[Chaos-l] CHAOS trip in March?

Wed Feb 4 20:04:40 EST 2009

Allen,

OK.  Thanks for the information.   We will make sure the equipment is 
secure, and whatever we do will be OK with the park rangers.  I plan on 
talking to Joe about it.

Robert

E. Allen Davis wrote:
>
> I know I am not in CHAOS, but since I have been going to Medoc for 
> years I will put in my two bits about leaving equipment.  While I 
> always felt safe at night with the gate locked, I must say I have 
> never left a scope setup when the gate is open.  And given the 
> location, I presonally would not leave my scope up unless I was going 
> to be around it. 
>
>  
>
> I am not trying to knock any of the surrounding communities, but I 
> will say that there is a reason I would not leave something 
> unattended.  There are folks in the area who might just take it upon 
> themselves to not only steal, but just me mean and damage something.  
> I know the area and I personally would't give anyone the chance to do 
> it.  I have a feeling the park staff will tell you the same as they 
> are more than familiar with the surrounding area.
>
>  
>
> allen
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Michael Hrivnak" <mhrivnak at hrivnak.org>
> To: chaos-l at rtpnet.org
> Sent: Wednesday, February 4, 2009 4:12:33 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
> Subject: Re: [Chaos-l] CHAOS trip in March?
>
> Thanks for all of the info. I would be up for a trip out there some 
> time to check it out.
>
> Perhaps this will depend a lot on how much interest there is from 
> folks. If it's just Robert and I camping most nights, we could share 
> an electrified camp site and let others secure their own 
> accommodations as they come and go. They claim to have room for two 
> tents at each campsite, although I'm not sure if they have Robert's 
> monstrositent in mind.
>
> If lots of people want to come, then we can get a group site and have 
> a fun time.
>
> Anyway, if it's not practical to camp in view of the scopes, we have 
> more freedom to camp wherever we want. I'll start keeping my eye out 
> for an opportunity to drive out there.
>
> Michael
>
> On Wednesday 04 February 2009 14:28:55 Robert Nielsen wrote:
>
> > Michael Hrivnak wrote:
>
> > > ... would the best scope location be obtained by going with
>
> > > individual campsites or a group one?
>
> >
>
> > That's the interesting question. Depending on a couple of factors, we
>
> > might decide to use the main field or a smaller field near the group
>
> > campsite. The factors (as I see them) are (1) how close do you want to
>
> > be to your scope all the time, and (2) is there any light pollution from
>
> > the bathhouse near the group campsite that will bother us. There is
>
> > also the question of electricity (needed to recharge batteries ... at
>
> > least in my case), but I can see a way to solve that problem. And I
>
> > guess there is cost. So let me explain the pros and cons of each.
>
> >
>
> > Distance From Your Scope
>
> >
>
> > The best field for observing is the large one (the one on the left when
>
> > you turn into the park and drive all the way to the picnic pavilion).
>
> > It has the most open sky, and any sources of light pollution (the
>
> > restrooms and possible campfire) are way down at the end of the field.
>
> > During the summer, depending on when darkness arrives, the people
>
> > leaving after hiking or visiting the pavilion may bother us with their
>
> > headlights, but the park will close at 8PM or 9PM ... so that problem is
>
> > limited. But it is away from where someone would camp. During the
>
> > night, when the gate is locked .. probably not a problem. During the
>
> > day, when the park is open, there could be people who come by. In my
>
> > particular case, if I put the raincover on the scope, it looks like a
>
> > sculpture and I'm not sure anyone would mess with it. They might. They
>
> > would have to work at actually *stealing* it (it weighs, all together,
>
> > 244 pounds), but they might vandalize it. But given the choice of
>
> > tearing it down and setting it back up ... I would probably leave it
>
> > setup for three or four days in the field. I hope the rangers wouldn't
>
> > mind.
>
> >
>
> > Others might not feel as comfortable. There are woods between the
>
> > campsites and this large field, which is a blessing in one respect - it
>
> > limits the light pollution from the camping trailers and lanterns and
>
> > fires at the campsites. But it also means you cannot see the scopes
>
> > from your campsite. Perhaps we could have someone continually "out on
>
> > the field" with the scopes ... I don't know.
>
> >
>
> > The group campsites are next to a small field that is right next to the
>
> > campsites themselves. So that field is closer, and may afford some
>
> > security, although it is near other group campsites ... and more
>
> > importantly, the restroom building for the group campsites is right at
>
> > the end of that small field. If there were security lights on the
>
> > building, they would likely be a problem for observing. If it was only
>
> > us there, we could turn them off. But if there are any other groups, I
>
> > can see people wanting the lights on. Also, this smaller field does
>
> > have less sky visible ... although when I looked it was pretty good.
>
> >
>
> > Light Pollution
>
> >
>
> > Like I said, light pollution on the main field, after the gate has been
>
> > closed, should be minimal. In fact, the lack of light pollution is what
>
> > causes me to go to Medoc Mountain to observe ... very, very nice. I
>
> > guess there could be a couple of people who want to go trail hiking at
>
> > night, but we could tell them to keep their flashlights pointed away
>
> > from us. Restroom or campfire light is not a problem (unless you visit
>
> > either).
>
> >
>
> > Light pollution on the small field near the group campsites might be a
>
> > problem ... either from the restroom building or from other groups with
>
> > their campfires or lanterns. I don't know yet. The group campsites
>
> > are closed until March 15th ... and until they are open, I don't know
>
> > what the lighting situation is back there. Since they don't open
>
> > until the week or so before we get there, one of us might need to take a
>
> > trip over to check out the situation before the mini star party ..
>
> >
>
> > Electricity
>
> >
>
> > There is no electricity on the main field where we've been observing.
>
> > But if we are going to stay there a few days, I'm going to need to have
>
> > some capability of recharging my batteries. One perfect answer is
>
> > "renting" a non-group campsite with electricity. If I was going over
>
> > there, and we didn't use the group campsites, then one or two of us
>
> > could get one of the "electrified" campsites, and everyone could charge
>
> > their batteries there. There is also no electricity in the group
>
> > campsites. So if we use the group sites, we still might need to get an
>
> > "electrified" single site for the power.
>
> >
>
> > Another possibility, but I need to ask the rangers about this, is to
>
> > find somewhere (like in the picnic pavilion) where electricity exists,
>
> > and then use that to recharge batteries. I think as we become more and
>
> > more familiar to the rangers in the park, they might let us do this.
>
> >
>
> > Cost
>
> >
>
> > Depending on how many people go for how many nights, the group campsite
>
> > is cheaper than multiple individual sites. The group site is $40/day,
>
> > the individual sites are $15 (unless there are some senior citizens who
>
> > would like to go ... they are $10/day for you). The "electrified"
>
> > sites are $20/day. So do the math. There is a maximum of 35 people
>
> > to a group campsite, so if we did have 35 people who would want to go
>
> > (what a glorious thought!) then obviously we would want the group site.
>
> > But with everyone's daily lives causing conflicts, it might be cheaper
>
> > to go individually.
>
> >
>
> > So ... there is an explanation of the situation. Don't get me wrong
>
> > ... I think Medoc Mountain State Park would be great for our mini star
>
> > party. We just need to work out, to everyone's satisfaction, the best
>
> > arrangements. And it might take us a couple of times to get it
>
> > "perfect". Unless you are at a dedicated astronomy site, there are
>
> > always going to be things that need to be worked out.
>
> >
>
> > Robert
>
> >
>
> >
>
> > _______________________________________________
>
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>
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>
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>
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