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On a bluff south of Medicine Bow, Wyoming is the remains of this aviation arrow located at the seemingly forgotten airport. Before our current GPS satellite & radar, airplane pilots who did transcontinental airmail routes at night would fly following these large cement arrows built high up on ridges or mountaintops, often accompanied by beacons with a light. While there were over 1500 of them across the country back in the day, about 100 of them remain today, decaying & forgotten like this one. This one was the 32nd arrow of the San Francisco - Chicago airway route which was officiated in September 1920 & lasted for several years until radar came. Pilots would follow the beacons & directions of the arrows using a compass to stay aligned w/ each arrow until they encountered the next one, directing them ultimately to Chicago. This particular arrow points in the direction towards the next arrow near the town of Bosler. Most of these sites are now gone, particularly during WWII as a means of making sure any enemy aircraft didn't use these features to scout out American soil. This site is unique in that all three components of the airway beacon are still intact, of which still include the beacon, arrow, & old generator shed, of which the latter two are seen directly below. Maybe one day this will be kept in historical preservation before the Wyoming wind blows it all down. The arrow is still relatively intact w/ a few cracks & the shed still stands, though there is aviation trash inside & the rooftop is missing the old painted numbers & letters.
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Welcome to Earth! It's a planet having an iron core, with two-thirds of its surface covered by water. Earth orbits a local star called the Sun, the light of which generates the food supply for all the millions of species of life on earth. The dominant species on Earth is the human being, and you're one of the six billion of them! Humans have iron in their blood, and their bodies are composed of two-thirds water, just like the planet they live on. The physical composition of the Earth, its people and everything on it contains an electro-magnetic field which is not yet fully understood. Theories and legends about the origin of Earth, people and life itself abound, however they are not commonly discussed. The bulk of earth's people spend their time immersed in daily activities, leaving the big questions for later. "Who are we? Where did we come from? Where are we going? How will we get there?" Many religions and philosophies have attempted to answer these questions over the years, but so far none has given an answer that everyone on the planet can accept. In contrast to all the disagreement, the similarities among people on earth are far, far greater than any differences. Welcome again to Earth! Enjoy your stay, and try to stay calm.
