2019 March 03

I went out to see the stars at Snake Valley yesterday. We arrived just before sunset and set up camp. As the sun's light began to weaken, I saw the stars come out. First Sirius, then another, then another, so quietly that if you had looked away for five minutes and looked back up, you would have been overwhelmed. I saw Orion (upside down), the Southern Cross (upside down), the Blowfly, the Small Dog, Centaurus, Taurus, the Crow, the Twins, and probably some others that I can't remember right now. I saw plenty of satellites and some shooting stars. The person who was describing the sky to us had a magical laser pointer and I swear to god it touched the stars themselves.

It took two hours to drive out there and two hours to drive back. I was concentrating very hard on the road on the way back. Highway driving is somehow very tiring. I hadn't realised how tired I was until we headed out and got onto the highway. I knew I was tired, and I knew it was dangerous to continue, and I wished as hard as I could that we would be okay. When I was finally at home, I remember lying on my side in bed and cataloguing my limbs, feeling my breathing, acknowledging my surroundings. I thought, I'm glad I made it back.