Reflections of the Past

The Castle Dome Mines Museum collects many vintage buildings on one site -- some moved from other locations, and all meticulously restored. Walking among the buildings, I discovered this striking alignment of windows. Although it is an optical illusion, the photo shows the scene just as I saw it -- the image has not been composited or manipulated in any way. Can you tell exactly what you are seeing? To see if your guess was right, scroll all the way down to the bottom of this page.

The Castle Dome Mines Museum is private property within the boundaries of Kofa National Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Arizona, approximately 35 miles northeast of Yuma off of Highway 95. The last few miles to the site are a graded dirt road. A modest admission fee is charged.

Location: Castle Dome Mines Museum, Arizona.
Date: December 30, 2004.
Time: 11:48 a.m. MST.
Camera: Sony Mavica MVC-FD88 digital.

Here's the description of the picture. In the photo we are looking at four different planes, only one of which is a reflection -- from outer to inner they are:

1. The side of a building with a red-framed window. This is the "near" side of the church. This window is mirrored and reflects ...

2. The side of the adjacent building, the jail, which has a yellow-framed window. This window has no reflections.

3. The window in the far side of the church, which is split into 6 panes. This window is bright enough that it shows through the mirrored window in (1).

4. Distant mountains, seen through the window in the far side of the church.

If you look closely, you can faintly see the pews inside the church through the mirrored window.