Let's visit.....

[seven of nine]

Here is a great site that you can set up with your specific lat/long
Heavens-Above Home Page

Amazing what you can see here with only a spotting scope or a good set of binoculars.

[seven of nine]

Originally Posted by Broz

First congrats on the vacation, well deserved it sounds like. So I won't ask for help with the last load moving..

Tell me a bit more about the Mars thing? That might be something we want to look into for a new hobbie since we will have such a much larger area to view now.

Also, don't believe that email going around about Mars being big as the moon....
Pretty sure we would split up in that event!

[Broz]

Originally Posted by seven of nine

Amazing what you can see here with only a spotting scope or a good set of binoculars.

Really? I have a Swarovski Spotter ATS 80 HD 20x60 power. Would that bring interesting things into view? I mean besides Elk and deer a mile away.. that is all I have used it for.

[rickers]

My Canon PowerShot SX10IS is good for between 32 deg F to 104 deg F. I killed my last camera by leaving it in the rig overnight when it was below zero. It takes fine photos on it's automatic settings so I've just been taking snapshots so far and I plan on going up to the beginning of the Marias River today for some fishing and photos. I'm not sure if I'll catch fish but I will get some pictures. The spot where Cut Bank Creek and Two Medicine River join is the beginning of the Marias River.

[seven of nine]

All you need for good moon views over here.

[seven of nine]

Hi Rickers, looking forward to your shots.
Happy fishing!

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by seven of nine

Rickers is our resident photog extraordinaire! I too have to keep my camera inside my coat in the winter

Yeah, especially deep snow pics to scare ferriners with

Originally Posted by seven of nine

Hubs is with you 100% on the Norton, also AVG

AVG used to be fairly lightweight (tho never a particularly good antivirus) but from what I've heard, v7 will bring any middle-aged system to its knees.

Personally I recommend F-Prot, but Avast and Clam and AntiVir are good free alternatives that aren't too heavy on the system.

Originally Posted by seven of nine

I am actually on my first vacation time off in over five years so I will get on that photo shoot. Looks like great weather this week. I am up now because I wanted to get a look at Mars since we finally have no cloud cover. The night sky is the second best thing about Montana.

What's the first best? Nothing. Miles and miles of nothing!

The email going around about "Mars being closer than it ever will be, blah blah" is urban legend, refers to a closer than average passage from 2003. Fact is, we come up relatively "close" to Mars every couple years. Sure does make a difference in how well you can see it, tho. It's fun to look at common stars with binoculars -- some have a companion star that you can't see with the naked eye. And the huge swath of the Milky Way never fails to startle folks who've never been where it gets truly DARK!!

PS. What's a 'vacation'?? Where do I get one? How much are they??

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by seven of nine

Here is a great site that you can set up with your specific lat/long
Heavens-Above Home Page

Nifty site. Did I mention the Astronomy Picture of the Day site already? I can't remember what I wrote 5 minutes ago, let alone yesterday or last week

Originally Posted by seven of nine

Amazing what you can see here with only a spotting scope or a good set of binoculars.

Or even my ancient crappy binoculars with one side that doesn't focus right

Spotting scope is a good idea -- lot more portable than a telescope. Don't go trying to shoot the moon, tho

[seven of nine]

lol!

[rickers]

We drove to the headwaters of The Marias River and had the campsite to our selves. We spent a while picking up trash and beer cans left by some careless litterbug losers who used the site over the weekend. I then took a few pictures before tossing some spinners. I didn't expect to catch any fish but I still gave it a try. The pictures posted below and getting out of the house was worth the drive plus my dog loved getting muddy and my bird enjoyed being outside.


A missile silo site we passed on the way.




Looking downstream from the head of The Marias River. The Bridge is The Sullivan Bridge.




This is where The Marias River begins, where the milky Two Medicine River joins Cut Bank Creek with the clear water on this side of the river. It's a two-tone river for about a 1/4 mile before the two colors of water finally mix. The Two Medicine can be seen coming around the bend on the left and Cut Bank Creek can barely be seen coming in between the gravel bar and the bushes beyond. There are Grizzlies seen occasionally around here. The bluff in the background between Cut Bank Creek and The Two Medicine River is the eastern most point of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.




This spot is loaded with poison ivy.