[Chaos-l] Staunton a big success

[Michael Hrivnak]

Congrats to everyone who put on this fantastic star party.  I could
only be there for Friday night, but it was obviously a big hit.  The
approximately 30 attendees seemed like a good number for a first
event.

The park and its facilities could hardly be better.  For one, the sky
is dark.  Someone at the party measured it at magnitude 6.2.  The
observing field is large with no horizon issues.  The bathrooms are
right next to the field, and are VERY nice.  Looking at the bathrooms
near the field, and the shower facilities one building further away,
you would never guess that they are in a state park.

Hot food and coffee all day and night was really exceptional.  Want a
BBQ platter at 3am?  No problem.  It's just a 2 minute walk from your
scope.

It's a nice, central location that's less than a 2 hour drive for a
lot of people.  It's also very easy to find.  From a US highway, you
just turn onto a state highway (which has signs for the park) and
drive about 11 miles until you see telescopes.

We lucked out with great weather on Friday.  There were some thin,
high clouds that drifted by at some point, but then left us alone.  It
clouded almost completely over around 4am, but was clear again by
about 4:30.  The sky was very steady for most of the time I was
observing, which I finally quit around 5:20 only because I was tired
and starting to see evidence of the impending daybreak.  All night
long, everyone seemed to be enjoying a great deal of contrast.  The
temperature settled in the low 60s with a slight breeze, which was
perfect.  Dew wasn't too bad; I didn't need an eyepiece heater until
after 3am.

Thanks again to everyone who made this happen.  I'm really looking
forward to the next one.

Michael