It is hard to believe we just finished up our fourth summer as Volunteers In the Park (VIPs) helping with the astronomy program at Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Now, we switch gears and help prepare for the Dakota Nights Astronomy Festival over Labor Day weekend. We are happy to say we have been invited back …
We set out to spend our retirement sharing the night skies with others while seeing the varied geologic features across the western states. Every decision we have made from 2016 forward has been geared to accomplish this goal. One of the first places to give us an opportunity to volunteer our services was Theodore Roosevelt National …
We have just about captured all of the Messier objects with our Hyperstar imaging setup. We decided to keep the images in a Facebook album called: Dark Sky Images. We hope you enjoy the newest images. Feel free to use the album for education and/or enjoyment.
We decided to get into CW QRP (POTA/SOTA) in order to extend out our love of hiking. This basically is about using Morse Code with ultralight, portable ham radio equipment to make contact with other amateur radio operators while we are out hiking parks or enjoying mountainous areas, especially the Sky Islands of Arizona. We …
Utah is a state rich with petroglyphs and pictographs. Areas near Vernal, UT are filled with art sites dating back 2000 years or more. We visited the McConkie Ranch Petroglyph site, just outside Vernal, where you can hike a short trail and discover several panels of artwork done in what is called the Classic Vernal …
This winter we ran into an RVer who was into amateur radio (ham radio). John was looking for his next hobby to read about and decided to pick up a number of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) e-books to read through. He decided to take both the technician and general exams, but had not …
We did not think the Grand Canyon was going to open during our visit to the area, so we took a 45-minute helicopter tour from the South Rim to the North Rim and back. It was truly spectacular. Here is a a video clip of the moment we actually passed over the South Rim: It …
This year, our plan was to leave Tucson and see the national parks from Arizona through Utah and into Montana. We planned to boondock all summer long outside of the different parks. Like everyone else, however, the quarantine has changed our plans. We thought it best to hunker down at the Tucson Lazydays KOA Resort. …
In the last few weeks, we have witnessed so much anxiety and fear about Covid-19 on social media from those within the RV lifestyle. We wanted to say something positive about the freedom we have as off-grid RVers. That freedom starts with the core of our power system: Battle Born Batteries.