I don't know. I guess it is all personal preference. I enjoy Lakeside since it has a better Western horizon than the gravel pit (Quarry). That is one of it's pluses for me. I feel more comfortable driving home late at night on I-80 from the West than I do with the small road and I-80 through Parley's canyon. I'm sure like I said it is just personal preference. When you say "Lakeside has plenty of factors that detract from the experience" are you refering to us visual guys? I don't really think so but I thought I'd ask.;) Can you imagine how lucky we are to dispute which is the best "darker sky" location? Having so many within driving distance for one night of observing is something that hundreds if not thousands of folks like us would love to have. Steve
Date: Tue, 14 Sep 2010 16:35:34 -0700 From: josephmbauman@yahoo.com To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Brown's Canyon/Gravel Quarry
What I don't like about Lakeside are the colder temps that come with the altitude, the occasional drunk local walking home (well, it happened once), mountains -- I'm a desert guy, light pollution that I think is worse than at Lakeside, gravel pit activity even though it's night, and setting up on either a public road or private property. Lakeside has plenty of factors that detract from the experience too, but in my wholly personal judgment it's preferable to the Gravel Pit. -- Joe
--- On Tue, 9/14/10, erikhansen@thebluezone.net <erikhansen@thebluezone.net> wrote:
From: erikhansen@thebluezone.net <erikhansen@thebluezone.net> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Brown's Canyon/Gravel Quarry To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Date: Tuesday, September 14, 2010, 8:26 AM
However Kim, we are closer to the Red Iguana than you are.
Hate to rub it in, but I've got several great sites, all of which are
superior to Rush Valley, the Gravel Pit and Lakeside, within a ten minute drive from my home. Even Skyline Drive is better than Wolf Creek Pass in some ways and I can get there in less than 30 minutes. I live right in town, yet just outside my front door the sky is darker than that at SPOC. On the downside, it's hard to make a living here. :-( However, as you may surmise, I do have my priorities in order.
As Lowell wrote earlier, he and I did indeed have a great time at the gravel pit on Friday night. It was dark, transparent and steady enough to pick out a few faint objects I haven't seen before, and Lowell's C14 gave impressive views. When I lived in SLC I, too found it to be a convenient dark site. I recommend it for anyone who hasn't yet been there.
Kim
-----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Jay Eads Sent: Monday, September 13, 2010 6:38 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Brown's Canyon/Gravel Quarry
I'll have to give the Gravel Pit a try sometime. I have a couple of sites up pass Guardsman Pass that I like but they will become unusable come winter. In terms of Lakeside and Rush Valley/Pit n Pole, I like both sites and Rush Valley is only a 40 to 45 minute drive for me. If humidity is up I can go up in elevation out there by Five Mile Pass which is a shorter drive and the two sites there are up and away from the main road, or pass the Pit n Pole site. Also to get out of the humidity there are a few sites above Provo that are okay and accessible come winter.
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