74 replies to this topic

[gdjsky01]

I am a member. One share. We (my late wife and I) were going to move to the Tucson area and I thought I'd get there often.

Plans... plans... Alas with her passing... I doubt I'll ever see CSV.  Don't know. Yet. 

[SouthWestAstro]

That's very sad. Very sorry for your loss. We do hope you make it down there some time.

[Jon Isaacs]

How much does a single lot cost?

 

Jon

[RandyF]

What a wonderful concept. Hoping more locales do this!  

[csmythies]

You buy shares, not lots. And the ownership of the shares gives you the right to use the land. Only you are able to use the land though so it's like you own it. The current share price is $2,500 and a minimum of 2 shares are required for membership. For each share you own, you have the right to exclusively use 2,500 sf of land. You can do whatever you like with the land e.g. build an observatory, a warming hut etc. so long as you don't obstruct somebody else's view of the sky and so long as you follow all county regulations. The shares become part of your estate and are passed down from one generation to the next. They can also be bought and sold like any other shares. Immediate family members become members too and you can invite guests to observe with you. Renting not allowed. Observing buddies can't pool their resources in order to occupy a single lot. Hope this answers your question.. 

[csmythies]

The reason we picked 2,500 sf -  that's 50' x 50' which seemed large enough to accommodate and RV and a telescope pad. In the beginning at both GSV and CSV it was possible to buy only one share and become a member. Now there's a 2-share minimum. $2,500 per share is 1 sf per dollar of capital contribution. Not too little and not too much either. Might seem a lot of money but it's nothing compared to what you would spend buying your own parcel of land somewhere.

[Jon Isaacs]

The reason we picked 2,500 sf -  that's 50' x 50' which seemed large enough to accommodate and RV and a telescope pad. In the beginning at both GSV and CSV it was possible to buy only one share and become a member. Now there's a 2-share minimum. $2,500 per share is 1 sf per dollar of capital contribution. Not too little and not too much either. Might seem a lot of money but it's nothing compared to what you would spend buying your own parcel of land somewhere.

 

$5000 is very reasonable for a permanent private pad.  Are there yearly fees?  A private cabin or small home is an expensive proposition, 

 

This seems somewhat like the San Diego Astronomy Association at Tierra del Sol.  Members can have individual pads and then there are public pads as well.

 

It's a community based observing site.  

 

Jon

[Silent_Light]

Looking at 40 acres in Costilla Co. Colorado to do something similar.

[Migwan]

Cool.   The sandhills will be returning to the playa soon.   

 

Why not Johnnie Ringo's grave on your website?    It's like ten miles to east.

[Keith Rivich]

This is a fantastic idea! One of the main concerns I see all the time is folks looking for a safe place to observe. I feel quite fortunate that our club, many decades ago, found some land not to far away (90 miles), and quite isolated from passersby. I have zero concerns about observing in relative safety. Our site has bathrooms and showers. Men's and women's bunkhouses. Places for RV's to permanently park. Concrete observing pads with electricity easily available.

 

We can even "rent" and build our own small observatories or "tiny houses" as my wife calls them. Here is my modest little set up:

 

 

 

 

 

I have a small desk, a/c and heat plus a small fridge and microwave. I use a futon to sleep after observing.

Edited by Keith Rivich, 07 September 2023 - 06:28 PM.

[Keith Rivich]

$5000 is very reasonable for a permanent private pad.  Are there yearly fees?  A private cabin or small home is an expensive proposition, 

 

This seems somewhat like the San Diego Astronomy Association at Tierra del Sol.  Members can have individual pads and then there are public pads as well.

 

It's a community based observing site.  

 

Jon

I agree. If you look at my post (#35) I have around $6000 invested. Well worth the money. The club charges a small annual fee for the right to use the site. I don't remember exactly the fee but its pretty small. 

[firemachine69]

As a Canadian, CSV is on my radar. Currently myself and my girlfriend are saving up for a lot to build a home in a Bortle 1-2 location. Having said that, by the point we build our home, my two kids will be older and will have an input on where we live, and if a rural site isn't in the cards, we will revisit GSV or (preferably) CSV. By that point I will be entitled to four weeks annual vacation leaving me with a perfect opportunity for a permanent dark sky retreat. 

Edited by firemachine69, 07 September 2023 - 07:15 PM.

