Golden State Star Party 2011

Jim here to report on our trip to Golden State Star Party. This was a trip for just the guys--that is Geoff and me--to head out into the middle of nowhere and get our telescopes out under dark skies. This entry will probably be more stargazing and less camping but we'll see how it goes.

Wednesday June 29

Only slightly hungover from the Rush concert the previous night we got up early, hitched up the GRUB, loaded the truck and were on the road by 7:30AM. We set off south on I-5 and then headed east on 58 to hook up with 97 south. From there it was into Klamath Falls and across the border into California. The site is near the small town of Adin. We covered 393 miles in seven and a half hours. Not too bad.

The clouds had been threatening all day but the night looked semi-promising. We set up camp including our new Coleman shelter and then set up the scopes. The weather was quite pleasant but the clouds were still hanging around.

The sun finally set and we got to the scopes

. The area of the sky directly overhead was beautiful but the clouds were forming in a circle around the horizon. What we could see was awesome but it was quickly losing to the cloud cover. By 11:30PM it was completely socked in so we called it a night.

A note to those who have never been to a star party or hung out with the astronomy crowd: Astronomers are extremely averse to white light as it ruins your night vision. It can take 30 minutes to regain one's night vision after being blinded by a flashlight or similar lighting. So everyone uses red lights whether it is their flashlight or whatever.

Anyway, just before bed I headed to the restroom and on the way back I go so disoriented that I could not find our trailer. Because of the cloud cover it was so frigging dark that the red flashlight was no help to me. I ended up going back to the bathrooms and retracing my steps to make sure I could find it. I still overshot but was able to finally find the GRUB. I was soooo embarrassed that the remainder of the trip I made damn sure of my landmark car/tent at the end of our row so I would not repeat my blunder.

Thursday June 30

What a glorious day! High temps in the mid-70s and a very light wind. A very cloudy morning yielded to clear skies in the afternoon. We had a yummy dinner of grilled chicken and the stargazing was absolutely amazing. The skies were so dark and clear--everything the sky around Portland isn't. Geoff retired around midnight and I stayed up looking at the sky until probably 1:30AM. After Geoff headed to bed the coyotes could be heard yipping and howling. After I went to bed they woke me up around 3:30 and I would have sworn they were in our camp, even though I knew it was only a matter of how the sound travels. I don't know how Geoff slept through it, but he managed.

Friday July 1

No clouds at all this day. The temps climbed into the mid-80s and there was no wind until later in the evening. It was very hot in the sun so we spent a lot of time in the shelter avoiding it. The neighboring cows were vocal and this was, apparently, the first time Geoff had heard cows live. Fourteen years old? Wow, we've deprived him.

At sunset we saw a very peculiar cloud formation to the north. One of the other astronomers caught this picture of the "noctilucent clouds". Credit for this image and more info can be found HERE.

We had the Star

Party BBQ meal for dinner (yum!) and this night's stargazing was equal to the night before. Once again G

eoff went to bed before I did--I think I was up until about 2AM.

Saturday July 2

Ok, this day was just plain HOT. 91 degrees and no wind. Even in the shelter the heat was cloying. The day was spent hiding from the sun (just like Gollum) and exerting little energy. We had the Star Party Hamburger meal for dinner (No cheese? Seriously?) which was good but not as good as the chicken the previous two nights.

The sunset

was gorgeous and after I took the picture (with Mt. Shasta on the left) I returned to our scopes to find a 4 foot bull snake in Geoff's equipment box. We escorted him to the borders of the camp--not sure if he was into astronomy or not but we kind of doubt it.

Anyway, I don't know what the deal was with the sky but there was a definite haze around the horizon and the skies were not as crisp as the previous two nights. It was still better than Portland!

Sunday July 3

We got up and packed everything early so we could be done before the heat set in as the forecast was calling for highs near 90 again. We were on the road by 8:30 and were home by 4:30.

Overall a great trip. Both Geoff and I are looking forward to next year!

