Meteor Shower Campout, 8/10/13, Santa Teresa County Park

Meteor Shower Campout, 8/10/13
Santa Teresa County Park

On Saturday, August 10, 2013, for the first time ever, there was a public campout in the Pueblo Area of Santa Teresa County Park. The intent was to camp out under the stars and see the Perseid meteor shower. The event was by reservation only. There were 30 reservations, which were all full, and there was a waiting list.

This was the Pueblo Area of Santa Teresa Park before sunset. While some people were hiking or relaxing in the park, in the last parking lot, something very unusual was going on.

Cars gathered in the corral parking lot in the Pueblo Area of Santa Teresa Park.

Campers setup tents in the corral area, which was mowed recently.

There was lots of room in the corral area for tents.

Rangers checked in the campers.

More campers setup their tents.

These portable campfire pits were setup in the middle of parking lot, far away from flammable dry brush.

These hikers were headed down the Mine Trail below the Pueblo Area just before sunset.

A group of astronomers brought their telescopes and allowed the campers to see the moon, planets, and stars.

This astronomer sighted in on the crescent moon, which was out early, giving something to look at before dark.

The astronomers brought a wide variety of equipment.

This was a powerful pair of binoculars mounted on a tripod.

One of the astronomers (in the green shirt) gave a talk on the solar system, with help from the young campers, mostly Boy Scouts.

They drew the orbit of the planets, after measuring their relative distance from the sun.

The kids simulated the movement of the planets.

Here the kids simulated cometary dust and water vapor being blown by solar winds.

The kids traced the path of a comet.

The crescent moon and the planet Venus shone down on the campers as they learned about the phases of the moon.

After dark, the campfires were lit.

Ranger Kristy Barton passed out marshmallows and graham crackers to make s'mores.

Marshmallow roasting on the campfire.

Hot chocolate.

The night began with clear skies. The constellations and the Milky Way could easily be seen.

The group gathered for a night hike to Coyote Peak. Kristy Barton helped to lead the hike.

Ranger Mike Hampton also led the hike, which followed the park road to the Hidden Springs Trail and up to the Coyote Peak Trail.

Partway up the Coyote Peak Trail, the group paused to check out the view, with the lights of the Bay Area down below.

Same spot, but with a flash.

This was the view from Coyote Peak. The clouds began to move in and obscured the view of the sky, but reflected the city lights below. We did see some meteors before the clouds covered the sky.

The group rested at the summit of Coyote Peak and took in the view. Fortunately, there were benches. It was windy on top, which is typical for Coyote Peak.

Another shot from Coyote Peak: This was a 5-second time exposure, with the foreground light-painted by a flashlight.

Rangers Mike Hampton and Kristy Barton on top of Coyote Peak.

Campout in Santa Teresa Park, 5/4/02

While the campout on 8/10/13 was the first public campout in the Pueblo Area, it was not the first campout. As far as I know, the last time there was a campout in Santa Teresa Park was on May 4, 2002. It was somewhat of an accident. The Boy Scouts had planned a large "camporee" gathering at Joseph D. Grant County Park, which has a large and well-established campground, but at the last minute, it was unavailable, so they were switched to Santa Teresa Park. There was a huge campout in the Pueblo Area, far dwarfing this year's, but only for Boy Scouts. They had a great time, and it was easy to get to. They thought it was an excellent place to camp. The one shortcoming was that they had to walk to the restrooms to get water. Now there are lots of water fountains all over the Pueblo Area. Here are some pictures from that campout. It shows what Santa Teresa is capable of in terms of handling campouts. Despite the large number of campers, there was still plenty of room.