Padawan’s Journey 4

[brroberts]

Next up Guadalupe Mountains. As I mentioned earlier, we didn’t do all we wanted since we got chased out by weather.

The mountains, Butterfield stage station ruins, spring, old ranch.

[brroberts]

More Guadalupe. Easy McKittrick canyon hike with Barb.

[brroberts]

The dunes area of Guadalupe.

[brroberts]

Texas hill country. We based out of Inks Lake state park and went as far south as Kerrville.

Some bluebonnets , a couple of Fredericksburg homes, and Cow creek.

[brroberts]

More bluebonnets and a fun hike.

[brroberts]

At mom and dad’s. Like most folks my age, lots of chores at parents, and mom is headed for dialysis while dad is now on what I would call long term hospice. We’ll be home sometime next week.

[Mike Lewis]

Originally Posted by brroberts

The dunes area of Guadalupe.

Did you have to get the key from park HQ to open the gate to access the dunes area? Or has that changed? It's been a few years since I've been there.

[brroberts]

Park and it’s a short hike. It’s open daylight. They seem pretty good about closing stuff at dark.

[jnfrombigt]

Originally Posted by brroberts

More Guadalupe. Easy McKittrick canyon hike with Barb.

Enjoyed those photos. I leave South Carolina in about a week and a half with the first stop Big Bend for four nights then I head up to Guadalupe Mountains south side for two nights followed by two nights in Dog Canyon on the north side.

[brroberts]

Last night on Eufala Lake in OK. It’s our usual spot on the way home if we have the trailer. Tonight back in KS at Coffeyville for the Brown Mansion and the Dalton gang museum along with Braum’s ice cream.

[brroberts]

150 miles home tomorrow. Should be home be noon. Then I get back to busy. Right now sitting in the sun relaxing. Just ordered an Ha Solar scope and some astro cameras. Time to get the sailboat in the water for a while. Need to check my rear axle. Looks like Dexter and I may have to talk.

[Mike Lewis]

Originally Posted by brroberts

Just ordered an Ha Solar scope and some astro cameras.

Details, please. What did you buy, if you don't mind my asking?

[brroberts]

I bought a Lunt LS60MT with the BF1200 blocking filter and the Feathertouch focuser. I have a Quark, but have never been happy with it, and it’s been back to Daystar a couple of times. I’ve never done EAA, but want to move my public observing sessions that way. It’s just been time that has prevented it before now. I bought three ZWO cameras to go with an ASI Air Plus. I have SharpCap Pro, but my Windows 7 laptop is getting pretty slow and out of date, so I got the Air because they are much less than another laptop I’m only need for EAA. The cameras are a 533MC Pro for DSO, a 662MC for planetary, and a 174MM for solar and lunar. I also got an iOptron AZ Mount Pro, since my CI700 requires PA and is heavy and big. I retired my ETX 90 RA as it has the usual secondary mirror issues and replaced it with an AT80EDT while they were on sale. Coupled with my 100mm F/5 Achro, 10” DOB, and C14 which is on a CGEPro in a dome, those three cameras and those 5 scopes should have it covered. After I get some EAA experience, I plan on adding a Hyperstar to the C14 and adding a 2600 or 2400 camera for wide field stuff.

[Iowa Dave]

I do not know very much at all about astronomy. However I do know that my home county Linn county, Iowa has an excellent county conservation park system. One of Their properties has proprietary use for Astronomy. It’s located near the Cedar River and across the river from the Palisades State park. It’s also not that far from Lake MacBride State park and the camping areas notably Sugar Bottom on the Coralville Reservoir all of which have excellent campgrounds. To that end, if any forum readers are interested And are going to be in the Cedar Rapids area you might want to catalog this facility and perhaps visit in your travels. It’s fairly remote down there but is on a hard surfaced road.
Eastern Iowa Observatory is the name of the facility
https://www.cedar-astronomers.org/pal-dows-observatory
There’s an excellent small grocery store (Gary’s Foods) and some restaurants in nearby Mt Vernon, Iowa home of Cornell College. Be careful if you are hiking along the Riverside cliffs (Palisades) they claim a life every once in a while.
Iowa Dave

[Mike Lewis]

Originally Posted by brroberts

I bought a Lunt LS60MT with the BF1200 blocking filter and the Feathertouch focuser.

My astronomy club has a Coronado 30 solar telescope. I thought solar observing would suit me as I have problems sitting up at night, so I borrowed the Coronado and tried to use it. But I couldn't figure out how its viewfinder worked and I didn't want to lose an eye trying, so I gave up.

I have an ancient Cave reflector that I need to refurbish and build a building for. It's a future project.

[brroberts]

Cave’s were very nice. Well worth restoring. Create the smallest shadow and you should have the sun.

[DT6]

If you're still in Tucson check out the Stellar Vision telescope shop. He has lots of stuff.

"Starizona" is also located in Tucson and I believe they have a shop you can go to. Nice folks that work there. I do some consulting to High Point Scientific (telescope vendor) and they are in Tucson also, but they don't have a shop you can go into. Decent skies there in town, and awesome outside of town.

[brroberts]

I went to Starizona because I wanted to look at Hyperstar. I’ll probably put one on my C14 eventually.

[DT6]

I went to Starizona because I wanted to look at Hyperstar. I’ll probably put one on my C14 eventually.

That will give you an awesome wide-field light bucket for your astrophotography. Fast too at f/2.2 I believe. If you are shooting narrowband, check that your filters support the fast f-ratio. I have the C11 which is still very nice, but that C14 is an awesome telescope.

[brroberts]

EAA only. I won’t have a filter wheel. I do OSC. Just a light pollution filter. I do not, nor do I want to do astrophotography. The 11 is still portable depending on the mount. My C14 lives in a dome.