12 replies to this topic

[wrvond]

Rather surprised that I was unable to find a topic started for our favorite dark sky site this year. 

 

I've spent this winter getting prepared for warmer weather - I'm not nearly as tough as Andrew!

Currently planning on being on site for the New Moon March 24 or 25 into April.

 

Warren

 

[andreww71]

I've been looking forward to a trip to Calhoun but Mother Nature has not cooperated so far this season. This has been a pretty dismal winter so far. But, I'm keeping an eye out for the upcoming new moon period at the end of February. 

 

Anyone know how much snow is on the ground in the area? Of course there is another winter storm forecast to move through the middle of this week which may add to whatever is on the ground now.

 

Andrew

[djeber2]

Is there a campground or anywhere to stay near this park?    Where in the park is the observing field?

[wrvond]

I've been looking forward to a trip to Calhoun but Mother Nature has not cooperated so far this season. This has been a pretty dismal winter so far. But, I'm keeping an eye out for the upcoming new moon period at the end of February. 

 

Anyone know how much snow is on the ground in the area? Of course there is another winter storm forecast to move through the middle of this week which may add to whatever is on the ground now.

 

Andrew

Hi Andrew,

There is snow on the ground though the roads are pretty much clear today. The 10 day forecast is not looking good at all, though as I'm sure you're aware.

 

 

 

Is there a campground or anywhere to stay near this park?    Where in the park is the observing field?

There is plenty of camping space. When you enter the park you'll see a ridge with power poles, picnic shelter and playground area. This area is more for tent camping, but small travel trailers can fit. This ridge used to be the more popular viewing area and still isn't bad - it's within easy walking distance to the barn.

The barn itself has showers and toilets along with an area upstairs that can be used for sleeping - you'll need a sleeping bag if you wish to use that.

Continuing on is the actual recreational camp ground. It has sites with electric with some water. None have sewer. These are for 5th wheels, tents or motorhomes. 

If you keep on going you will eventually get to the "official" observing field. There is a cabin to rent, a bunkhouse (unsure of the status) and power poles for campers or tents. The only water hookup is next to the cabin. There is no sewer hookup. There is a bath house with toilets that should be finished by now.

[djeber2]

 

There is plenty of camping space. When you enter the park you'll see a ridge with power poles, picnic shelter and playground area. This area is more for tent camping, but small travel trailers can fit. This ridge used to be the more popular viewing area and still isn't bad - it's within easy walking distance to the barn.

The barn itself has showers and toilets along with an area upstairs that can be used for sleeping - you'll need a sleeping bag if you wish to use that.

Continuing on is the actual recreational camp ground. It has sites with electric with some water. None have sewer. These are for 5th wheels, tents or motorhomes. 

If you keep on going you will eventually get to the "official" observing field. There is a cabin to rent, a bunkhouse (unsure of the status) and power poles for campers or tents. The only water hookup is next to the cabin. There is no sewer hookup. There is a bath house with toilets that should be finished by now.

Thanks for the info.   Now that I am retired, I may try to make it here this coming year.   I only have a tent no camper.

[wrvond]

Lots of folks use tents. Some use vans or cars. I use a camper.

[andreww71]

So, I made a trip to Calhoun this past Friday night. Given the forecast information available the day before, Friday night was forecast for mostly clear, Saturday and Sunday, partly cloudy. I haven't been out with the scope since my previous trip to Calhoun on December 22nd and with winter quickly coming to a close, I decided to make the trip.

 

I'll sum up my trip by stating it was a long, hard fought battle for a small victory.

 

On the drive down I stopped at a rest area about 40 miles north of Marietta to check the forecast. I stop here if I feel the forecast is risky and I may want to turn around and head back home. The visible satellite was showing strong erosion of the cloud deck from the south and west. It was moving at a pretty good pace with the clearing line just entering southern West Virginia at about 3 pm. The NWS was showing clouds significantly decreasing starting about 8 pm. I decided to keep going.

 

I arrived at the park about 4:30. First, I went into the bunkhouse, my sleeping quarters for the night and turned on the space heater to warm it up. Next I went back out to set up the scope. This was only the second time I have been to Calhoun in the winter and there was snow on the ground. Not a lot, just enough to fill in the low spots in the grass. 

 

Just after 5 pm the scope was set up and cooling down. I kept the area I occupied pretty tight so that when others showed up there would be plenty of room for everyone

 

 

After setting up the scope I went back into the bunkhouse and found the 20 amp circuit breaker had tripped with the space heater set to 1500 watts. I turned the heater down to 1300 watts and did not have anymore problems the rest of the night. The breaker panel is on the wall to the left of the space heater.

