You all might be interested in the site that Tom Watson and I utilized Friday night. If it weren't for the cloud cover, we both agreed the site would be ideal: it had a wide open unobstructed 360 degree view. Although the cloud cover was like a pancake right above us, we could still peer through an opening all around the horizon (although we had to kneel to do it.) In any event the really neat thing was that the southern horizon was visible down to -50 degrees!!! To get there we had to drive a little further than the wedge site, but not really that much. From the cross-roads it was about 18 miles (5.3 miles from the bridge over the San Rafael river.) The drive is very beautiful as one passes the petroglyphs, and incredible rock formations like bottle-kneck peak. (If you've ever read the comic strip Calvin & Hobbs, and you remember Spaceman Spiff, the country looks like an alien world where Spiff would crash.) Another neat thing was that although the site was less than a quarter mile from the main dirt road, it was completely hidden from anyone driving by. We could hear a few vehicles pass by during the night, but we didn't see the faint glare of headlights until they were back toward the bridge--in that way the glare was only reflected of the rock walls of the canyon...no direct light to bother us!!! Oh, and even though we were still aware of the light pollution from the Huntington Plant, it was greatly diminished. In spite of the clouds, we managed to find scores of galaxies in the southern constellations along with a few planetaries. I hope to visit the site again, and I hope others will come, too. I think anyone would agree the site is superior to the Wedge, itself. Mike
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