4/20/2023 0 Comments Boondocking south dakota![]() ![]() Astronomy has seasons – who knew? We are past the optimum time for imaging planets now. I don’t mean to imply that I mastered planetary imaging – far from it. Once I had the planetary imaging techniques figured out, I wanted to try my hand at deep sky objects (DSO). Then I spent about three months working on Jupiter and Saturn. ![]() ![]() I started with the easiest target – the moon. Then I decided I wanted to capture the images, not just gaze through an eyepiece. ![]() When the astronomy bug bit, I spent the first month or so looking at the moon and planets visually through my telescope. I need to shift gears now and discuss my latest passion – astronomy and, more specifically, astrophotography. Donna and I will babysit Petra while they’re at the game. They’re meeting friends and will attend a spring training MLB game Monday night. Shauna and family will come back to Scottsdale on Monday. They flew down from Washington to meet up with Shauna and Gabe.Īlana and Kevin will come here this afternoon and we’re planning to go out for sushi tonight. My oldest daughter Alana and her husband Kevin were already there. Thursday afternoon, they headed west to visit with Shauna’s mother and stepfather in Wickenburg. Donna, Petra and me by the golf course behind Fat Willy’s Thursday was only slightly warmer with a high of 69 degrees. I mentioned the unusually cool weather – when they arrived on Wednesday, it was raining and we had a high of just 65 degrees. Lucky for us, we claimed a table next to a propane heater – it was a bit chilly with the breeze. We finished the tour at Fat Willy’s where we enjoyed lunch on the patio. We came back to Viewpoint and gave them a tour of the grounds. It’s an island after all with narrow roads. She said the car felt big to her – Bermuda doesn’t have many (any?) full-size cars. On Thursday morning, I picked them up again and we drove to west Mesa where Shauna had rented a car through Turo. Later, I dropped them off at a nearby AirBnb. We hadn’t visited Bermuda since the COVID lockdown. We met our granddaughter for the first time. We picked them up at the airport and they visited while we had snacks and a drink. Of course they had our youngest granddaughter Petra in tow. The highlight of the year came on Wednesday, March 15th, when my youngest daughter, Shauna and her husband Gabe came to visit from Bermuda. The worms are thriving and continue to multiply. She relocated the worm bin when she replanted. Donna’s second planting in her raised vegetable garden bed She replanted for her second crop, which we expect will grow much faster as we are enjoying warmer weather and longer days. Snow on the Superstition Mountains, March 2nd Things finally took off near the end of February and she harvested earlier this month. Donna’s vegetable garden seemed almost dormant at times as the vegetables endured cold nights. There is a Visitor Center and camp ground at the East end of the park.We’ve come through one of the coldest, wettest winters in memory here in Arizona. The Park office, in Wall, is only opened in the summer season The Park is phenomenal with spectacular views, paved roads, many pull offs and overlooks, with lots of wildlife on the road side. Typical fees for the National Park are enforced at the entrance station. It’s dry, hot, dusty, and windy but the views cannot be beat. We explored, with our tow car, prior to taking our motorhome out. Take it slow and easy due to the rough gravel road. The second entry road, less then 1 mile from the Park entrance, is best for larger rigs. The challenge is finding a level spot with a view. There are no designated camp sites, but many are clearly marked from previous users. The dispersed camping road is a loop that traverses the edge of an overlook of the terrain. This camping area is about 5 miles south of Wall SD, just outside the National Park entrance. Great place for dry camping close to the South Dakota Bad Lands National Park. Number of Sites: Open fields – no designated sites. ![]()
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