Dolan Springs, Arizona--Don't Go Here! (Kingman, Fort Defiance: coupons, purchase, price) - (AZ) - Page 21 - City-Data Forum

SouthernBelleInUtah · 11-21-2009, 05:24 PM

That meteor was seen as bright as daylight in the Salt Lake City area!

kdog · 11-21-2009, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ashley A.

DID ANYONE ELSE EXPERIENCE THE METEOR THAT LIT UP THE WHOLE DESERT (AT LEAST OUR ACRE!) LAST WEDNESDAY JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT? WOW! TALK ABOUT AWESOME!

Are you kidding me? I would have killed to see that. Nay, I would have killed to photograph it. I had a camera running all night to catch meteors on Tuesday night believe it or not. I was trying to catch the stragglers from the Leonid Meteor shower that was on Monday night. I shot on Monday as well but got nothing. However, on Tuesday I caught three smaller meteors across two hundred pictures over a span of 4 hours. They generally looked like this:

Closeup:

When I'm done searching for meteors in my frames, I stack them to make a star trails shot.

Hey everybody's gotta have a hobby, right?

But really, I would have killed to have captured that meteor you saw. I'm kicking myself now.

Gandalara · 11-21-2009, 05:29 PM

Gorgeous pics, KDog

kdog · 11-21-2009, 05:35 PM

Why thank you, Gandalara.

kdog · 11-21-2009, 06:26 PM

Hey, thanks for the reps, folks! 'Vegas, no, I'm not a pro. Just an amateur, although I do make a few bucks on the side occasionally.

I do have two more shots from on top of Mt. Hualapai on Monday night. I spent 4 hours up there in the middle of the night freezing my hiney off, and got not one single meteor.

The above streak is NOT a meteor, although it did make my heart thump when I first saw it. Turns out it's an airplane.

BTW, that is a galaxy that can be seen just over the tree tops and on the left edge of the milky way in the center of the frame. It's small, but larger than a star.

One more milky way shot, with a little light pollution from the Kingman city lights.

Ashley A. · 11-21-2009, 10:35 PM

K-dog..............AWESOME meteor photos!!!!!!!!!! Breathtaking!! By the way.......those are PINE trees aren't they? What mountain is that? Close to Kingman or Dolan Springs???

Sooooooo..........I feel so lucky to have seen the light from the meteor that lit up the night sky.........but sad I didn't actually see it!! I was unable to sleep that night, and was lying there looking at the stars through the window. I watched 2 different meteors shooting, but the standard type of meteors........very NEAT, nonetheless! Then.......because I knew I needed to get to sleep, I turned over in bed where I was facing the wall.......it was pitch dark in the room..........and all of a sudden, before I closed my eyes, our entire bedroom lit up like daylight!! I sat straight up wondering......."What the __???" My sis and bro-in-law were staying up there with us, but were camped on our property in their RV. I found out the next morning that he witnessed it!!!!! He was out with their dog, letting it potty one more time before bed (was just shortly after midnight)........and all at once the whole yard lit up like Vegas he said.........then he spun around in the direction the light came from in time to see the big fireball shooting down!! He said it left an awesome trail of many colors........but the bright flash of light was gone so quickly! He couldn't believe what he'd just seen because it was so huge and sooooooooo bright!! He told us the next morning that he told my sis, "Don't answer the door if anyone knocks tonight......it could be aliens!" Ha!!!! Next morning he told us what happened and I shared what I saw as far as the bedroom lighting up completely........I even accused him of being a smart-a _ _ and shining a flashlight in our window! Then we saw it on the news and how Salt Lake City saw it even brighter than we did! So that's my witness to the giant fireball........my bedroom lighting up!! DARN, I wish I would not have turned away from the window when I did!! It was just seconds after I'd turned the other way that the light flashed from it........if I'd only stayed in that position for a few more seconds, I could have seen it! My bro-in-law is very thrilled that he witnessed it.

Again......your pictures are just fantastic!