[SouthWestAstro]

This is a fantastic idea! One of the main concerns I see all the time is folks looking for a safe place to observe. I feel quite fortunate that our club, many decades ago, found some land not to far away (90 miles), and quite isolated from passersby. I have zero concerns about observing in relative safety. Our site has bathrooms and showers. Men's and women's bunkhouses. Places for RV's to permanently park. Concrete observing pads with electricity easily available.

 

We can even "rent" and build our own small observatories or "tiny houses" as my wife calls them. Here is my modest little set up:

 

 

 

image000000.jpg

 

 

I have a small desk, a/c and heat plus a small fridge and microwave. I use a futon to sleep after observing.

 

Very nice. Great to see the different ways that people can get together to create safe and relatively inexpensive dark sky observing facilities. We can all learn things from each other.

[csmythies]

Neither GSV nor CSV currently have any yearly fees. However, GSV is getting close to running out of land (65 members on 30 acres now) so we can't rely on selling shares any longer to pay our bills. We're talking about forming a 'Members Association' and charging dues, maybe $100-$200 a year. One day that'll happen at CSV too, but still over the horizon.

[melvy]

and your neighbors Honda Generator running all night doesn't bother you at all?

( I mean honest, he does have to run his apgar gear)
 

I actually installed a large 10 panel solar array at GSV for everyone's use. You don't need a generator at all to run your AP gear, just plug in your battery in the day and pick it up at night.

 

-Marc

[SouthWestAstro]

I actually installed a large 10 panel solar array at GSV for everyone's use. You don't need a generator at all to run your AP gear, just plug in your battery in the day and pick it up at night.

 

-Marc

That's such an excellent idea.

 

Relatively inexpensive solar panels and high capacity LiFePO4 batteries can have a huge impact in this context.

 

Perhaps you could provide a little more detail of the set up, possibly with a picture.

 

Thanks.

[Morefield]

That's such an excellent idea.

 

Relatively inexpensive solar panels and high capacity LiFePO4 batteries can have a huge impact in this context.

 

Perhaps you could provide a little more detail of the set up, possibly with a picture.

 

Thanks.

Sorry that I don't have pictures but I can say that I don't use the shared solar facility at our site.  A lot of us, maybe most of us, have our own solar panels and batteries.  The large Lithium batteries with built in charge controllers and inverters make this really easy.  How big depends on your set up.  My rig uses about 75 watts draw so figure if I run it for 12 hours from start up to shut down I need about 1000 watts.  So a 1500 watt battery should do the trick and a 200 watt solar panel will recharge it the next day.   My 200 wat panel actually pulls in around 140 watts peak so I can get the 1000 watts used back in about 7 hours.  I do have to move the panel a few times a day to keep it optimal.

 

This battery is perfect, though seems pricier that some other options.  One big advantage is that it has a powerpole 12v output.  https://www.goalzero...oxoCYHcQAvD_BwE

 

I have this solar panel which is getting much cheaper these days:  https://www.renogy.c...fxoCmwkQAvD_BwE

[Ihtegla Sar]

Jon,

Maybe this gets at the point of the thread: GSV (and I think CSV) are dark sites where you can go with your equipment and expect a safe place to observe or image with others when you want. It’s closer to an every month star party than the commercial villages where one might reside. At least this far at GSV we don’t have or have solid plans for electricity, water or sewer. There is a vault toilet however.

For most of us at GSV it is a 2-4 hour drive and we go out for several days at a time. I use a teardrop trailer with solar panels and batteries. Same as going to the Oregon Star party. The difference is that I have a specific lot I have improved to my preferences and so can choose to stay there or meet others on the shared observing field.

So I think it really is a different concept.

Kevin

Has anyone measured the sky with a SQM or SQML at GSV? I'd be curious what a typical night looks like, or what the range is throughout the year.

[Morefield]

Has anyone measured the sky with a SQM or SQML at GSV? I'd be curious what a typical night looks like, or what the range is throughout the year.

I have not, but darkness is not an issue - it is Bortle 2.  We are in the Pacific Northwest and near the Columbia River Gorge so the issues are near certain clouds from Nov to Mar, a lot of windy nights and some smoke issues in late Summer.  Here's an example of data from GSV:

 

 

This is the central, shared observing field

 

 

Edited by Morefield, 26 September 2023 - 11:20 PM.

[cackleton]

Fascinating, what a great idea! I'm always learning something new here on CN.

 

Does anyone know of any groups doing a similar sky village concept in the Northeast?

[vsteblina]

Has anyone measured the sky with a SQM or SQML at GSV? I'd be curious what a typical night looks like, or what the range is throughout the year.

I measured 21.9 at the Tucson club site a couple of years ago, it is fairly close to GSV. 

 

It was in Feb, and a dewey night!!!  Dew in the desert what a concept!!!

 

There is a LOT of private land and development in the area.  The county has a light pollution ordinance.  There were a lot more lights in the area than I expected.

 

Not sure what the future will hold for the area.  It is not prime Arizona real-estate, but does have LOTS of sub-division land that is being built upon.  Cheap land.  The area has a definite low-income vibe.

 

I would have loved to see a site surrounded by BLM or FS managed land in Arizona.  Oh yeah, I would have preferred the Yuma area for significantly warmer winters.

 

[alanspurgeon]

While I am not a member of the Goldendale Sky Village, I have been out there several times and I understand how and why it was built. This project started off when the Seattle Astronomical Society decided it needed to find a dark sky site in a drier and sunnier location that was within driving distance of Seattle. Getting past the politics of the situation the board was unable to commit to a location because of differences in opinion on how far away the site should be from Seattle. Frustrated, a group of SAS members decided to go out on their own. They located a sizable piece of property in a bortle 2 dark sky site on the southern side of the state. This group of SAS members could not do it themselves, they had to bring in additional financial support so went outside of the club and found additional members from the Rose City Astronomers (RCA) of Portland that were willing to go in on the project. This is not a nonprofit but was setup as an LLC. Each member essentially owns the little plot of land. The members have put in a LOT of sweat equity into building out GSV and over the course of 2 years they turned it into quite a nice place to go and observe. No, they are not on the grid, there is currently no well, they did recently install a very nice 2 stall vault toilet called "The Black Hole". It is like dry camping. Members can build shelters and individual observatories within county regulations. Many members had a spot cleared on their parcel so they they can take their RV or travel trailer out there. Basically whatever you need you haul in for the trip and haul out when you leave. It is a great bunch of people that enjoy astronomy and the community they have created. The city of Goldendale is a short trip away if you want to grab a nice bite to eat, get groceries, or need something at local hardware store. No big box stores there, it is very much small town America.

 

Why did I post this? It seemed from other posts that this was more a business and it isn't. This is about a bunch of people that love astronomy and have created a place where they can go out and be around other like minded people and enjoy dark skies. The last I heard GSV was just about full and only had a few spots left, good for them! GSV offers a place for amateur astronomers that live in the Pacific Northwest that want a dark sky site to observe from.

[SouthWestAstro]

This is my first DSO image taken at CSV on 12/10/2023.

 

M33 imaged with a Takahashi FC-100DZ (+ FC-35 0.66X reducer) and ASI294MC Pro, all mounted on a ZWO AM5. (40 x 180 sec lights + calibration frames). The image was processed in Pixinsight.

 

 

 

 

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[TayM57]

You buy shares, not lots. And the ownership of the shares gives you the right to use the land. Only you are able to use the land though so it's like you own it. The current share price is $2,500 and a minimum of 2 shares are required for membership. For each share you own, you have the right to exclusively use 2,500 sf of land. You can do whatever you like with the land e.g. build an observatory, a warming hut etc. so long as you don't obstruct somebody else's view of the sky and so long as you follow all county regulations. The shares become part of your estate and are passed down from one generation to the next. They can also be bought and sold like any other shares. Immediate family members become members too and you can invite guests to observe with you. Renting not allowed. Observing buddies can't pool their resources in order to occupy a single lot. Hope this answers your question.. 

Do you have any shares left at GSV? I'm in Vancouver, Washington and it would be nice to have a dedicated lot to bring my RV to, where my wife doesn't have to worry about me being out in the middle of nowhere.

 

Thanks!

[SouthWestAstro]

Got back to CSV for the night of January 10th. Only managed to stay for one night due to not properly filling the water tank in my RV .

 

Imaged IC405 and M78 with a Takahashi FC-100DZ (+ FC-35 0.66X reducer) and ASI533MC Pro, all mounted on a ZWO AM5. (40 x 180 sec lights + calibration frames). The images were processed in Pixinsight.

 

Also saw M52, M110, M97 and M108 through the eyepiece for the first time with my TV-85.

 

It's fun to have a visual and imaging rigs up at the same time. But taxing on a cold night !