Humor aside, if you want to talk 4wd observatory sites the arrows would be down on the list. I gladly share them with friends but not the general public.
Hi all,
When I started the "Government funded observing platforms" thread I intended it to be just a quick bit of humor that history nuts like me might enjoy. Little did I know it would grow instead of quickly fade.
So since folks seem to be enjoying it but realizing it really is off topic I've changed the name of the thread so those not interested can hit delete.
At any rate, using the map Brent supplied I was able to find and photograph three of the arrows today (the ones by Stockton, Lakepoint and by I-80's exit 77). I walked all around where the one just north of Grantsville was supposed to be but there was no sign of it. With luck I'll get to the two a bit further west tomorrow and then the one north of the Bountiful airport after that.
BTW, while searching for the one above Lakepoint I ended up climbing much higher than I needed to. I just could not find it. So I turned around to sit down for a rest only to see the arrow well below me. Augh.
Funny, but while standing on that one I rang Joe to tell him where I was (he's the one that unintentionally got me started on this). And hour or so later he rang me back wanting to make sure I'd made it back down safely (thanks Joe).
Also, while coming down I found this bulb sticking out of the dirt: http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/temp/bulb.jpg
I figured it must be burned out and some worker had tossed it. But when I got home I found it still works. Weird. Anyone want it?
It was really neat standing on those things with all my fancy electronics thinking how when the arrows were poured almost 100 years ago the workers doing the pouring could never have imagined things like iPhones and iPads.
I look at these things as a fascinating part of aviation history. So much so that I pitched doing a story about them to a reporter friend. He likes the idea and is thinking sometime next month. We'll see.
And, at the risk of going a bit crazy here, I'd really like to see at least some of these things preserved. I'd start with the one off exit 77 as it's in pretty good shape, already has something of a fence around it and you can drive right up to it.
I'm envisioning getting some CAP cadets out there to clear brush and maybe even apply a coat of the same color paint that was on the arrows originally. I see on the web it's been done elsewhere, so why not here?
Lots of pictures in the camera. Hopefully I'll get a few posted later tonight.
All in all a really fun day.
patrick
On 27 Aug 2013, at 09:24, Joe Bauman wrote:
These things were set up 10 miles apart. Some must remain near roads in nice dark areas. -- Joe
------------------------------ On Tue, Aug 27, 2013 8:22 AM MDT Erik Hansen wrote:
Did not see a road, looks like quite a hike.
Great little platforms for setting up in a dark sky area! Do you think we
could get the government to install electrical outlets and bathrooms for us?
-A
On Mon, Aug 26, 2013 at 3:28 PM, Patrick Wiggins <paw@wirelessbeehive.com>wrote:
Hi Ed,
Thanks for the tip.
I looked on Google Earth at that area but could not find it.
Here's a screen shot of where I was looking: http://users.wirelessbeehive.com/~paw/temp/exit62.jpg
Is that the right area? If it is can you see the arrow and help me narrow the search?
Thanks,
patrick
On 26 Aug 2013, at 07:23, Ed wrote:
Patrick,
There is an aviation arrow for the SLC to San Francisco route on top of the hill just north of exit 62 on I-80.
This is the same spot I mentioned some time back as a good place to get an unobstructed view of the western horizon.
Ed
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