Solstice Sun Dagger (Shallow Thoughts)

Solstice Sun Dagger

Today is the summer solstice. Happy solstice!

When I was in grade school -- probably some time around 7th grade -- I happened upon an article in Scientific American about the Anasazi Sun Dagger on Fajada Butte in Chaco Canyon. On the solstices and equinoxes, a thin dagger of light is positioned just right so that it moves across a spiral that's carved into the rock.

I was captivated. What an amazing sight it must be, I thought. I wondered if ordinary people were allowed to go see it.

Well, by the time I was old enough to do my own traveling, the answer was pretty much no. Too many people were visiting Fajada Butte ...

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