precipitation. On the early
evening of August 12, the night slated as the peak for the Perseids, it was
raining off and on and the clouds moved around the sky clearing a patch and
then quickly filling in. By midnight it
seemed a lost cause for Las Vegas viewing.
We headed to bed and threw in the towel, until… the phone rang at 1:30
am. My friend Barbara was on the line
and on the job! 'It’s clear
to the NW, let’s hit it!' We piled comforters, chairs and cushions in the car and headed out for the rendezvous
point just outside of Redrock Canyon National Conservation Area. At one time Redrock Canyon was a stretch from
town but with the expansion of Las Vegas and the 215 Expressway that wraps itself
up against the perimeter, the city is now encroaching on this once remote area.
The immediate concern was the lights of the city which could
impair viewing but it was the only cloudless sky. Our group caravanned up the road …the first
turn off to Calico Basin was too narrow to set up, the next exit was the entrance
to the Redrock Loop. This would have
been ideal in bygone days but now because it is a ‘National’ park it is gated
shut at night. We knew it would be the
same if we continued up the road to the Spring Mountain Ranch area, so we opted
to turn off on the side of the road and set up there…mistake!
The light from the city was not the only issue, for 3 a.m.,
the traffic on the road was like being on the interstate, cars shot by every
five minutes throwing blinding headlights our way, not to mention the noise pollution
that ruined the peaceful surroundings of the desert. Coyote howls competed with the engine roars of
passing motorists.
Set up in the back of a pickup truck, we were ready to start
counting. We saw about thirty meteors
total up through 5 a.m. with four of them being intense, but it was a far
cry from the predicted one hundred per hour.
We were all pretty disappointed.
On the way home, mom and I hit Starbucks and witnessed the
most amazing sunrise of melons and pinks with a giant butter colored sun hiding
behind tall palm trees. That was a good
memory moment.
Later I thought about disappointment and how sometimes too
high expectations set us up for a fall. Reflecting on the evening…it’s always
beautiful to be able to lay back in the open night space of the desert…
but impatiently seeking more meteors in the western sky we missed the sky to the
east where a crescent moon rested between Jupiter overhead and Venus beneath,
we only noticed it as we departed.
Mothers and daughters of four different generations lay together under
the glory of God and missed the opportunity to get to know one other in new
ways, did we assume we knew enough? And
yet I would not have missed it. I was
glad to be there with my mother, my friend, and her little girl, aka wiggle
worm chatter box. It was not a picture
perfect night, but sometimes when you step far enough away from what seems to
be an imperfection, the flaws fade and what remains is actually quite
beautiful. Snuggled up against my mother
in a pick-up truck, seeing my friend that I’ve known for many years long before
she was a mother, now mothering her little girl, and her daughter with her head
on my lap. Perseids you were okay, but family
and friends… you were imperfectly perfect.
On the way home, mom and I hit Starbucks and witnessed the
most amazing sunrise of melons and pinks with a giant butter colored sun hiding
behind tall palm trees. That was a good
memory moment. 
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