FreeLists / az-observing / [AZ-Observing] Re: Observing at Eagle Eye on Sunday

[Joe Larkin <joeclarkin@xxxxxxxxx>]

Steve --

It was hot at Vekol on Saturday. And it seemed like there were more
bugs than usual. I guess we have the recent rains to thank for that.

As far as driving that road at night, I guess I don't see the big
deal. That road is a pretty good dirt road. BLM graded the heck out
of it a few years ago and even paved one spot. 

Some people like driving on bumpy roads, I do (but not when I have
expensive optics on board!). Driving at night can be fun too,
especially when compared to driving in the desert sun and heat. 

This can be frustrating to the astronomer but different strokes for
different folks. 

It is good that you reported this, so others now know that this can
be a busy spot at night. This should be part of the information about
observing site. Darkness, accessability, size of level open area,
horizons, and also impact of other users are all important.

My worst interaction with other "users of the night" was at a site
near a pond in Florida. A pair of good old boys were "frog gigging".
This involves riding around in a loud fan boat with a spotlight to
search for and spear frogs. They came over to see what we were doing,
blinding us in the process. They were drunk and acted like jerks, but
were not overly hostile.  After we told them we where observing they
didn't bother us with the spotlight as much, though they were still
disruptive. I'm sure others have worse tales as this was pretty mild.

Joe Larkin





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