by William G. Schultz
My children do not do well after overdoses of candy. We voted against Trick-or-Treating and decided to head to the country to observe the full moon (guaranteed) and perhaps some night time critters at Henry Coe State Park.
Sally and I had packed a light meal, some MPF-15 lotion, and dressed the brood for cooler temps.
Will (8) and Marlene (6) packed their special "bin-nock-lee-errs" (of unknown brand and origin). No telescopes would accompany us, as this was a kids night out.
On the way up we chanced upon a herd of deer, maybe a half mile before the cattle guard. The four antlerless animals just stood there looking at us, wondering what we were up to. The kids loved it!
We "set-up" in the overflow parking lot. Sally and the kids were astounded as to how bright and beautiful the hills were. Total quite was disturbed by a slight breeze. The marine layer was quite high, maybe 200 - 300 feet higher than our altitude. We were a cool 52 degrees and the kids were more than a bit uncomfortable.
The kids started their first observation of the moon from a site other than our back yard. My daughter had never known the moon had a beautiful blue halo. The "quality" optics on both children's (possible) K-Mart binoculars clearly showed the presence of the blue halo, and they were surprised to see the rings disappear when they gazed with nekkid eye. ;-)
Marlene was scared to death that some unfriendly critter would carry her away, and never left the vicinity of the Suburban. Will found it quite suitable to raise the tinted rear seat window and filter down the lunar intensity.
I managed to take a few lunar illumination photos of the landscape, and saw no hint of annoying deep sky objects of any type. The haze and moonlight killed any glimpse of the deep sky.
We stayed till after nine when the kids got sleepy. On the way down, we chanced upon a extended family of at least ten feral pigs, feasting on acorns beneath a macabre shaped oak tree. These critters sat and let us watch them snort and feast for a long time. I dreamt of the endless barbecue possibilities, and we had no candy surplus to devour or otherwise get rid of.