To follow-up my previous e-mail, the weather for Saturday looks great
with highs in the 70's and sunshine. Please bring warm clothes as
it'll likely be in the 50's not long after sundown at that elevation.

Here's a link to a map to the Cohen property.

<http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=35.124121,-118.495016&daddr=Gotthardt+Dr&\
hl=en&geocode=%3BFR0_FwId1EHv-A&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=0&sz=14&sll=35.104532,-118.5\
22568&sspn=0.062284,0.096989&ie=UTF8&ll=35.092945,-118.530035&spn=0.062293,0.096\
989&t=h&z=14>

(That's long so I hope it works!)

Here's some directions that should help as well.

1) Head west out of town on SR 202

2) Turn left on Banducci Rd.

3) Follow Banducci past the entrance to Brite Lake where it turns left.

4) Stay on Banducci until you see the Alpine Forect entrance on the
left. That's Alps Drive. Turn left on Alps Drive.

5) Shortly up that road, at the top of a hill, turn right on Mountain
Climber Way.

6) Turn left on Matterhorn Drive. (Matterhorn Drive, to the left,
remains paved at this point. Going forward or to the right is not paved.)

7) Shortly thereafter, follow Matterhorn to the right and remain on
the pavement. If you go straight you will be on William Tell Trail,
the wrong way!

8) Stay on Matterhohn, passing Constance Way on the right and
Matterhorn Court on the left. These signs are easy to miss. The next
road is Gotthard on the left. Turn left on to Gotthard and you'll
shortly see other cars. Anyone else up that far is there for the same
star party! Please pull forward, turn around, and park on the left
(North) side of the road so you can easily depart after dark.

It's narrow and I'll try to help you park. If you'll be bringing a
telescope, the Cohen's have a level area on their property on which
you can setup your telescope. It's relatively small, especially since
we'll have a few larger RV's up there. But there should be sufficient
parking along Gotthard.

The last 0.8 mile is dirt with light washboards but accessible by my
low-ground-clearance sedan. It shouldn't be a problem for any
vehicles but plan for at least 20 minutes from town. Once again, it
should be a great location for astronomy in Tehachapi. I look forward
to seeing you there!

Brandon


--- In GTAstronomyClub@yahoogroups.com, "wood1744" <bwood44@...> wrote:
>
> The Greater Tehachapi Astronomy Club is having a public star party
> this Saturday, September 20th. Tom and Edith Cohen have graciously
> offered to host it on their undeveloped property high in Alpine
> Forest. Their location is one of the better locations near Tehachapi
> for observing the night sky. Their property is near 6,000ft elevation
> and away from many of the lights in Tehachapi. It's also relatively
> easily accessible; only about 20 minutes from downtown. I will follow
> this e-mail with another describing how to get to their property.
> Please plan on arriving before dark as the roads signs are hard to
> see. Arriving at 6:00 pm would be a good time to catch the sunset and
> watch the stars pop into view.
>
> The Cohen's will set up their Celestron 14" SCT for visual observation
> and I will bring my 8" Dobsonian plus binoculars. If you plan to
> attend, please reply so we have an idea of how many people to
expect.
>
> We may also have Neill Hicks in attendance. He's composing a series
> of articles on Tehachapi light pollution and he'd like to get our
> perspective.
>
> Hope to see you there!
> Brandon
>