GSSP - Adin, CA
I had the pleasure of spending 5 hot days and 4 lovely nights with Inga in Adin, California 2 weeks ago for the annual GSSP (Golden State Star Party). My mom, after suffering though some vehicle problems, joined us the second day in her camper (along with Kelsi who was very well behaved the whole trip).
I had never been to an overnight astronomy event and it proved to be quite the experience. If you aren't completely in love with gear of all types, this is definitely NOT your thing! Between camping gear and astronomy gear for two people, we had a challenging packing job which included a rented car top cargo box.
We brought:
1 tent (sleeps 8 or 9) - admittedly, overly large for two people!
2 pop-up shades - absolutely essential
2 camp chairs
2 sleeping bags w/inflatable pads
4 telescopes (18UC Dob, 14RCX400, AR6, 120ST) and all of the necessary equipment which is too vast to list.
The days were filled with the smoke from some of the 1000+ fires in California so far this year and fierce heat (107 was the high one day). We were blessed with wind each day. Sometimes just a light cooler breeze, sometimes gusting hot nastiness that tested our tent stakes. I have to give kudos to the special red aluminum REI stakes...they held tight and we lost no gear. The wind did help in two ways. It helped keep us cooler than we otherwise would have been and it helped push the smoke out of the valley were in.
I took pictures of some of the surrounding area and other folks' rigs, which I will post at some point. It was quite the shindig with 300+ attendees from far & wide (we drove over 300 miles to get there).
Of the four nights we were there, the last was the best by far. Although I could go on and on about how wonderful it was, I could not do justice to the experience. You just had to be there. Friday night we stayed up until the sun started to come up (and ruin our perfect eastern horizon). The highlights of the viewing for me were looking at the M24 star cloud, which Inga found along with the two dark nebulas (B92 & 93?), seeing Io & its shadow transit across the face of Jupiter, and another fantastic view of the Veil Nebula in its entirety. We checked out the usual suspects (over 100+ items) in our sessions. We also got to watch an Iridium flare as it moved through Bootes and into Scorpius.
We managed to wander over to Dob lane on Friday night and caught up with Alvin Huey and his 30" Dob. We got to look through it at several items and were suitably wowed by the experience (especially the 8-10' climb up the ladder!). Despite my nervousness the next day, I asked Alvin if he would mind autographing my copy of one of his books concerning the ARP galaxies. He cheerfully agreed. We also met up with Albert Highe on the first day, which is always a treat as we had first met Albert at one of our first public star parties and were treated to some fabulous views through one of his custom light weight Dobs. In fact, he was featured in Sky & Telescope earlier this year.
We met some very nice folks, especially our hosts for the party, the Albaugh family, who own Frosty Acres Ranch, where the party took place. They provided one hell of a fine meal on Saturday night with their own beef. I admit, Inga and I gobbled up quite a lot and finished things off with 3 home made cupcakes each :)
I think the one thing I will remember most was the town of Adin (population 500). It's a cozy town along interstate 299 up near mount Lassen in Modoc county. Ash creek runs through the town and next to Adin Supply Company which is the town store/deli built in 1906. The people working there were some of the most friendly I've met. On Sunday, before the started our drive back to the bay area, Inga and I stopped back into town where I just HAD to try the biscuits & gravy at Adin Supply Co. We then walked over to the creek and dipped our toes in (or, more precisely, we waded in). The water was brisk and incredibly refreshing. I swore next year I'd bring a bathing suit.
We're already planning to attend next year and are anxiously looking forward to it in June 2009.
I had never been to an overnight astronomy event and it proved to be quite the experience. If you aren't completely in love with gear of all types, this is definitely NOT your thing! Between camping gear and astronomy gear for two people, we had a challenging packing job which included a rented car top cargo box.
We brought:
1 tent (sleeps 8 or 9) - admittedly, overly large for two people!
2 pop-up shades - absolutely essential
2 camp chairs
2 sleeping bags w/inflatable pads
4 telescopes (18UC Dob, 14RCX400, AR6, 120ST) and all of the necessary equipment which is too vast to list.
The days were filled with the smoke from some of the 1000+ fires in California so far this year and fierce heat (107 was the high one day). We were blessed with wind each day. Sometimes just a light cooler breeze, sometimes gusting hot nastiness that tested our tent stakes. I have to give kudos to the special red aluminum REI stakes...they held tight and we lost no gear. The wind did help in two ways. It helped keep us cooler than we otherwise would have been and it helped push the smoke out of the valley were in.
I took pictures of some of the surrounding area and other folks' rigs, which I will post at some point. It was quite the shindig with 300+ attendees from far & wide (we drove over 300 miles to get there).
Of the four nights we were there, the last was the best by far. Although I could go on and on about how wonderful it was, I could not do justice to the experience. You just had to be there. Friday night we stayed up until the sun started to come up (and ruin our perfect eastern horizon). The highlights of the viewing for me were looking at the M24 star cloud, which Inga found along with the two dark nebulas (B92 & 93?), seeing Io & its shadow transit across the face of Jupiter, and another fantastic view of the Veil Nebula in its entirety. We checked out the usual suspects (over 100+ items) in our sessions. We also got to watch an Iridium flare as it moved through Bootes and into Scorpius.
We managed to wander over to Dob lane on Friday night and caught up with Alvin Huey and his 30" Dob. We got to look through it at several items and were suitably wowed by the experience (especially the 8-10' climb up the ladder!). Despite my nervousness the next day, I asked Alvin if he would mind autographing my copy of one of his books concerning the ARP galaxies. He cheerfully agreed. We also met up with Albert Highe on the first day, which is always a treat as we had first met Albert at one of our first public star parties and were treated to some fabulous views through one of his custom light weight Dobs. In fact, he was featured in Sky & Telescope earlier this year.
We met some very nice folks, especially our hosts for the party, the Albaugh family, who own Frosty Acres Ranch, where the party took place. They provided one hell of a fine meal on Saturday night with their own beef. I admit, Inga and I gobbled up quite a lot and finished things off with 3 home made cupcakes each :)
I think the one thing I will remember most was the town of Adin (population 500). It's a cozy town along interstate 299 up near mount Lassen in Modoc county. Ash creek runs through the town and next to Adin Supply Company which is the town store/deli built in 1906. The people working there were some of the most friendly I've met. On Sunday, before the started our drive back to the bay area, Inga and I stopped back into town where I just HAD to try the biscuits & gravy at Adin Supply Co. We then walked over to the creek and dipped our toes in (or, more precisely, we waded in). The water was brisk and incredibly refreshing. I swore next year I'd bring a bathing suit.
We're already planning to attend next year and are anxiously looking forward to it in June 2009.
posted by burning_mobius at 12:24 PM
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