 

 

By 6 pm the clearing line seemed to stall in a west-east line at about Charleston. At 6:30 I decided to try and take a nap. I don't sleep very well outside of my normal routine and this night was no exception. I checked the weather at 7:15 and saw the clearing line had resumed it's north and east progression though now at a slower pace than earlier in the afternoon. At 8 I tried again to take a nap and may have dozed off briefly. I checked my phone about 9:15 and saw the clearing line had made it's way north of Charleston and the western edge had made it through Ohio. I got up about 9:30, ate dinner and waited. Just before midnight the sky started to break up! It took another half hour to completely clear out.

 

My observing list for the night was, not surprisingly, focused on winter sky targets. I don't plan on being out at 1 am in mid February to observe objects that are well placed in the evening sky at the beginning of May. But, this is how it worked out so I moved on to plan b: observe spring favorites until I run out of energy! Moonrise wasn't until 3:30 so I had more than enough time. 

 

My list for night included M35, M36, M37, The Eskimo Nebula, M81, M82, Ghost of Jupiter, M51, NGC 4565, M65 and M66. Mars looked pretty good at 330x too. I finished up with M13 just because I could! The seeing was okay and the transparency was pretty good by 1 am. I decided to pack the scope up at 2 am and went to bed at 2:30.

 

View looking southeast before 8 am.

 

 

Andrew

Edited by andreww71, 23 February 2025 - 04:23 PM.

[MawkHawk]

That bunkhouse looks pretty great. How does that work exactly? I mean do you reserve a bed or do people just plunk themselves down?

If it's usually unlocked, how do they keep the...uuuum...people who may not be welcome out of there?

[markcasazza]

I want to add Calhoun County Astronomy Park to my normal new moon trips to dark sky parks. Today I go to Cherry Springs State Park for a 6 to 9 days for 4 or 5 the warm month new moons each year. But Calhoun is 165 fewer travel miles. Considering I drive a 31’ motor-home that amounts to about $150 in fuel savings each trip. I have a number of questions... I've tried their online form and calling the numbers on the web page with no response...

I will be coming in from the north west, through Columbus Ohio. Looking at the maps I am concerned that Google Maps is doing me a great disservice with its recommended route: 33 to 50 to Interstate 77 South, 14, 5, and 16 to the park. I’m wondering how much more flat staying on 33 all the way to 119, then taking 16 north to the park would be. My motor-home is gas powered and despite having a 10 cylinder engine it really does not do well on steep hills. Can anyone recommend a route from Columbus Ohio to the park that has the fewest long steep climbs. I’m willing to drive well out of my way. I currently drive an extra 25 miles and approach Cherry Springs from New York to avoid roads that are not well suited for my vehicle.

 

Being an older Class C I don't have hydrophilic levelers so finding a level area to park and observe is critical. The pictures I've seen seem to tell both level and not level stories. What is the reality? I also have a 20" truss tube dob that usually uses my RV leveling pads to keep it stable on soft ground, so if I need to use them for the RV I may have to pack some additional items.

Can anyone tell me how strong the Verizon and T-Mobile cellular signals are in the park. I like to stay about 8 days and work from the park. I need a solid cellular connection. I'm willing to switch carriers to get the signal I need.

Finally, a number of basic questions:

• Is there fresh potable water that I can fill up my RV's fresh water tank on or near the field?
• Is there a dump station I can use when I leave?
• What is the daily and weekly camping rates?
• What length extension cord should I plan to bring to get AC to my setup?
• Are there any prohibitions to plugging in my RV? I like to use it's surge protection and run my scopes and computers off the RV's outlets. I also work in the RV during the day and need to operate a laptop.
• Does anyone have any actual SQM readings? I was disappointed not to find any on https://lightpollutionmap.info.
• I'm assuming I can set up my equipment right outside my camper and leave it outside covered for the duration of my stay. 
• Are there any parking expectations for a large camper beyond the obvious courtesies to those already set up?
• Is there a core set of folks who also come for a week to 10 days around the new moons?

Sorry about all the questions. I am looking forward to meeting all those who frequent the park. Since Cherry Springs is changing up their system this year may be my last year going there. While I will miss those frioends I need to stay positive and think about all the new friends I will make.

Edited by markcasazza, 24 February 2025 - 09:33 PM.

[wrvond]

Your best route is going to be I70 to I77.  SR33 is the hypotenuse of the triangle and is technically shorter, but the roads are windier, narrower (one lane each way) and lots of ups and downs. Staying on the interstates as long as you can is your best bet. Take I77 South to Ripley, WV then take SR33 East to Spencer, WV. 33E becomes 119 at Spencer, you stay on that to 16 North. That will take you to the entrance to the park.

