by Jane E. Smith
I've just uploaded some images to the Photo Secton of TAC-SAC. See in Ice House Directory.
Big Hill Ranger Station turned out to be a bust. It's got more lights than a Christmas Tree! We also found a good alternative site which is off the main road a ways. I've included a picture of that too. And, of course, there is always the "stunning landscape" picture.... this time it's Union Valley Reservoir.
I think Jim's putting together an email which contains all the vital statistics. We had his GPS unit with us (fun little toy), so we have mileage, elevation, lattitude, longitude, map, the works. That should be coming soon.
Forgot to mention... it was 28-32 degrees last night, with a slight breeze. It felt more like 25, but I was underdressed as I didn't have a chance to return to Davis for my winter clothing. That's what I get for not heading Randy's good advice, NEVER travel without your winter gear!
As for the sky... it's as dark, if not darker, than Blue Canyon before the trees were trimmed. The Sacto lightdome nowhere near as bad, although there are minor domes from Placerville to the SW and S.Lake Tahoe to the NE, however neither is higher than about 15-20 degrees.
Aside from the dark sky, the thing which impressed me most about this site is its accessibility. The 5.6 miles on Ice House Road is all good road, wide and smooth. It's an easy 59 miles from Sacramento to the turnoff, which means 1.25 hours or less from Davis.
The 4980' elevation may be a problem in winter, although there were no snow poles placed below 5700'. It's possible that this site could be accessible longer(earlier) than we first thought. And given the geometry of the site, even when the trees grow up a bit, it will still be a good location.
This is a great find. Thanks Bill Chandler for letting us know about it.