All; I'm a first time poster to this group and I know I am repeating much of what has already been said, but... Kelly and the crew there at Great Basin did a wonderful job of hosting the star party last night. As he reported, the skies were clear and very dark. The visitors at the star party were very appreciative and thankful for the views. We had folks from VA, NV and UT there to enjoy the sky with us. As all of you who have shown others the wonders of the universe through our telescopes have experienced, there were lots of oohs and aahs, and oh-my-gosh's when eager eyes looked through eyepieces. For me, that made the drive and the worries about the weather well worth it. I will definitely be back to help the staff at Great Basin with their ambitious astronomy program. On a more selfish note, I look forward to enjoying the excellent ski quality; it reminded my of the skies when I was a young boy in the '70's in the mountains of southern Utah. BTW Kelly, my daughters thoroughly enjoyed the Great Basin workbooks and their Jr. Ranger certificates all the way home; I thank you, and the other rangers, greatly for the outstanding time we had there. Keep up the great work, and keep being a dark sky ninja! Mat Hutchings -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Kelly_Carroll@nps.gov Sent: Sunday, March 06, 2011 11:31 AM To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Great Basin Star Party Thank you guys for the kind words. One thing we try to do here is to give the visitor a personal experience. It's the least we can do because you allow us the privilege of watching over your national parks. Star Party Report: the evening turned out to be perfect. Not a cloud in the sky, not too cold, and a wonderful steady and transparent sky. Hot chocolate was a hit as well! A huge thank you to Matt and his family for their help and knowledge of the night sky! Best, Kelly Kelly Carroll Great Basin National Park http://www.nps.gov/grba/ Experience your America _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- This message and any included attachments are from Siemens Medical Solutions and are intended only for the addressee(s). The information contained herein may include trade secrets or privileged or otherwise confidential information. Unauthorized review, forwarding, printing, copying, distributing, or using such information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you received this message in error, or have reason to believe you are not authorized to receive it, please promptly delete this message and notify the sender by e-mail with a copy to Central.SecurityOffice@siemens.com Thank you