Much good discussion on these topics and here are my thoughts from past
experience.
Years ago I was willing to drive family vehicle over jeep trails to a
secluded dark site in the mountains. The trail was nothing more than deep
ruts and required driving on the high spots to get to the site. The small
site could only handle 3 vehicles perhaps 5 could squeeze in. Once the site
became to small we looked for larger site that was accessible by family
sedan and found Fred Med. It's reasonably secluded has trees for shade
during the day. Yes it is a long drive, no cell phone or internet
connection but the dirt road and site were very usable. There were many
large star parties up there for several years.
I don't mind the road conditions to Stoneman Lake - been on rattier dirt
roads, that my wife to this day doesn't know about, that's not issue for me
just drive slowly. If your vehicle, trailer or whatever doesn't have a high
clearance I would suggest stopping the vehicle, getting out and walk the
path to determine how to stay on the higher parts and avoid the lower. Not
to happy about the 10 car limit, not many trees around for shade. Cell
phone and internet connection a great plus.
My take on the two sites? Fred Med is favorite but not by myself.
Otherwise Stoneman Lake, I like the company.
That's about what I can remember for now.
AJ Crayon
Phoenix, AZ..
-----Original Message-----
From: KEVIN KOZEL
Sent: Monday, August 13, 2018 10:09 AM
To: az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [AZ-Observing] Re: Does anyone go to Fredrickson's Meadow?
When I first joined SAC in 2010, Cherry Road was still being used somewhat.
But Fred's Meadow was the in place to go during the summer heat. I saw many
photos of some good star parties in those days. I'd like to see more folks
go up to the high country during the summer, but I think we're all getting a
little older now and not willing to challenge the monsoon as much. Maybe.
I know I'll be at Stoneman Lake in September for at least three nights to
look at and photograph the night sky. My son is getting started in astronomy
now and will be going with me. I'll talk him into going to our meeting too.
KK
On August 13, 2018 at 12:59 PM dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:--
One place near where we used to go was the bee hives near the town of
Dugas Az. This is where we used to go before Cherry Rd. There is another
place we should investigate as an easy to get to get away from the valley.
You would take the Dugas exit off of 17 and proceed east until you come to
965OR about a half mile from the gravel pit where we used to observe from
back in the eighties. You take this Rd north for about 600 ft there is an
area that opens up on the left, it looks like about the same area as we
had available at Cherry Rd. I have been wanting to check this spot out for
the last two summers but have been unable to make it. You can check this
spot out on google earth, that is how I dound it.
Dwight
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On Monday, August 13, 2018, Michael Collins <cal_donley@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
On 08/12/18 22:49, Travis Whitlow wrote:
So it seems the options during summer are slim to none.Observing during the summer months in Arizona, particularly if you're
based in the Valley (and especially if you work a Monday through Friday
schedule) is something of a challenge. Throughout the afternoon/evening
cloud season, the odds of a clear night with decent seeing are fairly
low. Forecasts don't seem to be very good more than a day or two out, so
when there is an opportunity to observe you have to be able to react
quickly. If you're in the Valley, this means load and go on short notice
or stay close to home and endure the heat. It's my impression that most
people take a couple of months off through the summer storm season.
The appeal of Stoneman Lake appears to be nearby dispersed camping
where people can park at 6700' for an extended period at minimal expense
in a dark sky area. The difficulty associated with reaching that area
keeps if from being overrun with casual visitors and their lights. If
you're there for a while, you may get a clear night with good observing
conditions.
When it was accessible, the so-called Cherry Road site was often used
in the summer time by people from Phoenix. To my knowledge, it was
probably the best option from the west side near 5000', situated only a
few miles from I-17 and south of the Verde Valley. That site is
evidently not viable any longer and I've not seen any reports of other
good options along AZ 169. Just north of 169, I-17 descends toward Camp
Verde so you lose the advantage of altitude until you climb back out
after crossing the river. A few miles before you reach Stoneman Lake
Road, you can exit I-17 and go south on FR 618 to the Bell Trail
Overflow Parking Lot. This is easily accessible in any vehicle, but it's
at only 5000'. Paul Lind wrote a detailed assessment of this site last
year, reporting that it would probably be a good option early in the
March - mid-May time frame for observers from the Phoenix area. If you
go farther north, there are good options around Flagstaff, but not
necessarily better chances for clear summer skies.
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