33, 119/33, and 16 are all winding, one lane each way roads with some hills but that's unavoidable. If you are using GPS it will probably tell you to turn left on to something called Dry Creek Road (or similar) - do NOT do it. I took a camper down that road and it was very, very bad. Just keep going to 16, it's clearly marked.

 

On the observing field there is a cabin that can be rented with full amenities and a bunkhouse. I've never used or even been inside the bunkhouse so don't really know how that works. Next to the cabin is a potable water stand that you can fill your tank with. There is no sewer hookup anywhere but there are bath houses with showers and toilets so your water usage should be minimal anyway. On the field there are four (IIRC) power poles with one 30 amp RV outlet on each plus several 110 volt outlets. I normally arrive with an empty water tank and fill up by the cabin then back in next to a power pole. Hook up my camper then run extension cords to whatever needs power from the camper. 

 

 

 

I believe the rate for camping like you and I do is $20.00 per night. When you arrive there is usually somebody swinging by to say "howdy" and answer any questions. There is no weekly rate, but that shouldn't keep you from asking for one.

I park less than 10 feet from the power pole. I've never needed an extension.

I had some SQM readings long ago but lost track of them. Readings can vary quite a bit due to things like fog rolling in or the Milky Way. I've seen the MW bright enough to read by. 

As you can see from the picture, I set up a canopy and set out anywhere from one to five scopes (depending). 

The field is pretty level. I don't think anybody has to do much of anything to level their Dob. I do have a couple rubber wheel chocks I bought for cheap at Harbor Freight that I use to level mine from time to time but mostly that was when I stayed in a different part of the park.

There is a group of regulars but nothing scheduled and seeing each other is kind of hit or miss. A lot of folks split their time between Cherry Springs and Calhoun County. Since CCP exceeds all my needs it's really the only place I ever go.

I believe I'm going to be there March 26 through April 2 give or take. 

The Verizon signal is fine. I am able to use my laptop with no problem. 

 

Dew is a killer. You are definitely going to need active dew prevention. 

[andreww71]

That bunkhouse looks pretty great. How does that work exactly? I mean do you reserve a bed or do people just plunk themselves down?

If it's usually unlocked, how do they keep the...uuuum...people who may not be welcome out of there?

 

The bunkhouse is first come, first served. Yes, the door is locked to keep the riff-raff out. Call the park at either number on their web site and ask about how to make arrangements to stay there. The numbers are: 304-354-6398 or 304-354-7981. I use the bunkhouse when the weather gets too cold to sleep in my tent or I'm only going down for a one night stay. 

 

Andrew

[markcasazza]

Thank you wrvond for all the great answers.

 

I think you covered everything but a dump location and SQM readings. 

• I will find a dump station they are easy to locate. It is good to know going in that I need to have one located. I do like to use my own toilet and shower so I do accumulate 30+ gallons of grey/black water.
• I understand the variation is SQM readings all too well. They remain the one truly analytical way to measure sky brightness. If you get one, feel free to share it, or even better, post it to https://lightpollutionmap.info. I consider Cherry Springs to be 21.6 +/- 0.1 on a transparent night not pointed toward the Mikey Way. It would be great to compare the two sites.

I just purchased my last Galaxy Pass ever for Cherry Springs as they are to be discontinued after this year. I will definitely drive by CCP this year for a daylight check out, but I may not become a regular at CCP until next year. But that will be here before we know it.

 

Dew is a killer at CSSP as well so I am well equipped with dew mitigation equipment. I've even experience ground fog that was only 5' off the ground in the middle of the night so that when I stood up I was out of the fog. It sounds like CCP is very similar.

[Larry Mc]

Hi Mark,

In addition to the great info that Warren and Andrew provided, you can find more general Calhoun info on my website at: http://stellar-journ...calhounpark.htm

Also, my Calhoun Starparty Reports (http://stellar-journ...artyreports.htm) and Starparty Pictures (http://stellar-journ...rtypictures.htm) for the past year can provide useful info.

 

While the Calhoun Observing field is a little less than half the size of Cherry Springs, the skies are on par and the onsite restroom/shower facilities are very good!

You'll love Calhoun's very low southern horizon, where Omega Centauri is observable. The power pedestals run along the eastern side of the observing field, so remember to bring a 100' or 200' extension cable and you'll have plenty of space to setup. Also, most of the field is very level.  

Regarding dump stations, the WWV rest stops along I79 have dump facilities that you can use. I believe they are free.