good viewing places in western US

[toolazytotypemyname]

I am going to be going on a 2 week road trip late July into early August. The trip will be from New Hampshire to California and back. Exact itinerary and destinations have not been figured out yet.

Since I moved to southern NH five years ago I have been treated to nightly light pollution and it's usually cloudy here anyway. I was wondering if anyone could suggest good places to see lots of stars. I used to live in a very rural area and I miss them.

Bonus points if there will be anything of note to see while I'm out there.

Since I haven't figured out the exact path I'll be following, I can adjust if anyone knows of anything interesting. Although the plan is to generally stay to the Northern 1/3rd of the country, at least on the way out.

thanks

[redshifter]

Well, I'd start by researching what National Parks are on your eventual route and go from there. As far as good viewing location in the N 1/3 of the country, E. Montana or N Dakota since you should be able to easily find a very dark sky and no trees to block your viewing.

If you venture further south, I'd still start with researching Nat. Parks on your preferred route. For good viewing in general, S. Utah, or pretty much anywhere in Arizona or N. Mexico, but try to find somewhere higher altitude (not difficult). Very dry air in the SW, so between that and the altitude, you can get awesome seeing. Just a few Nat. Parks worth checking out (there are many, as well as a plethora of National monuments, etc; this really is a striking country):

Arches Nat Park
Canyonlands Nat. Park
Grand Canyon
Monument Valley
Bryce Canyon
Petrified Nat. Forest
Zion Nat. Park

The list goes on...once you figure out your route, we can probably help you out more. I've always enjoyed my trips to the SW, astronomy aside. You might consider following the old route 66 (now mostly interstate), with a few side trips thrown in. That way you'll get a little taste of the some of the Nat Parks I listed above, some great locations for stargazing, as well as some nostalgia around rt. 66.

[Lord Jubjub]

Of those parks, only Petrified, Zion and Arches are close to an interstate (Petrified lies across I-40). The north rim of the Grand Canyon isn't too far but it is fairly heavily wooded. The south rim is much barer but you will spend a few hours getting there.

In the north of the country, consider the South Dakota badlands or Devil's Tower. Empty lands, few lights and right off of I-90.

In terms of items of note. . .wow. . .southern Utah is a week's vacation itself. In fact, I'll be spending a week traveling across the five national parks in that area this summer (mid July).

Considering that NH to California is four easy days (or three hard days) of driving one way, you might not have time to make a major detour from the shortest line.

[Dave Mitsky]

From an astronomy/space science perspective:

Arizona - Meteor Crater (east of Flagstaff), Lowell Observatory (Flagstaff), Kitt Peak (southwest of Tucson)

New Mexico - White Sands Missile Range Museum (southwest of Alamogordo), The New Mexico Museum of Space History (Alamogordo), Apache Point Observatory and Sunspot Solar Observatory (south of Cloudcroft), New Mexico Skies (east of Cloudcroft), the VLA (west of Socorro), Star Hill Inn (near Las Vegas, New Mexico)

Dave Mitsky

[SMEaton]

The VLA is definitely cool. On the day that I and an ex-girlfriend were down there (I lived 'up north' in Albuquerque for a few years), it was virtually deserted. We just walked around the place for a couple of hours, mostly outside, although we did check out the visitor's center. Inside the center there's a mini-IMAX (IIRC) with a looped video as well as a small gallery of pics and spacecraft models.
The main three memories I have are: the "listening dishes", which were two small parabolics aimed at each other, ~50 feet apart, with one person in front of each dish. One person whispers something, and the sound reflects and is heard clearly by the other. Second was actually getting close to a radio dish. They're pretty darn big. We could hear them (the dishes weren't spread out very far at the time) adjusting as they tracked.
Third, and best: after night fall, we were politely asked to leave because we were "parked". :D

But the OP noted the northern 1/3 of the country... a friend of mine (who is a native of NM) took his scope up to Oregon and reported back that the night skies were awesome.

