Hi, Kolob Canyons is good although there is some light pollution from Cedar City. In the summer, I go up near Lava Point where my buddy has an acre property lot just north of the Lava Point turnoff. Anywhere around Kolob Reservoir or near the cemetery up there would be good. Darker and higher than Kolob Canyons but more mosquitoes. I always stay overnight when I go up to Kolob Reservoir because there are many deer around the area. Plus, it takes me an hour and a half to get home. There is also a good site in the Anasazi Plateau subdivision. I haven't been up there this year but there was an empty cul-de-sac called Navaho Circle. I just got back from Enterprise Reservoir yesterday after a fun day of fishing. That place has some real possibilities. Camping is only $9 per night and it is higher and darker than Mountain Meadows. I used to go to Mountain Meadows about 10 years ago so I don't know how good it is anymore. I may go up to Enterprise Reservoir in September and stay the night to see how dark it is up there. We took highway 18 to get to Enterprise Reservoir. When it gets a little cooler I want to go out to Gunlock Reservoir. It is a state park so I will wait till the off-season so it will be less crowded. It's only at 3600ft so it is probably a little warm right now. A friend of mine saw the Zodiacal Lights back in early April. Also, Navaho Lake may be good but I've never set up there The other sites, Virgin, Warner Valley, and Az strip are winter, late fall, and early spring sites. It's too hot for me right now so I go north into the mountains. Hope this helps. Clear Skies, Debbie On Fri, Aug 5, 2011 at 3:41 PM, Dave Gary <davegary@me.com> wrote:
I always thought a good place to observe would be out in Warner Valley, south of Hurricane. Turn on 700 West and head south past the airport. Go around the airport and keep heading south. There will be signs that say Warner Valley, eventually. Once you get a little ways into the valley the hills of Sand Hollow hide a lot of the glare from Hurricane and hills to the west hide much of the glare from St. George. It’s a wide-open valley, lots of sky. Past the airport the road turns to gravel, but it’s one of the those “highway” gravel roads. You need to watch for a few dips, but I have been out in the area several times and routinely drive 40-50mph on the road. Don’t try to make it into the valley from the St. George side. There some big sand dunes you have to negotiate and most cars won’t make it through. Another thing, not that many people would go out there at night, so car lights should not be a problem. Almost all cars would be from the Hurricane side, not the St. George side. They can’t get through the dunes.
Dave
On [Aug 5], at [Aug 5] 11:25 AM, Robert Taylor Photo wrote:
I have a request from an astronomer coming in from L.A and he'll be in the
Hurricane area. Anyone know of a good observing site in that area?
Bob
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