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Regarding the VLA - is it as "open" as it appears to be from google maps? That is, from what I could see, you can almost just turn off the highway the drive to
by cr0sh 7y ago
Regarding the VLA - is it as "open" as it appears to be from google maps?
That is, from what I could see, you can almost just turn off the highway the drive to it, and I didn't see any kind of fencing or whatnot; there also seemed to be more than a few "back ways" into it via jeep trails and such.
I've had the idea just to drive out there one weekend, camp overnight, then explore the area for a day or two, then leave. But I don't know if that would be considered trespassing on government property or something?
It just looks like a large collection of space telescopes and mostly empty desert, with a few buildings scattered about, but not much in the way of "people things" - which I doubt are needed except for maintenance purposes (which is probably what few buildings there are there are for).
Other than that, it just looks like a slightly-improved piece of desert landscape - kinda like what wind farms look like and such on the California/Arizona border area (which you can easily drive up to via maintenance roads).
- petschge 7y agoI have not been there for a decade, but back then there were cattle fences along the road and around the telescopes and cows grazing in between. Also: be aware of the rattle snakes if you go camping there.
- cbanek 7y agoAlso, watch out for the cops and be on your best behavior with respect to speed. When I was out there, I was amazed how many cops would follow me for miles and miles, because I had out of state plates. Other than that, it was a great time, although there's really nothing much else in the area. The drive west from there on 60 gets pretty through the mountains. Make sure to keep your gas tank rather full.
- NikolaeVarius 7y agohttps://public.nrao.edu/visit/very-large-array/ https://public.nrao.edu/visit/very-large-array/
- andrewflnr 7y agoIt's that open. I happened to be nearby on one of their tour days in 2017. It was cool in a low-key way. There's a combination office and visitor center where they manage the telescope and do at least some level of processing. There wouldn't be much for you to see unless you were there for a tour. But there are plenty of public roads where you could totally drive up and see the dishes if you wanted.
- dreamcompiler 7y agoI went a couple of years ago. You can drive down to it and commune with a few of the antennas and take pictures. There's a small gift shop.