camperAL said:
Wondering if there is room for RV campers or trailers. Wondering how hard it is to get to the sites and how level they might be?
The Nebraska Star Party is one that I would like to attend. I was also wondering if there are vendors at the star party? This might be a good location for some of the RV'rs here to attend and do some star gazing.
Hope to see some more posts here from you.
Been a few years since we went to the NSP (work and having given up our old RV).
Right near the main observing area (within a few hundred feet) are some campsites along the lakeside (Snake Campground - see pic). No hookups, but level, some shade and maybe a picnic table. There are toilets and drinking water (from a hand-pump well). Everything else in the area is primitive camping (I think the term is boondocking) so there are lots of places you can park. First-come first-served. We used one site the first year we went up with an RV, but moved up to the main observing area for the convenience (and since it's real bad form to use lights for driving at night, barring a serious emergency). There are some more developed camping areas in other parts of the park, but not within walking distance (unless you like hiking) of the observing area. Cedar Bay Campground has expanded facilities, including electric hookups and coin-operated showers. There is a dump station near the boat ramp at the Merritt Trading Post.
Use of generators or any lights that can be seen from outside your rig during the hours of darkness are frowned on. Many people unplug their lights, or cover them with red film/replace with red bulbs, and use the bare minimum while keeping their shades closed at night. After about noon it is considered okay to start firing up generators to recharge batteries.
Some people rent cabins near the Trading Post, a few stay in Valentine and drive out for the night, others car/van/tent camp, some have pop-up, TT's, 5W's, and full MHs. A Nebraska Park Permit is required ($5 a day, or $25 annually).
The nice thing about the NSP is you don't need a telescope to attend. People (if they aren't trying to do some long-exposure astrophotography) for the most part enjoy sharing their scopes, and having people come up and ask questions. There is a tradition of folks setting up chairs in a circular paved area near 'Dob Row' and quietly chatting most of the night. Dob means Dobsonian, a type of telescope. Some of them are gi-normous! (see pic).
They normally have some vendors selling astronomy-related items and crafts, as well as swap-meets. For registered attendees, there are door-prize give-aways during the week. Depending on donations and sponsors, some of the door prizes are pretty good (telescopes, high-quality eye-pieces, etc).
There are beginner's astronomy field schools, canoeing or tubing down the Niobara River, visitor's attractions in and around Valentine, an indian-reservation casino about 9 miles north of Valentine
We have had attendees from overseas show up, the viewing is so good. And Nebraska is rather central to the U.S., so we get a lot of attendees from all over the U.S. and Canada.
Slippy
