A couple of local amateur astronomers participated in a public star party and Perseid meteor watch at Palo Alto Baylands, on the shore of San Francisco Bay, on the evening of August 11, 1997. A first quarter Moon, city lights, and a trace of haze, all conspired to brighten the sky, and the Perseid shower seems to have been relatively weak this year: We saw few meteors -- in not quite three hours before midnight, I noticed only four.

Fortunately, telescopic viewing provided plenty of entertainment for the fifty or so astronomical newcomers who showed up. We had an 80 mm refractor and a 4.25-inch fast Newtonian. Views of Jupiter and the Moon prompted many oohs and ahs. I showed Mars through the little refractor, because everyone wanted to see it, but kept warning people in advance that its tiny, gibbous disc would be a disappointment.

Subsequently, we looked at the Lagoon Nebula, M8 -- I explained that it was a region where newly-formed stars were illuminating left-over debris from their creation -- and then at the Dumbell Nebula. People kept exclaiming how faint they were, and I gently pointed out that these were among the brightest deep-sky objects that amateur astronomers look at.

Albireo -- beta Cygni -- exemplified a nice double star, with plenty of obvious color. The small reflector showed the double cluster, h and chi Persei, to advantage. A few stout-hearted folks hung on for a look at Saturn, then we packed up and cleared the park before the police locked the gate, at the prearranged time of midnight.

As public star parties go, this one was quite successful. Two telescopes would have been a bit scant for fifty people ordinarily, but enough folks were sitting on blankets and chairs, hoping for Perseids, to relieve pressure on the viewing lines. I think everyone enjoyed the views -- I received many thanks from parents for sharing my telescope and knowledge. It was delightful and encouraging, too, to have children scarce out of kindergarden remark that the apparent motion of the sky was because the earth was rotating, or that the view of Jupiter through the eyepiece was much like that they would have in space, closer up. I was glad I had brought a short ladder so small people could reach the eyepiece.

The park ranger and naturalist seemed to enjoy our presence. They had done their homework, too -- the naturalist had a stack of sheets of red cellophane to cover flashlights, and the ranger had put out barricades to keep autos and their headlights away from the viewing area. I wanted these hard-working public servants to have turns at the telescopes, but they were reluctant to take time away from park guests, so I tried special measures: "Let him in line -- he has a gun!" Everybody just laughed, so I varied the tactic: "Let him in line -- he has a book full of parking tickets!" That worked like a charm.

Palo Alto Baylands is an interesting site. We set up in the most southerly of the parking lots accessible from the eastern end of Embarcadero Road, near the boat-launching area, adjacent to the old concrete-and-rebar structure sometimes known as "Stonehenge West". The sky here is not nearly as dark as at any other site frequented by south Bay amateurs -- it is even brighter than at Houge Park. But it's probably as good it gets for an in-town location part way up the Bay shore, and there will be times when Baylands is clear while Montebello and Skyline Ridge are draped in fog and cloud. Baylands will usually be warmer, too. Seeing in Palo Alto can be good, though it wasn't on August 11. The location has toilets, and parking and setup area for scores of cars and telescopes. There is interesting wildlife, too -- we heard the eerie calls of Willets, and watched cute, inquisitive rats scurry among cars and down burrows near the observing area, no doubt much happier and much cleaner than in more urban areas. So although there was no coyote karaoke, as at the hill sites, perhaps we can all learn to squeak.

Naturalist Deborah Bartens was eager for more star parties at this location, at suitable times. I think we should try some, and see how the site works out. I suggested Fridays near first quarter. Bartens mentioned that a lead time of three to four weeks was desirable for arranging publicity, so Friday, 12 September seems the next likely date. I'm willing to handle such coordination with the Baylands folks as is required; do we have enough people to get a few more than two telescopes out there, in addition to our other commitments to public observing? I suspect we could arrange to stay there a little while after the public had mostly left -- Bartens simply advises the Palo Alto Police when to lock the park gate -- but this site is almost certainly not going to be as good as any of the regular ones in San Jose or Los Gatos.