My First Comment

2008-08-28 17:09:28.000 – Mike Carmon,  Summit Intern

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Greetings from atop Mt. Washington! My name is Michael Carmon, and today was my first full day working as an intern on the summit. I graduated from Rutgers University this past May with a bachelor’s degree in meteorology, and am looking forward to spending the fall months on the summit. n

nWhen I arrived at the observatory yesterday, the sun was shining without a cloud in the sky, and the Atlantic Ocean was even clearly visible for a few morning hours. This was a nice surprise, but something pretty rare for the summer months up here. I spent the bulk of my day yesterday following along on tours of the observatory. After the long and hectic day yesterday, we were treated to a colorful sunset, followed by dinner, courtesy of the volunteers for the week. Very soon after that, I took the opportunity to lie down and rest for a few minutes, but ended up falling asleep much earlier than normal.n

nToday was my first normal day of a shift on the summit, as the other shift left yesterday afternoon. I found today to be much less crazy than yesterday. I’m thinking Wednesdays will always be a bane around here. I spent a good portion of this morning working in the museum. I now know how to use a cash register! I tagged along on a few more tours given by the day observer, Brian, who assures me that I’ll be giving these tours soon enough. What I found most enjoyable today was helping Brian with the hourly observations, which consisted of using a sling psychrometer, checking out the clouds, and just enjoying the view from the deck. The weather for the past two days has been so clear and calm that it’s been difficult to be inside at all. n

nTonight I’m looking forward to another sunset and another delicious dinner, although I fear the low clouds that we’ve been watching to our west may obscure some of the bright colors we saw last night. I’m feeling I might hit the bed a little earlier than normal again, but we’ll see. I’m looking forward to see what the rest of the week has in store for me. Maybe I’ll be giving my first tour by the end of my first shift? We’ll see about that as well. Enjoy the nice weather!

Mike Carmon,  Summit Intern