Howdy all; The Saguaro Astronomy Club is having a Novice Group observing session on Saturday night, Apr. 6. Please leave town by 5:30 PM at the latest, so we can have time for a "twilight talk" before it gets dark. The directions to the Flatiron site are below. The main subject will be simple astrophotography and Rick Tejera has graciously decided to loan interested folks some time on his simple mount that provides star tracking by hand. Those willing to have a hands on experience will be able to take a shot or two and then see their results at the next meeting. If you are not interested in sky photography, please show up anyway, there will be plenty of people with telescopes who are set up and ready to help you find your way around the sky and answer any questions you might have. Hope to see ya there; Steve Coe Flatiron Site directions This observing site is an 80 mile drive from central Phoenix, If you will leave about 90 minutes before sunset, there will be plenty of time to find the site, set up your scope, enjoy a little picnic and chat before it gets dark. Travel west from Phoenix on I-10 until you get to Exit 103, the 339th Ave. exit. Rip Griffin's Truck Stop is at this exit. Go north (right) on 339th Ave. for 2 miles and then turn west (left) on Indian School Rd. Go 2 mi. and then turn north (right) on 355th Ave. This road becomes Wickenburg Road along the way. Go 12.2 miles. You will pass "Flatiron" Mountain on the left, hence the name of the site. At mile marker 23.3 you will turn east (right) onto a wide dirt road. (This road does NOT run along a fence line. If it does, you went too far and are on the wrong dirt road. The correct dirt road is to the south of the road with the fence.) If you go too far on Wickenburg Road, there is a cattle guard and a Bureau of Land Management sign immediately along the road to let you know you missed the turnoff. Note your odometer reading when you turn onto the dirt road. The site is 0.9 miles from the pavement. The dirt road goes through a wash and the site is on the left after you have traveled through the wash. It is a large area of desert pavement on the left side of the road. Some white rocks mark the entrance to the observing site. The trip is all on hard surface roads, until you turn onto the dirt road, which is well maintained. stevecoe@xxxxxxxxx Author: Deep Sky Observing--The Astronomical Tourist Saguaro Astronomy Club web site: www.saguaroastro.org -- This message is from the AZ-Observing mailing list. See this message's header if you want info about unsubscribing or the list's archive. This is a discussion list. Please send personal inquiries directly to the message author. In other words, do not use "reply" for personal messages. Thanks.