[Chaos-l] Facilities at Medoc Mountain

[Robert Nielsen]

Jim,

First, a little explanation about Medoc Mountain State Park ...

The park itself is a set of acreage just east of Hollister, NC ... which 
(if I remember correctly) was primarily some land owned by a particular 
family.   A couple of state and local roads run around the perimeter of 
it, and one road actually runs through the middle of it.  That road is 
always open ... it is a public thoroughfare ... and you could access 
some of the park land from that road if you wanted to (sorta like the 
land around Jordan Lake).   Off that road are two park "areas" - to the 
north is a ranger station and visitor center (with nature trail); to the 
south is a gate that leads into what most people would consider the 
"park" (a field, a picnic pavilion, camping area, etc.)   But if you go 
hiking, you could travel a good ways in the rest of the "actual" park, 
and never even go to the campsite / pavilion area.

OK ... that said, when Allen Davis and I have observed at the park, 
we've observed in the smaller area in a field.  In the winter time, the 
area where this field (and the campsites) exists is locked behind a gate 
starting at 6 PM.  In the summertime, the gate is unlocked at 8 AM.  
I've always gotten there before 6 PM (it's 1.5 hours away ... and I'm 
fortunate that I can quit work at 4 PM).   So far, I've always left the 
area *before* 8 AM, thanks to Allen Davis, who knows the park rangers 
and superintendent and knows the combination to the gate lock.   Perhaps 
if I (or other members of CHAOS) observe there frequently and build a 
repoire with the rangers, they will feel comfortable and give one or two 
of us the combination as well.   But I have not pushed this issue to 
this point.

If needed, you could definitely get out of there in an emergency ... by 
calling the ranger and asking for the gate to be opened.   If someone 
was there, they could let you out easily.

So far, I have not setup a tent and camped ... although I did go over 
and view the camping facilities.   They were very nice!   Heated bath 
building (with showers with hot water), what looked like brand-new 
campsites (about a third of which have electricity) ... although I now 
know they were renovated about 4-5 years ago, and even some group 
campsites near the other campsites (but not so close as to interfere 
with lights, etc.)

The campsite is separated from the main "field" (where we setup) by some 
amount of woods ... let's say 500 feet.   Mark Lerch asked if you could 
setup a scope right next to or on a campsite, and Allen and his friends 
responded that they had ... especially at the back of the campsites ... 
but I would expect the treeline to be a factor of some sort.

More interesting to me is the group campsites.   There is a second 
cleared field near them ... and (depending on what other groups were 
camped there) it looked to me to be a great place to setup a few scopes 
and observe.   None of the group campsites have electricity ... and 
there really isn't electricity accessible on the main (larger) observing 
field.   I'm not sure if you could run an extension cord from the 
bathhouse at the group campsite to the smaller field, or whether the 
rangers would even allow it.  But they might; the rangers there are 
*extremely* friendly ... and seem to really support Medoc Mountain as an 
observing site.  They understand their resource as a place with low 
levels of light pollution.

So far, I've only observed with batteries.   So if you need 120V to 
drive your scope, it might not be the place for you (until I figure out 
whether it is possible).  But if you want to go for a few nights ... 
leave your scope setup in the big field (even though it is separated 
from the campsite ... I would feel comfortable doing it as long as I 
brought back all the eyepieces and such and locked them in my car) ... 
and charge your batteries during the day off the campsite electrical 
hookup ... it would be perfect.   We just need to see whether powered 
observation will work.

Robert

Jim Pressley wrote:
> Robert,
> Thanks for an excellent report on your successful Medoc experience.   
> Could you comment on how access to the park worked, for example, what 
> hours must you be "locked" inside?   If an emergency arises, can you 
> get out?   Were you able to camp (set up tents) relatively near your 
> scope and was electricity available? 
> Thanks, Jim
>
>
> On Sun, Jan 25, 2009 at 8:55 PM, Robert Nielsen 
> <robertnielsen at nc.rr.com <mailto:robertnielsen at nc.rr.com>> wrote:
>
>     Well, you might not believe this ... but there was a useful
>     observing session at Medoc Mountain State Park last night. 
>
>  
>
>     Moral of the story: trust the Clear Sky Clock!
>
>     Robert
>
>