Hi Dan, There is a small contingency (aka The Rebel Faction) headed up to Wolf Creek tomorrow night for the Perseids and you'd be welcome to come (with or without the 16"!) If you haven't already printed them, go to my website at http://homepage.mac.com/dlbennett/PhotoAlbum4.html and print off the WC Fields 1 & 2 maps. On WCF 2 you will see both a topo of the area as well as an aerial photo. In the aerial you will see the Wolf Creek Fields observing site starred along Duchesne Ridge. Opposite the site across from the dirt road you'll see a circlet of trees. This is the area that we normally camp if we're doing more than a one nighter. But just across from the campsite you'll find a few subtly placed tire tracks heading up onto the flat of the observing site. If you get an angled run at the tracks you should have no problem...I've done them in a Saturn sedan. If you have any questions feel free to email me at dlbennett@mac.com or call me...my number is on the website I believe. Hope this helps and sorry about your truck & the deer. Dave Bennett On Tuesday, August 10, 2004, at 07:57 PM, Dan Cimbora wrote:
Hi all,
Just joined the mailing list. I recently completed a 16" Telekit, my first scope after being out of astronomy for some time. For my first dark-sky trip with the new scope, last weekend I went up to Duchesne Ridge/Wolf Creek summit, following the various online directions to the observing fields. Found the area with no problem but I arrived at dusk and didn't have much time to scout around, and wasn't sure exactly where to set up - I expected to find spurs off the main dirt road, but found none. Did I miss them, or do you all just bushwhack it across the sagebrush out into the meadows along the ridge?
I was really pleased with how dark the skies are up there. I had half a dozen "Holy Crap" moments - the 16" is by far the biggest scope I've ever used, and most of my prior observing has been from pretty light-polluted skies. The Veil nebula and M8 looked better than photos!!! The only downside to the trip was that on my way home at 2 a.m. I hit a deer between Kamas and Park City, and my truck's in the shop with $3000 in repairs. Had to wake a neighbor up to come get me, since my wife was home with our 3-month old daughter. Bad end to a great evening!
I'm toying with the idea of going up tomorrow (Weds p.m.) for observing and some Perseids. Anyone else planning on being there? I'd love some company.
-Dan in SLC