Yakima Sportsman State Park

An unplanned trip to Yakima to pick up a potential new dog. 

Campground Info:  Yakima Sprotsman State Park  Yakima, WA.  Site 12.  Weather was rainy.  Bathroom rating:  Average. 

Campers:  Jim, Deb, Geoff and Cyrus the boxer.

 

We had an last minute camping trip to Yakima.  We were going to pick up a new dog, but didn't want to do the drive all in one day.  Our site was in RV row - our little tent trailer stuck out with all the big R.V.'s! 

The weather was warm, muggy and buggy!  Quick!  Get out the bug spray! 

This park is in the middle of Yakima.  You can hear the city noise and traffic.  R.V. row is really close - so close you can't use the firpit as the slide outs next door go over the top of it. 

Woke early this morning to sound of rain! 

We probably won't camp here again.  We really didn't like being in the middle of town and hearing sirens during the night and next day.  It's nicer to get away from that! 

As a side note - we did get Kaylee, the boxer, but it did not end up being a good match and she went to a different home.  Bittersweet....

Crow Butte State Park

This trip was taken at the request of our son, Bryan, who was visiting from Alaska.  We had a great time and enjoyed the weekend! 

Campground Info:  Crow Butte State Park  Boardman, WA.  Site 22.  Weather was sunny, light winds, increased winds and rain.  Bathroom rating:  Excellent!

Campers:  Jim, Deb, Bryan, Carl, Geoff, Uncle Carl and Cyrus the boxer.

Riverside campsite at Crow Butte 

This trip was special in that it was the first time Bryan has gone camping with us since we got the G.R.U.B.  Bryan was visiting from Alaska for two weeks and took the opportunity to join us. 

This was a different spot for us - this time we were riverside.  Pretty spot, lots of grass and water views.  That first evening and next morning were perfect!  We had a campfire and made S'mores in the evening and camping donuts in the morning.  Sunshine, hikes and napping in the sun were the order of the day - at least until about 2:00 in the afternoon! 

After the rains came in. 

Our park host came by and warned us that there was a thunderstorm headed our way - of course!  If we're camping, it's raining!  Spent the first part of the storm huddled under the awning, watching the rain and visiting.  Our neighbor brought over "Cherry Bombs" maraschino cherries soaked in rum.  Then, the wind kicked up and the sky opened up! 

The awning had to come down.  The cooler went into Bryan's tent in order to keep it from blowing away.  We spent the rest of the evening inside, visiting, eating and enjoying each others company.  Next day the campsite was so flooded, we packed up early and left amid more rain! 

Crow Butte - Again...

Just a quick trip to one of our favorite campgrounds! 

Campground Info:  Crow Butte State Park  Boardman, WA .  Site 42 (where else!) The weather was sunny and windy!  Bathroom rating:  Excellent!

Campers:  Jim, Deb, Geoff and Cyrus the boxer.

This trip was sunny - the first one all year, but VERY, VERY windy!  Windy enough that we were not able to spend much time outdoors.  The wind brought the temperature down enough that coats were still a requirement. It was very cool to see a herd of deer crossing the road as we entered the campground. 

The next day we went for a hike to see the beach area - again windy!  I almost lost my stylish baseball cap!  Along the way we ran across a couple of herds of deer out foraging on the ridge. 

The beach itself was pretty much non-existent - we have had so much rain this year that the shoreline was covered with high water. 

Crow Butte Beach 

We are looking at a different site for next month when we come back.  Bryan is coming home from Alaska and has asked to go camping with us.  Time to try a different site and see how it is! 

Silver Falls - Rain, Rain Go Away....

I'm not sure, but I think this camping trip we actually did camp under the falls.... It was a very wet weekend!

Campground Info:  Silver Falls State Park  Silverton, OR.  Site 11.  Weather was rain, rain, and more rain.  Ideal sites for future camping:  37, 34, 25 or 14.  Bathroom rating:  Excellent!

Campers:  Jim, Deb, Geoff and Cyrus the boxer. 

A view of our moat.... 