Peggy Anne · 11-23-2009, 03:49 PM

When I first moved to Dolan Springs, there were many trashy places. The county gave the homeowners a choice : clean up, or erect a privacy fence. I was amazed how many opted for privacy fences in order to keep their trash up close and personal. (and I don't mean art junque. I mean real garbage that never gets taken away because of some weird attachment ?)

Pierce Ferry is better, now, and I've seen a lot of places selling lately to people who do clean up. It's annoying to see broken out windows in trailers, dead cars, engines hanging from posts, 30 garbage bags bursting open, and blowing around. Such places have become the exception, rather than the rule. No one wants to end up having photos posted on the wall of shame.

We really do need more clean up days, and hazardous materials amnesty. Some people claim that it costs too much to haul garbage to the landfill. When the tour busses came in, the clean up police were more adamant. 11th street has improved greatly. I don't point and complain as much as I used to. For the people around me, that's a good thing.

kdog · 11-23-2009, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ashley A.

K-dog..............AWESOME meteor photos!!!!!!!!!! Breathtaking!! By the way.......those are PINE trees aren't they? What mountain is that? Close to Kingman or Dolan Springs???

Sooooooo..........I feel so lucky to have seen the light from the meteor that lit up the night sky.........but sad I didn't actually see it!! I was unable to sleep that night, and was lying there looking at the stars through the window. I watched 2 different meteors shooting, but the standard type of meteors........very NEAT, nonetheless! Then.......because I knew I needed to get to sleep, I turned over in bed where I was facing the wall.......it was pitch dark in the room..........and all of a sudden, before I closed my eyes, our entire bedroom lit up like daylight!! I sat straight up wondering......."What the __???" My sis and bro-in-law were staying up there with us, but were camped on our property in their RV. I found out the next morning that he witnessed it!!!!! He was out with their dog, letting it potty one more time before bed (was just shortly after midnight)........and all at once the whole yard lit up like Vegas he said.........then he spun around in the direction the light came from in time to see the big fireball shooting down!! He said it left an awesome trail of many colors........but the bright flash of light was gone so quickly! He couldn't believe what he'd just seen because it was so huge and sooooooooo bright!! He told us the next morning that he told my sis, "Don't answer the door if anyone knocks tonight......it could be aliens!" Ha!!!! Next morning he told us what happened and I shared what I saw as far as the bedroom lighting up completely........I even accused him of being a smart-a _ _ and shining a flashlight in our window! Then we saw it on the news and how Salt Lake City saw it even brighter than we did! So that's my witness to the giant fireball........my bedroom lighting up!! DARN, I wish I would not have turned away from the window when I did!! It was just seconds after I'd turned the other way that the light flashed from it........if I'd only stayed in that position for a few more seconds, I could have seen it! My bro-in-law is very thrilled that he witnessed it.

Again......your pictures are just fantastic!

Ashley, thanks! Sorry for the delay in answering this. I had a reply typed in, but guess I forgot to hit the send button.

That's an amazing story, and I'm so bummed out that I missed it. I take it you live out by the huge Joshua tree forest out there somewhere? I'll bet the stars are really bright out there. I'm on the south side of Kingman, so we get a fair amount of light pollution from the north which is the best direction to look for meteors I believe.

Those last shots I posted are from atop the Hualapai Mountains. There's a county park up there, as well as a camping area (Wild Cow Springs), about 5 miles back on a rough dirt road. These shots were made on that road. There are some pines up there, but honestly, I'm not sure if those were pines on my shots or what (my bad.)

Ashley A. · 11-23-2009, 05:40 PM

Kdog........

Yes.......we have a place out there between Meadview and Dolan.......and the stars are unbelievable! We come up there as often as we can to enjoy the peace and quiet. Great shots......thanks for sharing those!

azequine · 11-25-2009, 10:08 PM

There is a lot of truth to the original posters description.
I have family who lives in Dolan they were attracted to the lower cost of property. Well ya get what ya pay for. My oldest son bought his first "home" there on 2 acres and after 2 years he was at the verge of clinical depression, couldn't wait for his place to sell. I live in a small town too and it's much more pleasant than Dolan.