(meteorobs) Stargazing at State/National Parks out west

[bmccurdy at telusplanet.net]

Joe Rao wrote:

> Places farther to the north look to be more  appealing and I will do more
> research. My hope is to have a few nights of  a Bortle Class 1 or 2 sky to
> enjoy; it has been much too long since I've  had a view of such a night
> sky . . . but maybe this summer I'll have a  few such nights.

Hey Joe, don't know how much farther to the north you're prepared to go, but 
perhaps you will consider crossing the Canadian border. The Saskatchewan 
Summer Star Party will be taking place in beautiful Cypress Hills 
Interprovincial Park, located at Latitude 49.652 deg. N, Longitude 109.521 
deg. W . SSSP is scheduled for August 9-12, 2007, perfectly timed for the 
Perseids. Weather prospects are good: Historical weather maps published by Jay 
Anderson in the RASC Observer's Handbook indicate that the area around Cypress 
Hills has the best chance for clear skies (less than 30 percent mean nighttime 
cloud cover) in July and August compared to any other site in Canada. 

The Cypress Hills feature the highest elevation between Labrador and the Rocky 
Mountains (~1460 metres), and one of the best observing sites in Canada. In 
2004 CHIPP was formally declared a Dark Sky Preserve. 

See also: 
http://www.usask.ca/psychology/sarty/rasc/starparty.html
http://www.observingsites.com/ds_sk.htm

Bruce
*****