Another adventure coming soon!

We will be headed to Trough creek State Park this weekend for a weekend of camping and hiking.  I expect to do a blog about it shortly after....
This place is supposed to be awesome, with some really neat geologic features, like a rock balancing on the edge of a cliff.
 can't wait for a great weekend in the woods.  Pictures and blog to follow!

Cherry Springs Dark Sky Preserve

The moon, and the planet Venus make beautiful highlights to the setting sun and the silhouetted forest at Cherry Springs State Park in Potter County, PA.
Free of the light pollution that plagues the suburban and inner city areas, this park is the only "dark sky preserve" in Pennsylvania. Situated on the top of a mountain in the middle of an undeveloped state forest, this area is one of the darkest places on the East Coast of the US.  It is used by amateur astronomers for study and observation, as well as people like my husband and I, who are always up for some outdoor adventure.
We decided to take a trip to Cherry Springs to see the Perseid Meteor Shower on a mid August weekend.  Arriving around 7 at night, we had the pleasure of taking part in a "solar viewing" program, in which we were able to see the sun through telescopes outfitted with special filters.  We could see sun spots and solar flares...pretty incredible.  The sun began to sink behind the mountains and the western sky was ablaze with reds, oranges and yellows.   As it grew darker, the moon became more visible, as did the planet Venus.  It got darker, and darker and the stars became visible, one by one.  The brightest stars first, called the Summer Triangle, were the first ones we could pick out.
Soon, stars...millions of stars... dot the night sky as the Milky Way looks like a silvery cloud lazily crossing the sky.  Stars, like many people have never seen in their lives, or haven't seen since they were children were perfectly visible.  The stars, the way my grandparents saw them, when there was less light, when the sky was dark and the stars were truly the stars of the nighttime show, made the night a perfect one.
The Perseid Meteors were raining down, with the "oohs" and "ahhs" and "I saw ones" of the crowd interrupting  the brilliant program of the naturalist.  These meteors were the highlight of a wonderful nighttime show.  We were treated to the Perseids as we learned the stories behind the names of the constellations, learned the brightest stars in the summer sky, along with their names and what constellations they are in, and viewed the planet Saturn through a telescope.
We packed up at an early 10:30, wanting to get back to our campsite at neighboring Ole Bull State Park, but the party, as it were, was just beginning at Cherry Springs.  There were numerous people, with their own telescopes, positioned along the open viewing field waiting to spend the night watching the heavens. 
In the future we will be camping here, at the primitive campground, and spending a whole evening with these lovely stars.  I honestly can't wait.