I'm a little surprised that someone hasn't beat me to this one. Here's a brief write-up of goings-on at Capitol Reef this past weekend: I was there for Friday and Saturday night. On Friday night, Ann House kicked off events by her lecture-demonstration in the park amphitheater. I wasn't able to sit in but for a few minutes, but she had several kids onstage with her and it looked like there were all having a blast. There was a quick change of plans for the first- night observing field. The rangers had picked out a field for us, but had neglected to remove the horses in sufficient time for nature to take her course. So we set up in the parking lot by the amphiteater. Except for some campground lights to the east and the occasional visitor with headlights, it was an OK substitution. Temperatures were great--I never needed more than a T-shirt (well, I did have on pants, too). The next morning found Ivo Stutznegger and David Bennett in the horse- field with shovels and rakes. After some well-applied elbow grease, the field was ready for viewing. I believe there was some solar viewing during the day, but I was busy being a tourist and missed it. Saturday night began with another lecture and then viewing on the preferred field. Views were obstructed by a high cliff to the east, but North, South and West were pretty good. It was a bit cooler. About the skies--they were pretty much what Tom Sevcik promised. Very, very dark. The North American Nebula was quite easy with the naked eye. The Dumbell (M27) was also visible unaided. With a bit of effort (and perhaps a little imagination), I could also just see M71. Sagittarius was fabulous--it's always nice to show those things to guests at star parties. Guests--at least at my scope--were local, French and German in about equal proportion. The Europeans were completely bowled over by the Milky Way. They constantly lamented their inability to see these sights from much of Europe. Since this was a first run for most of the park staff, it wasn't quite as polished as our Bryce productions. But the rangers enjoyed it. Let's hope it's just the first time of many. I'm hoping to have some snapshots posted perhaps later in the week. Michael Carnes MichaelCarnes@earthlink.net home.earthlink.net/~michaelcarnes