Just 20 miles from our campsite is Biosphere 2. It's almost Earth Day so we thought visiting it would be a proper way to celebrate.
We arrived about 11. Usually, there are guided tours through the facility, but today you could wander around on your own and spend as much time in places as you wanted. There were docents around each section to answer questions and give more information.
From 1991 to 1993, eight scientists were sealed in the Biosphere. It was called Biosphere 2, Earth being Biosphere 1. We were extremely interested in the whole concept of people existing on the inside and not consuming anything from the outside.
This was the living area. The curved staircase leads to the "disco" room.
As we walked inside the biomes, the first we saw was the ocean complete with a coral reef. It is 25 feet in the deepest section.
Next, was the rainforest. Animals also lived here with the biospherians.
After we toured the biomes, we headed over to the South Lung. You had to walk through a wind tunnel to get to the other side.
Inside the lung, the docent explained that they were built on each side of the Biosphere. Because the air in Biosphere 2 expanded and contracted, something had to be developed to keep the Biosphere from possibly imploding. The lung was developed. It's a kind of bellows that actually expands and contracts from the air inside the Biosphere 2.
We walked out back into the outdoors. I was only in there 2 hours, I don't think I could have handled it for two years!
Monday, we head to Mesa, Arizona to have our fifth wheel graphics replaced. We bought our rig new, but it had sat on the dealer's lot baking in the hot Texas sun for two years. The graphics were not in good shape and have gotten worse. We're looking forward to getting a newer looking rig.
The interview article was so interesting.
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