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Swaddled in Color: A Walk Through the Rainforest Pyramid at Moody Gardens
Texas, Local Adventures Rebecca Loomis Texas, Local Adventures Rebecca Loomis

Swaddled in Color: A Walk Through the Rainforest Pyramid at Moody Gardens

We descend through a tunnel to the lower level of the pyramid, where we no longer see but glimpses of the white beams that hold up the glass sky. Ripples of light bounce from water onto the underbelly of the bridge we were just on. We walk through drapes of hanging moss that tickles my head, and I admire the vibrant orchids that have been carefully placed among them. We are swaddled in color: purple plumes and magenta foliage, yellow fans and peach-colored palm stalks, scattered throughout every shade of green in every possible shape. Long whistles, raspy trills, and the stuttering cry of loons are joined by the sound of rushing water, and something like the croak of a frog—or perhaps a monkey. Was that an elephant I just heard? The jungle plays tricks on my ears, and holds its secrets from me.

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One Small Step For Man: NASA Space Center, Houston
Texas, Local Adventures Rebecca Loomis Texas, Local Adventures Rebecca Loomis

One Small Step For Man: NASA Space Center, Houston

Why do we look at the stars? Why are we universally gripped with wonder by specks on black? No difference occurs from age, gender, race, beliefs and background, or what moment in history we were destined to be born into. Lines of ancestors gazed with the same gaping mouths, at the same celestial mysteries, long before we could touch meteors and Mars rocks in the air-conditioned comfort of NASA’s space center. Long before we even knew the twinkling lights in the sky were stars.

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