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Old 27-02-2014, 07:14 PM
Stardrifter_WA
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The USA again.

Hi all

I am travelling back to the US again this May. Flights and train are now booked.

I am taking the train again up to San Francisco and onto Denver, then onto Cleveland. The train trip through the Rockies is an awesome ride. This time, I have a better lens for my Canon 60D, a 24-70 f/2.8L II USM, which is an awesome lens, instead of the crappy kit lens I had last time. I only picked this lens up a few days ago along with a wide angle lens (10-20). As I wasn't impressed by the photos of the Rockies and San Juan Mountains I took last time, I thought I would just have to go do it all again.

Originally, I was going to go to the Riverside Telescope Makers Conference (RTMC) on the 22-25 May, but after discussions with a US supplier, it appears it is not as well patronised now. I would have liked to time this trip in time for Stellafane again, but alas circumstances dictate otherwise. I will be doing Stellafane again in 2015, with a bit of luck. It was great fun, best two days in the field I have ever had!

So, instead of the RTMC I am heading back into the San Juan Mountains for a few days, and driving the Highway 550 again, but this time from Denver to Durango, instead of Albuquerque to Durango that I did last time.

Does anyone know of any observatories up in the Colorado mountains? I only know of one near Durango. Any others?

Cheers Pete
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  #2  
Old 27-02-2014, 07:20 PM
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FlashDrive (Poppy)
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Have a great trip.....
Say hello to ' C ' for me....

Flash.....

Last edited by FlashDrive; 27-02-2014 at 08:43 PM.
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  #3  
Old 27-02-2014, 09:03 PM
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OICURMT
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ooooooooooo.... will just miss you. Headed back home (Colorado) for a visit at the end of May.

Have a "Fat Tire Ale" for me, enjoy the trip. I will have to agree (with extreme bias), a train trip through the Rockies is a grand site...

I used to live in Durango back in the early 80's. Since your traveling the 550, I'd recommend additional stops in Ouray / Silverton with a "side trip" to Telluride for the Mountain Film Festival... (http://www.visittelluride.com/festiv...film-telluride)

Denver University have an observatory on Mt Evans, but to be honest, it's out of the way if you are headed west on I-70 to US550.

I'm not aware of any public observatories along the San Juan range, but there are Chaco and Anasazi archeoastronomical sites populated along SW Colorado and NW New Mexico, if that's of interest to you...

OIC!
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Old 28-02-2014, 12:48 AM
Stardrifter_WA
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Originally Posted by FlashDrive View Post
Have a great trip.....
Say hello to ' C ' for me....

Flash.....
I will, but I am not going yet, still 11 weeks away, damn it!

Cheers Pete
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  #5  
Old 28-02-2014, 12:59 AM
Stardrifter_WA
Life is looking up!

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Quote:
Originally Posted by OICURMT View Post
ooooooooooo.... will just miss you. Headed back home (Colorado) for a visit at the end of May.

Have a "Fat Tire Ale" for me, enjoy the trip. I will have to agree (with extreme bias), a train trip through the Rockies is a grand site...

I used to live in Durango back in the early 80's. Since your traveling the 550, I'd recommend additional stops in Ouray / Silverton with a "side trip" to Telluride for the Mountain Film Festival... (http://www.visittelluride.com/festiv...film-telluride)

Denver University have an observatory on Mt Evans, but to be honest, it's out of the way if you are headed west on I-70 to US550.

I'm not aware of any public observatories along the San Juan range, but there are Chaco and Anasazi archeoastronomical sites populated along SW Colorado and NW New Mexico, if that's of interest to you...

OIC!
Hi OIC,

The train trip through the Rockies is awesome for sure, which is why I am doing it again. Ever time I visit Cleveland, I will fly into LA and do a train trip across the US, alternating between that and via Albuquerque. I love train travel, the longer the better. It is such a gentlemanly way to travel, even if it is a lot more expensive than flying. You can see much more out the train window than you can at thirty thousand feet! Besides, it isn't always about the destination, but about the journey. Have met some wonderful people on trains.

Did Silverton and Ouray last August. Particularly loved Silverton, which a nice little town, which is why I am going back. Although I won't have the time this trip, I would really like to do the train ride from Durango to Silverton. I heard the train whistle coming up the valley as the train headed into Silverton. It was the most haunting, yet beautiful, sound I have ever heard.

Also visited the Chaco Canyon, another beautiful place, if a bit remote and barren. Would have loved to stay for the night viewing at their observatory, but I was on a tight schedule that trip. On the drive out to Chaco canyon, I found out why you don't drive dirt roads in a convertible (the latest model Mustang). I was covered in white dust.

I intend to, if possible, hire another Mustang convertible at Denver. Having driven the latest model, I definitely wouldn't want to own one, but it is fun for a holiday.

Thanks for the advice on Telluride, I will do a side trip.

Oh, and I will also be visiting JMI Telescopes whilst in Denver, to get a repair done and order parts to make up a new focuser for my WO FLT110.

Cheers Pete

Last edited by Stardrifter_WA; 28-02-2014 at 01:15 AM.
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Old 28-02-2014, 09:42 PM
brian nordstrom (As avatar)
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Col you took the words right out of my mouth .
Brian.
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Have a great trip.....
Say hello to ' C ' for me....

Flash.....
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