Great Basin, dark sky night

I drove five hours to Great Basin specifically for the sky and got what I came for. New Moon, low humidity, no haze, and the Milky Way core rising over Wheeler Peak. The park is one of the darkest places in the contiguous United States and it shows.

I set up at the Mather Overlook at 10:30 PM and shot until about 2:30 AM. A light breeze kept me from noticing the cold until I was driving back. The lower air temperature at altitude was not a problem — it was sitting down on cold stone for four hours that got me.

I also ran a little timelapse experiment at the old bristlecone area — 300 frames at thirty-second intervals — and got a three-second clip at the end that I’m really happy with. A silhouette of a bristlecone with stars wheeling. That tree was probably older than the first city I’ve photographed in.

Nocturnal wildlife: kangaroo rats moved along the shoulder of the road when I drove out. A Great Horned Owl called from somewhere in the pinyon. I heard coyotes twice. No photos of any of that — just the sky.

I recommend anyone who can get to a dark site once do it. It is the kind of thing I have to keep reminding myself is real.