[Tog_]

In Utah, Brice Canyon isn't relaly that close to an interstate, but it is quite high, with several camp sites over 8,000 feet. The only place to stay near the park is Ruby's Inn, which was actually quite nice. The one restaurant there is really overpriced though (and really salty if I recall). It's an interesting place though. To the east, there is nothing to stop you from looking into Colorado on a clear day. The ground just falls away. It makes for awesome sunrises. It's also infested with wild turkeys. The road to and from Brice is a dead end, and it takes about an hour to get to and from the main road.

Zion is much lower, on one end. It's also pretty crowded now, but the last time I went through, we stopped on the side of the road, on the south end, about 2 miles out of town. The night was clear with no moon, and I actually could not make out where the ground was. At the lower end of Zion, the canyon walls and trees will block a good portion of the sky. As far as places to stay, the town at the low end is about 40% hotels, 30% restaurants, and not a single fast food place we could find. The room we got was better than the $200 suite at the Luxor and ran about 60 bucks.

Here's the catch...

In Utah that time of year we get rain. Lots of it, in isolated cloudbursts that last from 30 minutes to 4 hours. If it's clear at 3 in the afternoon, plan on a thunderstorm just after sunset. If it's raining in the afternoon, it might clear around sunset, but the mosquitoes will be very active. Very warm south winds mean there is a good chance of a storm. If the wind stops for an hour, then comes just as hard from the north, pack your stuff. Fast.

If you plan on going through Vegas, then you should also look into the traffic from there to LA. If you want to cut through northern Nevada, I know a great spot in the Uinta Mountains. It's a giant meadow at 10,400 feet. Okay, yeah, there is snow in mid-August on the south facing hill above it and bitter cold when the wind comes down on you; and my dad was on a motorcycle ride on year that hit a snowstorm there on August 28th, but it's a great view. Watch for moose and elk. They like to hang out in the marsh beside the meadow. For a location, find Kamas, Utah (east of Park City) and head east toward Uinta Mountains. There is only one road that goes up that way. Best bet to mapquest it would be to look for Mirror Lake, though you won't be going quite that far. At Mile marker 28, hit the brakes and make a hard left. Trust the road will be there:shifty: If you overshoot you're in the swamp with the moose. They hate that.

There is another spot I know of several miles west of Utah Lake. There are no trees and you can get there in any type of car. If it rained that day, don't bother, the mud is like grease, but if it's dry, it's like concrete. There are no trees at all, and no mosquitoes. I've never used bug spray there and never been bitten. Local fauna of concern are rattle snakes and maybe coyotes, but the ones we have out here aren't much bigger than a mid sized dog. I've never seen a snake or a yote out there, but I have heard the cried of coyotes most of the times I've been out there. From the town of Lehi, Utah, head west, then south, through the *smirk* "town" of Cedar Fort. (stop there and get snacks). When the road turns west again be ready. It will eventually turn back north and join up with I-80. Just as it make that turn, there is a straight road heading west. This is known as the road to Faust. About three miles along that road, you will have your choice of multiple pull outs and side roads. The whole place is a dry lake bed, but there are washes, so advance with care. When you find a good spot, set get out slowly and check for snakes that are still basking, and ant hills. Set up away from both. It may be 80 when you get there but it will drop to 50 before you leave.

Again, all of this weather dependent.

[Dave Mitsky]

But the OP noted the northern 1/3 of the country... a friend of mine (who is a native of NM) took his scope up to Oregon and reported back that the night skies were awesome.

What the OP said was, "Although the plan is to generally stay to the Northern 1/3rd of the country, at least on the way out." It would be a shame to miss all the attractions that Arizona and New Mexico have to offer on the return trip so that's why I mentioned them.

Dave Mitsky

[SMEaton]

Ah. You are correct on both counts!

[redshifter]

[QUOTE=

But the OP noted the northern 1/3 of the country... a friend of mine (who is a native of NM) took his scope up to Oregon and reported back that the night skies were awesome.[/QUOTE]

Must've been in Central or E. Oregon.

[toolazytotypemyname]

ok, so the plan is to check out National Parks and such along the way, and whatever else is interesting. I plan to hike and camp alot, but there are better places on the internet to ask those questions. But it occurred to me that it must get very dark, with drier air and no trees in the way, and would be good for just staring at the stars. So I asked here about that.

