Author Archives: Chris Todd

We started the day (which happened to be our 17th wedding anniversary) in Sulphur Springs, Texas, and we arrived in Memphis about 4 pm. We really wanted to get some authentic Memphis BBQ, so we went a little out if … Continue reading →

We got everything packed up Saturday morning and hit the road at noon exactly. The trip meter read exactly 2000 miles. We stopped in Balmorhea for lunch at the Cave of the Bear (La Cueva de Oso) Mexican restaurant. The … Continue reading →

Thursday night was a complete washout, but at least Friday night I won a $25 gift certificate for ScopeStuff. The observing Friday night was just as frustrating as last night, though at least there was about an hour when it … Continue reading →

One of the cool things about big regional star parties is that you get to see lots of cool scopes. TSP is known, in particular, for the big dobs that show up. The largest is Larry Mitchell’s 36″ Obsession (apparently … Continue reading →

A very frustrating night! Transparency was poor, with clouds hovering around the horizon in almost all directions. Anything below about 15 degrees was in muck. Omega Centauri was disappointing as a result, and it was almost 1 am before the … Continue reading →

We woke up fairly early Wednesday morning, having gone to bed around 10:30 Tuesday night due to the storms. Amy and I had breakfast at the drug store in town, a wonderful establishment (be sure to get a milkshake!) with … Continue reading →

No observing last night, except observing the clouds. A line of potentially severe thunderstorms rolled through in the late afternoon, causing some concern about the safety of people and telescopes. It got very windy, and there was lightning and thunder, … Continue reading →

An excellent evening. Well, after midnight when the clouds cleared out. Transparency was quite good and seeing was decent though not spectacular. I’ll have to think tomorrow about what I observed, but I had a lot of fun trying my … Continue reading →

After dinner, we went back to our bunks and rested for an hour or two. I still needed to setup our scopes, but it was so hot, I decided to wait until just before sunset to start. I helped Amy … Continue reading →

Got to Prude Ranch about 5:30 pm, just in time for the dinner service. Gawd almighty it is hot!!! We tossed our stuff in our bunkhouses (which have window unit air conditioners that were struggling against the heat even while … Continue reading →

Yesterday (Friday) we only made it to Bristol Tennessee instead of Knoxville, because we got started late and hit traffic in Frederick. We stayed at a not so nice (but at least it was clean) Super 8 for $63. Yesterday, … Continue reading →

Well, we’re off to the Texas Star Party! We’ll be there in about 1,850 miles or so. We’re going to try to make Knoxville, TN tonight, then Fort Worth, TX tomorrow night, and arrive at the Prude Ranch in Fort … Continue reading →