Day of Hope #21
Saturday September 13, 2014
Goal: Spend the night out under the stars and see a planet
Quote: “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you will land among the stars.” – Norman Vincent Peale
Today I went to a breakfast house party, for a Boise State football game at a friend’s house. They had the most amazing set up in their backyard. They had lots of tables and chairs, and a huge, big screen TV on the back patio, to watch the football games. This game was an early one around 10a.m. so we had breakfast food and drinks. We had Bloody Mary’s and Mimosas before the game, and then settled in to watch BSU football kick some butt. The weather was great, and it was a lot of fun.
Then I went home and got some items done around the house and made a healthy turkey salad for an early dinner. I am going to see the stars and planets. I am going on a star gazing adventure.
I started researching a few weeks earlier what to do near me on September 13th. Among some other things listed there was a star gazing observatory. I thought that sounded like fun. I had no idea what it entailed, but I love the stars and it was a beautiful clear day, so I thought, why not check it out and watch the sunset just before it starts. I used my GPS to get me there, but it did not do very well. I got lost but I did not give up, and somehow by chance, I found it.
The observatory is about 80 miles northwest of Twin Falls, Idaho, inside Bruneau Dunes State Park. The observatory provides tours and solar viewing through very large and specially adapted telescopes, beginning one hour before sunset. Following that, visitors can view a short orientation program and then have the chance to survey the heavens through the observatory’s collection of telescopes.
I got there just in time for the presentation explaining what you will see and do in the observatory, and some history behind the planets and stars. I had never investigated a massive telescope before. I got to see Saturn and the rings around it, just like the pictures. It was very humbling. It made me really realize how small the earth is.
Also, that night was a scorpion walk, where you go to find scorpions. I am a Scorpio, and I almost did it, but I had a two-and-a-half-hour drive to get back to Boise, so I declined. I don’t know if they still do those walks.
There is a per person viewing fee (children 5 and under are free of cost). Tickets range from $3 to $7, and they have student group trips as well. The observatory is open to the public from early April through mid-October on Friday and Saturday nights only, weather permitting. For presentation times, call 208-366-7919, or check the kiosk when you arrive at the park. Well worth the drive.
My lesson of hope: The world is a bigger place than we think, and we are a small speck in the universe. I learned that by seeing the planets up close.