And you've given me some great ideas. Devil's Tower was already on the list. And the eventual turnaround point is the Redwood Forest. So the way out will go thru South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon and California. The way back will include a stop in the Tahoe area, and then it's up in the air from there at this time. There's a big stack of AAA books to look thru.

It's still 3 months away so there's room for changes. And I guarantee it will take more than 4 days to get to the west coast. There is no real time table for this, and if it takes more than 2 weeks, that's ok too. I have 2 months off from work, so eventually I have to go back, but there's no rush.

[BlueEagle]

One of the darkest areas on the U.S. at night satellite photo is the Black Rock Desert of North Western Nevada off I-80. State hiway 447 goes north from Wadsworth to Gerlach. This area is part of the Black Rock. Here's a picture of the valley Northwest of Gerlach.

[Tog_]

From Tahoe, you've pretty much got two options, down through Carson City and on to Vegas, or across I-80 to Salt Lake City. This is a daytime scenic wasteland from Mid Nevada until you hit the mountains after leaving Salt Lake. Remember the scene in Independence Day where Will Smith dragged the alien across a huge white nothing? That's the salt flats and it looks like that for about 40 miles, except for that stupid tree (http://www.utah.com/amusement/metaphor_tree.htm).

If you go through Vegas you get to choose between heading north or south of the Grand Canyon. If you go north, you could hit all 5 of Utah's National Parks, though Zion is sort of a bust now. You could also hit just Bryce and Zion then drop down through Page, AZ and into Flagstaff and do the observatory loop as Dave suggested. The old Route 66 will eventually take you back to Chicago, but if you have the time and plan on going that far south, you may as well bail in Texas and hit Houston.

[Tucson_Tim]

From an astronomy/space science perspective:

Arizona - Meteor Crater (east of Flagstaff), Lowell Observatory (Flagstaff), Kitt Peak (southwest of Tucson)

Dave Mitsky

I second the Kitt Peak advice. Wonderful place! And, if you get a reservation, you can go up there and stay for an evening of viewing...

Just the sight of all the scopes as you drive up the peak is breath-taking...

Kitt Peak info:

http://www.noao.edu/kpno/

Tim

[toolazytotypemyname]

Thanks for all your suggestions. Leaving early tomorrow morning (Sunday). We'll see how many of these we can fit in.

[redshifter]

Sounds great! I envy your extended time frame to tool around the Western US. Please check back in here and let us know how the trip went, and what you saw!

[toolazytotypemyname]

Well, I made it back in one piece. Turned into 3 weeks instead of 2.

Didn't have the greatest luck with stargazing. Seems like the night-time clouds followed me quite a few places. The nights when it was clear I was usually asleep not too long after dark. Between the driving, hiking, and the heat that I'm really not used to, I was wiped most nights.

Went to the Black Hills, Devils Tower, Yellowstone, Craters of the Moon, Crater Lake, the Redwoods, the beach, Donner Pass, Lake Tahoe, Great Salt Lake, Arches, Colorado Springs, Scottsbluff and Chimney Rock, the Gateway Arch, and the SPAM museum. Also drove thru innumerable cornfields and lots of prairie and desert.

Only got a little rain and hail in Yellowstone, a brief downpour somewhere in Idaho, and a nightlong fierce thunderstorm near Pike's Peak.

Sadly, I probably saw the most stars the last night in the parking lot behind my brother's place near Albany, NY.

Oh yeah, I did happen upon that "tree"

[france113]

hmm the best place is on a high mountain or a hill!
but im not sure if you can find any good place in california. its really polluted here. right now i can see like 8 starts from the balcony. i think winter is the best time for that!

[redshifter]

Wow, sounds like an awesome trip, even if stargazing didn't work out so well.

France113, there are plenty of great areas in CA for observing, but you'll have to drive at least an hour or two (or more) to get to a dark sky if you're in the LA area. For a really dark sky, you'll probably need to get out into the Mohave or somewhere east of the Sierras.

[france113]

yea i know, i have to drive pretty far. the light and co2 pollution is killing the whole fun :mad: i dont know why they turn on so many lights when they are not using them :silenced: