124 replies to this topic

[Bill Jensen]

OSP 2024 is scheduled for July 30 through August 4 2024. Please mark your calendars to enjoy the dark nights at 5000 feet in the central Oregon Ochoco National Forest. Registration will be opening a bit later in the Spring, so hold the dates! 

 

You also can still enter the contest for the OSP '24 artwork to be used on the shirts, hoodies  and sweats. The contest has been extended until 2/29. Samples of prior year's artwork is available for review at https://www.facebook...460328226128164

 

As in the past, the committee requests the assistance of our wonderful volunteers..  If you are interested in joining the committee, the co-directors would be very interested in hearing from you as well! 

 

For updates, visit our Facebook page, or check in on the website for more info:https://oregonstarparty.org

 

[audioaficionado]

I'm planning on being there this year. Registration is supposed to open late April to early May mostly due to many committee members being out of town for the eclipse. That's very understandable. I too will be chasing that center-line event in Rochester NY. Hopefully we all have clear skies or at least a fortuitous sucker hole.

[Boyd Levet]

In addition to the great sky conditions, new this year:

Full-on Cafeteria: Breakfast, lunch, dinner, along with one-off short orders all day, plus all-you-can eat buffets.  Espresso returns this year, with services late into the night.

Astronomer-tested and rated by them at 5-star are the showers available at the Crook County Swim Park in Prineville.  Family-friendly, along the river in huge green space.

Popular Youth Tent returns.  Online registration opens any day now.  More Info on all things OSP at www.oregonstarparty.org and Facebook.

For new-comers and distant travelers: Remember 2/3rds of Oregon is high and dry with Tucson-like weather.  This year's winter was lots of snow and forest water content.

Location: 50-minutes east of Prineville, Oregon.  See you there!

 

 

[RedshiftRob]

Thanks for the update!  It's great to see the return of full food services.

 

-S

[RedshiftRob]

Just got the registration email and I'm all signed up!

 

-S

[Bill Jensen]

Yes, Redshift Rob is correct. Early Registration is now open. From the OSP website the link is at:

 

http://osp.techage.net/registration

 

2024 OSP Registration is now open.

 

We have worked hard through this past year to organize this event, but there will be some differences this year.

Our 2024 food vendor, Hillside Catering, will be offering presold Star Dinners nightly.
Dinners will be all you can eat and will be prepared on site.
Please include dinners with your registration so our caterer can get an accurate number for dinners each night.
Ala carte food, espresso and a limited number of onsite dinners will be available. Dinners purchased onsite will be a higher cost.
More information about 2024 food and espresso service can be found at the link below.

 

We recommend that anyone attending OSP be vaccinated, but vaccinations are not required.
Masks are welcomed but not required.

Showers will not be available at OSP this year.
Our recommendation for showers is the Crook County Aquatic Park & Swim Pool in Prineville.  The cost is $7. Their address is 399 NE Garner St, Prineville, OR 97754

Thank you for registering for OSP. We are looking forward to clear skies and dark nights in central Oregon.
The Oregon Star Party Committee

 

The wait is over.

Early registration is open, April 28th
It's time to ramp up your summer fun

Click the button below in this email to register today.
We are limited, by the forest service, for the number of attendees we can have on site.

Act NOW.
Early registration allows you to:
* order your merchandise. We offer T shirts, long sleeved T shirts, Sweatshirts and zip front hoodies. Supplies are VERY limited at the event
* Register for a reduced cost.
* Plan your meals with our new vendor Hillside Catering

Early registration ends June 22nd.

Edited by Bill Jensen, 29 April 2024 - 06:02 AM.

[audioaficionado]

I'm in! Haven't been up there since 2019.

[MGAR]

Too bad the shower truck went away, way too dusty for me.

[JMW]

I am grateful that we have the 42 gallons of fresh water in our Arctic Fox 22G trailer. We will get 8 nights out of the tanks. We sponge bath to preserve water and make use of the porta-potties. 

 

Looking forward to another great trip to OSP.

[RedshiftRob]

Too bad the shower truck went away, way too dusty for me

I make due with a few 5 gallon jugs of water and just go a home a lot stinkier than usual.     I would prefer a shower truck over the food truck, but I have a feeling not many of them survived the pandemic years, so we may not see one again for a while...

 

-Stephen

[Bill Jensen]

I make due with a few 5 gallon jugs of water and just go a home a lot stinkier than usual.     I would prefer a shower truck over the food truck, but I have a feeling not many of them survived the pandemic years, so we may not see one again for a while...

 

-Stephen

The firm that previously supplied the shower trucks was part of a very large service firm, and it was sold. We tried many times to obtain a response to our request for a proposal from their local office, then contacted their HQ, only to be told they would be serving only "federal customers", and would not be able to serve other customers in 2024. The committee also tried to find other shower truck vendors, but there were no viable options. 

[RedshiftRob]

The firm that previously supplied the shower trucks was part of a very large service firm, and it was sold. We tried many times to obtain a response to our request for a proposal from their local office, then contacted their HQ, only to be told they would be serving only "federal customers", and would not be able to serve other customers in 2024. The committee also tried to find other shower truck vendors, but there were no viable options. 

Thanks Bill,  I have no doubt the committee tried their hardest to get someone.  Hopefully they'll have better luck next year...

 

-S

[Boyd Levet]

In Prineville, OSP attendees gave high reviews last year to OSP's recommended shower facilities at:

County Swim Park Showers, Prineville     "Five-Star" Astronomers' Top Rated  
info@ccprd.org   399 NE Garner St, Prineville, OR

Extensive grass and recreational park along Ochoco Creek     Play facilities for children  

County Website says $7pp.

[Alex McConahay]

How far away is Prineville? Long way for a shower, right?

 

Alex

[Bill Jensen]

How far away is Prineville? Long way for a shower, right?

 

Alex

It is approximately 80-90 minutes away . 

[Keith Rivich]

https://www.amazon.c...gKZ6fD_BwE&th=1

 

Put it in the sun and let the water warm up. Works great!

[MGAR]

https://www.amazon.c...gKZ6fD_BwE&th=1

 

Put it in the sun and let the water warm up. Works great!

Bad for the environment, forest service would probably issue a fine for that.

 

Gary

[Keith Rivich]

Bad for the environment, forest service would probably issue a fine for that.

 

Gary

? 

 

Its just water. 

[WadeH237]

I believe that a portable shower as referenced would most likely fall under the category of grey water.

 

The OSP rules don't currently mention this kind of device, but do say that there is no accommodation for dumping RV waste water.  The Forest Service does have specific rules for grey water disposal that you can read here.

 

I will be meeting with the Ochoco National Forest folks in Prineville next week, so I can ask them directly.

 

Note that the OSP rules are made in coordination with the USFS and supercede the normal Forest Service rules, so I'll also check with the other OSP committee folks to see if there are any specific concerns that might come into play, given the high density of camping that we have on site.  Many of the Forest Service dispersed camping rules don't make sense with 500+ folks on site.

[bignick243]

I believe that a portable shower as referenced would most likely fall under the category of grey water.

 

The OSP rules don't currently mention this kind of device, but do say that there is no accommodation for dumping RV waste water.  The Forest Service does have specific rules for grey water disposal that you can read here.

 

I will be meeting with the Ochoco National Forest folks in Prineville next week, so I can ask them directly.

 

Note that the OSP rules are made in coordination with the USFS and supercede the normal Forest Service rules, so I'll also check with the other OSP committee folks to see if there are any specific concerns that might come into play, given the high density of camping that we have on site.  Many of the Forest Service dispersed camping rules don't make sense with 500+ folks on site.

That's one thing I've always wondered about. It would be pretty easy to build a shower trailer (it would cost some $$$ though) but I always wondered where they got their water from. I'm guessing the previous shower trucks had fairly large water tanks. I wonder if they had a deal with the city to hook to a hydrant? And where do they dispose of the grey water?

[WadeH237]

That's one thing I've always wondered about. It would be pretty easy to build a shower trailer (it would cost some $$$ though) but I always wondered where they got their water from. I'm guessing the previous shower trucks had fairly large water tanks. I wonder if they had a deal with the city to hook to a hydrant? And where do they dispose of the grey water?

The solution is not simple.

 

The previous provider that we used brought towed the shower trailer behind a semi.  They also trucked clean water in, and waste water out, on a semi.  I don't know where they acquired and disposed of the water, but it was probably in Prineville.  There are some logistical issues that might not be readily apparent, too.  The roads to OSP are in pretty decent shape, but there is still some washboard that is a problem for a shower rig.  One year, the road damaged some of the plumbing on the truck, just getting it up there.

 

The real problem, though, is that there has been a bit of a sea change in the economics of portable showers since COVID.  The company that we were working with before has been purchased by a much larger company.  The large company does not seem interested in serving operations the size of OSP.  I think that they want to service only large operations, like fire fighting.  If I remember right, we were able to get a price quote at some point, and it's risen far beyond anything that OSP could manage.

 

I don't think that it's just OSP that's having a problem getting showers.  GSSP used to offer free showers with their registration.  I believe that they are also without showers now, for the same reasons that OSP cannot get a shower vendor.

 

We are keeping our eyes open and following up on any leads to see if we can get showers back.  But for this year, at least, there was simply no way that we could offer showers.

[TayM57]

? 

 

Its just water. 

 

Along with sunblock, soap residue, and who knows what other contaminants.

 

An example: people swimming in beaches are causing damage to coral reefs because of oxybenzone found in many brands of sunblock.

 

 

 

 

[FoxIslandHiker]

If everyone used a solar shower in the same location, there would be an issue. Obviously that is not going to happen.  The solution to pollution is dilution.

[Bill Jensen]

OSP Telescope Walkabout 2024
We have a new host, Dave Kasnick! He is excited to continue this tradition of personally built and innovative telescope designs.
See his biography on the OSP website

https://oregonstarparty.org/members/

 

A note from Dave:
If you will be attending OSP 2024 and you believe that you have some innovations to ‘show and tell’ then send an email to: 
osp.telescope.walkabout@gmail.com

The Walkabout will be in the evening of Thursday August 1, starting at 6:30 pm until 8 pm.  

That’s right, no more suffering in the afternoon sun at the hottest time of the day!

[Bill Jensen]

Mike from Aurora Precision (based in Prineville) was nice enough to ride up to Indian Trail Spring, and reported to the OSP committee the following:

 

Made it up to check the roads to the site this morning. Both 4240 and 800 are in great shape! I wouldn’t hesitate taking any RV up there. There were a few tree falls on both roads but they were already taken care of. Some of the younger trees right along Road 800 are starting to grow their branches into the road up high but it’s nothing to worry about right now.

 

Also, no ruts as of now. 

 

A big thanks to Mike for taking the ride up there and checking it out !

Bill