A great time was had at Great Basin National Park this past weekend. This marked the park's third annual Astronomy Festival. Attendance (public and telescope drivers) was up from last year, and the weather cooperated nicely! I was there for all three nights of the festival and was pleasantly surprised by the number of visitors who were there for the public viewing. It was great fun to share the wonders of the universe with the people who came out for the star party. Even though the seeing and transparency wasn't perfect all three nights, all in all the weather was great. In fact on Saturday night as I was busy sharing the view of M51 through my 16" my scope, I paused to view it for a moment and it was one of the best if not the best view I have had of that galaxy with that telescope. After I almost fell off the ladder with surprise at just how good the view was, I told the party goers that they were in for a treat since this was a view that doesn't always come along. There were lots of oohs and aahs that night as well as the other nights as I shared M51, M57, Saturn, M13, the Leo trio, and others. As usual, Kelly Carroll and the rest of the Great Basin Dark Rangers did an outstanding job and I applaud their efforts! The park is very accommodating and I would encourage all to enjoy it during the astro festival and at other times during the year. Mat This message and any attachments are solely for the use of intended recipients. The information contained herein may include trade secrets, protected health or personal information, privileged or otherwise confidential information. Unauthorized review, forwarding, printing, copying, distributing, or using such information is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you are not an intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you received this email in error, and that any review, dissemination, distribution or copying of this email and any attachment is strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please contact the sender and delete the message and any attachment from your system. Thank you for your cooperation