the adventure begins (Mew Lake)

Today, I was to go to Mew Lake. To connect with other RASCals for the Annual Algonquin Adventure. To share a camp site with Lora and Phil and "the kids." To enjoy some stunning dark skies. I slept in...

administering
I was probably awake around 8:00 AM or so but I kept rolling over to catch a few more winks. On one hand, it was the beginning of a mini vacation. I didn't need to rush. I didn't need to stressfully follow a strict itinerary. There wasn't a hard deadline. That said, I didn't want to blow the whole day. I certainly did not want to get caught in the afternoon/evening rush hour. That was the main objective: be ahead of the traffic exodus from the city. If I made Mew Lake for some evening observing, that would be perfect!

First things first: tie up some loose ends from last night, from the RASC astronomical (and gastronomical) meeting. I asked Charles if everything was in the box for the XO OLPC computer. He admitted he hadn't yet checked. I sent David the BOG and Handbook inventory numbers, the count of books at my home and at the Ontario Science Centre. I confirmed with Leslie that I would deliver the first course of the NOVA program on October 14 (since Denis would not be available). I blocked off that day from others. I know I'll want that day free and clear of other distractions.

Having received (and tested) the Panasonic digital projector, I affixed the small-sized property sticker to the replacement remote control. It fit perfectly. I packed up the unit to deliver to Tony, at the campground.

Took care of some general admin, nursing some Sumatran coffee, including backing up my palmtop, and downloading as much email as I could from the server. I assumed I'd have zero internet access in the park.

loading
Packing began in earnest. It was a multi-faceted affair. Perhaps more so, given the multiple purposes of the trip. This wasn't just a camping trip. This wasn't just some dark sky observing. This had elements of a star party. I was transporting IYA materials for Tony (which were still at John's house). The other "gotcha" was that I would be staying with Lora and Phil so I didn't need to bring a lot of my normal camping gear, when I must ordinarily be self-sufficient. Unpacked some items from the night before. And, finally, I had to unpack a few items from the recent Buffalo roadtrip with Will.

By 1:30 PM, I felt I was done. I gave Nancy one more scratch and hit the road.

driving
I picked up a medium box from John's. It's a good thing Tony hadn't ordered more IYA stuff. I'm not sure where I would have put it.

Got some fuel at Old Weston Rd. The attendant said the gas price was expected to go even lower. I thought 94 cents was pretty good.

As I pulled away from the station, I realised I was a stone's throw from Tony's work. I popped in to say hello and reminded him I had the IYA box and the projector. He said he didn't need the projector until the CAO work party. Seemed strange then that I was hauling it 300 kilometres... Oh well. Too much of a bother to unpack.

It was around then I got the sinking feeling that I had forgotten something. I often get that feeling. But I pushed it from my mind. And I really didn't want to be in the city any longer. Headed up Keele a few blocks. When I suddenly realised I was going the wrong way. On this occasion, I did, in fact, want to take Black Creek and the 400.

In short order, I was northbound and moving fairly well, listening about the knots of cars elsewhere, as described by 680 News. Blue skies, all around. Felt the anxiety ebb out of my body.

I had to stop at Webers, for old time sake. Incredible. There was not a line up out the door... By 5:30 PM, I had made Gravenhurst.

stocking
I took the Hwy 169 exit and spotted the Sobeys. I phoned Phil from the parking lot to see if they needed any more supplies. They were good. Phil said I had another hour to go.

I shopped briskly and remembered everything except the ice for the cooler. Damn it! They had block ice too! Back in the parking lot I decided to press. I could get ice at the park store.

The leaves were just starting to turn.

I counted down to 30.

arriving
I finally made it to Mew Lake. I spotted the beach, behind mirroring lake, through mostly green trees, moments before turning in.

Phil was right. I checked into the park office at around 6:30. Paid my fees and headed to site 61. The pups greeted me as Lora and Phil were beginning to prepare their dinner. Upon Phil's suggestion, I set up my tent. That would avoid a late-night assembly in the dark. Good plan. I loaded the tent with various non-essential items, ensured all my observing items was in the car, then had a light meal as the sun set.

After tiding up, putting on some clothing layers, strapping down my large cooler, and sealing up the tent and T@B, we all made our way to the beach area. Lora and Phil walked ahead to show me the way to the parking lot. Happily, I found a spot beside one of the openings in the fence. There weren't actually that many vehicles.

observing
As Phil simply uncovered his 'scope, I set up nearby. Around 9 PM, I was ready. I realised I had forgotten to bring to the beach my portable picnic table. Oh well.

I had pulled the Oregon Scientific portable weather station from within the Astronomy Box α earlier so I knew the readings would be a bit off. At at 9:19 PM it showed the humidity to be 62% and the air temperature to be 11.3°C.

I took in the whole beautiful sky. It was surprisingly dark despite not being officially past astronomical twilight. The Milky Way was very bright with pronounced dark lanes. Wow. It pays to drive further away from big light domes. I spotted the Coathanger naked eye, nestled beside Cygnus! It was easy to make out the overall shape. With averted vision I could see the individual stars of the hook and the hanger. I had Phil point out nearby Sagitta.

Without a formal plan, and with the public component coming up, I thought I'd shake down my "top" list (which I had finally printed in hard copy).

Kemble's Cascade was a little too low to observe at the time.

I examined μ (mu) Cephei. Once again, I felt this star colour was merely orange. Not "garnet." There's nothing else terribly interesting nearby. I also found it a bit challenging to find despite the incredible skies. So during a light-polluted public observing session, this might not be a good option. Maybe it's better as a wide-field object... Maybe that will make the colour more stark.

It was 9:45 and the OS weather station was reaching ambient conditions: 80% and 8.4°. An hour later, it was 92% and 8.0°.

While I struggled with some double stars, Phil was chasing old Messiers and other faint objects with the new Obsession. The familiar friends he reported looked completely different. He began to contemplate redoing the Messier list.

He showed me the East (NGC 6992, Caldwell 33) and West (NGC 6960, Caldwell 34) Veil nebulae. They were incredible, stunning. Huge objects (still cropped by the 35mm Panoptic), vivid, detailed, rich with filaments throughout (with O-III filter). The Witch's Broom was fantastic, like a comet, fanning outward from bright stars, including 52 Cygni.

On one hand I felt like I was getting in the groove. But my body was protesting. I was yawning at an increasing frequency. I had also forgotten to bring down a Red Bull.

wrapping
I really wanted to tag some deep sky objects near galactic centre but clouds were not going to let it happen. Dark moonless sky. No wasteful human light. And Clouds. Damned clouds. Phil had said rain was predicted... After sketching the field where I thought Neptune was, slowly, I packed everything up. Then I was really tired. I followed Phil back to the site, using only my running lights.

I passed out pretty quickly.

I would have slept through the whole night, even the light rain, if it wasn't for the bear...