[AZ-Observing] Re: Observing Report - GCSP South Rim - Day 8 - The Weathe...
- From: Skylook123@xxxxxxx
- To: az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 13 Jun 2010 21:42:18 EDT
Joe, those wishes are greatly appreciated, and please let me return best
wishes and appreciation to you for making the trip down here this year. I
know it wasn't an easy journey, but your presentation of Dean's award was a
great moment for all of us. From the unsolicited Ranger and visitor
comments that Susan and I got today at Headquarters, the work of all the
volunteers is noticed and appreciated, and your presence was specifically
commented
on.
Thanks, Joe!
Jim O'Connor
South Rim Coordinator
Grand Canyon Star Party
gcsp@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In a message dated 6/13/2010 6:17:29 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time,
joe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
Jim, I meant to walk up to your table in the cafe this morning to thank
you for your star party efforts (especially noteworthy since you weren't
feeling well), but you bailed a moment before I finished what I was doing. So,
permit me to offer my thanks and appreciation now.
On Jun 13, 2010, at 6:12 PM, skylook123@xxxxxxx wrote:
> Grand Canyon Star Party South Rim - DAY EIGHT - The Weather Hammer Falls
> Location: Yavapai Point Observing Station, South Rim of Grand Canyon,
AZ, about 340 miles north of home in Tucson, about 7000 ft elevation
>
> Weather: 40s at sunset, falling into 30s by 9 PM. Some early sucker
holes in the west at sundown slammed shut by 8:15 PM. Then some intermittent
rain sprinkles. Pretty much a lost evening.
>
> Seeing and Transparency: None. Overcast with heavy rain clouds
>
> Equipment:
> Golf umbrella
>
> The bad upper respiratory bug set in with a vengeance. Even if the sky
was clear, no setup for me tonight.
>
> We had a nice pot luck lunch at Chuck Wahler's home. After retiring as a
Ranger, he is back at the Grand Canyon as a contractor working on
education programs (I think!) and still lives at the park, in a different
house. It
is always a pleasure to meet with the volunteers away from the
battleground. Highlight for me was drafting Robert Lofquist, Bill and Mary's
grandson
visiting for the week, to draw two names for door prizes offered by the
Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Robert has been helping us by handing
out star maps at the evening talks, along with Audra Anderson the first three
nights. Erich Karkoshka won the 2011 Observer's Handbook, and Jerry
Fennema won the 2011 Observer's Calendar. I donated the 2010 sample versions
of
the two to Marker Marshall for use in her Starry Starry Nights Ranger talks.
>
> A few hearty folk were hoping for the best as the swirling sky seemed to
open a bit to the west near sundown. I was hoping the coroner could start
on his autopsy and rid me of the bad cold. I think I've already lost both
lungs, what else could there be?
>
> Our night talk crowd was sparse, maybe 50 or 60, and Sara Meschberger
valiantly performed her Preserving The Night Sky presentation. As is usual on
these adventures in the cold and wind, the pointing devices refused to
cooperate so I sat UNDER the table and flipped the slides through for her. Her
talk was a concise motivation to not lose the night sky for future
generations. At the end, I tried to fill some time with an overview of what
could
be seen in the night sky, but around slide five the sprinkles started so we
abandoned ship. We were back in the room by 9PM so I could look for the
missing lung.
>
> So, now we're home. All in all, a remarkable week of great
conversations, education opportunities, and expanding horizons for several
thousand
visitors over the week. Through the week we had 75 volunteers turn in service
sheets, and they did yeoman duty with making each contact with a visitor a
special moment. Today, as we dropped off some of the visitor log sheets from
other observers at Ranger Headquarters, we were told that visitors had
been coming in all week to thank the Park for the event. And we got stopped on
the way back to our truck by four individuals who told us that they came
up to both final nights of bad weather just because the volunteer
astronomers were so informative and helpful even without a sky to work with.
WAY TO
GO!!!
>
>
> Jim O'Connor
> South Rim Coordinator
> Grand Canyon Star Party
> gcsp@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
>
>
>
> --
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please
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>
>
Joe Bergeron
Fellow, International Association of Astronomical Artists
http://www.joebergeron.com
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