Just before leaving for our Skywatch 2013 One Tank I posed the following question on Facebook, “What do you get when you mix paranormal investigators, marshmallows for s’mores and a skywatch?”
My thought was the scene out of “Ghostbusters” where the Stay Puff man shows up to destroy the world.
However, I like Teri Nixon’s take on the subject!
The movement (or apparent movement) of the Sun, Moon stars across the heavens caught the attention of people all across the world for thousands and thousands of years. Why should we act differently than our ancestors? We improved on the process with zero gravity lawn chairs and many, many six packs. To borrow an expression from Darlene, “That is how we roll!” Although, knowing the personalities of the gang, we were likely to roll right off the chairs and down a hill!
In general, the best places to skywatch are away from city lights. To get that far out, primitive camping become a necessary companion to a skywatch. As it turns out, a handful of the One Tank Gang “does not do” primitive camping. Darlene—bless her heart—secured cabins at Calico Ghost Town. We were a few steps away from an air-conditioned cabin, showers and real toilets.
Due to a variety of reasons, we were limited to two cars for all seven people and equipment. Jeanette always knew playing Tetris would prove to be an important life skill more than learning math!
(Some equipment should not be left behind!)
Here are a few highlights:
· Jeanette mistook a tag flapping in the breeze for a rattle snake. Boy, can that girl jump!
· Prior to this little trip, Anthony had never tried a s’more. We wanted to smack his parents.
· Arlene drank water. That’s my story and I am sticking to it.
· We found the “Bat Cave”. Oops I mean a cave full of bats! (See Calico photos below.)
· The starts are amazing.
Our campsite:
Please enjoy some beautiful shots of Calico.
The gang comprised mostly of paranormal investigators was memorized by the cemetery. Go figure!
And, the skywatch…
And, uh, yes, the rangers showed up.
Until next time…