Silver Falls is relatively close and easy to get to.  We got a late start on Friday and it started pouring rain when we got within five miles of the campground.   We had a much easier time backing in this time, but we did have to set up in the rain - almost a mandatory requirement when we camp!  We spent Friday night inside as it rained most of the night.

Saturday it showered but we were able to hike along the Rim Trail to the top of Winter Falls and back with minimal precipitation.  The rest of Saturday was spent recovering, both from the hike and the being chilled due to being wet.  Cyrus was not happy with us for such a long hike, nor a hike in the rain. 

"Don't make me keep hiking in the rain!" 

Jim got a new iPad this trip and we were all entertained by the games and books on it.  The fight for the iPad rages on! 

Loved this campground, but our site was one of the many that flooded.  The other sites mentioned up above were ones that might be a better site that had minimal flooding.  We would like to try this campground again - maybe next time sans rain! 

Beverly Beach (And My Birthday)

Happy Birthday to me!  This year I wanted to go camping, so we picked one of the spots off our list and away we went! 

Campground Info:  Beverly Beach State Park - Depoe Bay, OR.  Site E9 - but next time we will try for G24.  Weather was in the 50's and sunny.  Clean bathrooms!!

Campers:  Jim, Deb, Geoff and Cyrus the boxer

This was the "Lemony Snicket" camping trip - a series of unfortunate events.  I left work early to help pack up and go but it didn't go as planned.  The dog was at the vets and supposed to be available for pick up by noon - we were allowed to pick him up at 3:00.  New tires were put on the truck earlier, but we had to take them back after 25 minutes to have them checked and picked up medicine for the dog as well. 

Traffic was heavy - it took us 2 hours to drive 30 miles.  We arrived at Beverly Beach in full dark and discovered that if you are NOT familiar with the campsite, it is difficult to back in.  There were NO lights at all in the campground as the power had blown and the bathrooms, when located in the dark, were locked for the season and we had to locate another in a different loop.  Fortunately, the trip DID get better!

The weather, while cold, was beautiful.  We had LOTS of sunshine!  Our campsite  had a river running behind it and we were able to hike down to the beach.  We were able to tour Otter Beach, Devils Punch Bowl, Boiler Bay and Yaquina Head Lighthouse.  The lighthouse was particularly interesting as my great grandparents were lighthouse keepers at one time.

Devil's Punchbowl 

We did some Geo-caching along the nature trails and were able to locate one, but not the second.  We had a wonderful birthday dinner of grilled steaks, grilled cakes and played cards.  Overall a very relaxing way to spend my 46th birthday!

Happy New Year from Cape Disappointment

Well - our intentions for camping every month kind of fell by the wayside for October and November due to holidays and family obligations.  However, since we went on New Years Eve I think we barely managed to squeak in the month of December and hit January too! 

Campground info:  Cape Disappointment  State Park, site 59.  Weather was cold, cloudy and rainy.

Campers:  Jim, Deb, Geoff and Cyrus the boxer 

On the beach at Cape Disappointment 

Cape Disappointment has some wonderful driftwood that is on its beaches.  We spent the cold (think ice patches) morning on New Year's Day on the beach - climbing on driftwood, checking out shipwrecks and looking for a Geo-cache in a long, dark cave. 

The night before, when we arrived for set-up, we were visited by racoons who were checking out our cooler.  They actually were able to open it (while we were setting up in the GRUB) and ran off with a pitcher of juice.  Our next door neighbor and his little dog, Princess, came out to see what the fuss was about.  We called him Mr Teacher, as he was a retired teacher and knew a lot about the area and its history. 

This trip, the heater kicked in quite a bit and we were delighted to discover that cold would not be a hindrance to us in the GRUB.  That little space heater works very well!  We also picked up a dog coat for Cyrus as he is getting older and the cold affects him when we are out walking. 

Cyrus and his new blue coat (its reversible too!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of my favorite things on our hikes that weekend was the pine cones on the trees. 

A wonderful way to start out the new year!