On Sunday afternoon my friend Shane and I drove out in my Subaru Ascent out to the old Lakeside observing site. I have wanted to get out there for a while and review the old observing area behind the Bern which is relatively close off the road. I also wanted to check out and identify a few more possible observing sites.
I picked up Shane about 1:45 pm and drove out UT111 through Magna to US201. We then went west and met up with I-80. Once on I-80 we drove out to the Lakeside exit which is Exit 62 and is shown here.
As you take the exit you will turn right and then curve around until you are heading north. You can see that in this image of this map from Google. You'll stay on Purdle Valley Highway.
You'll drive out for about 4.6 miles and there will be a Livestock sign on the right and a turn on the left. Turn there! Here is what Purdle Valley Road looks like. I know the last two times I have been out here there are cattle on the road so be careful!!
This is what the turn onto the dirt road looks like.
Now go down about 2 tenths of a mile and look for a bern and turn on your right. It will look like this.
Once out there here is what Lakeside Observing Site looks like. I am personally renaming it Lakeside 1.
This is typically the set up area and the view is to the east.
Below is the Bern and looking east again. Wider view.
Below is Lakeside 1 looking north.
This is Lakeside looking south.
Below is what the ground looks like out in this area. It is a Mivida soil, mainly clay like and when dry, very hard. However, when it gets wet, it is a mess to drive in and you can really get stuck out here. So if it forecasted to rain or has rain, be prepared to have to go to another location.
These images will show you how observers in the past have set up at Lakeside. Here is my friend Joe Bauman's Meade setting up for doing astrophotography.
A panorama shot of Lakeside 1 observing site.
My old Orion XX14i set up on Lakeside. It shows something important. The soil here is very fine and will get into a lot of things. I always use a tarp out here to protect the telescope and other materials I use out here. I will say that I like the Bern as it acts like a natural light shield for any cars that go down the road. In my years out here though, it is rare at night to see a car some down this road. On Sunday when
Lakeside 1 is a very easy site to get to and except for that 2/10 of a mile off the main road, it is all pavement. The ride out from my home is about 1 1/2 hours and that is a very smooth and easy drive out to the location. It is not the desert mountains where I usually go and the scenery is perhaps not as nice, yet there is a beauty here that is wonderful. I find the geology and the antelope out here fun to watch and observe. That is what I really like about it. To the south you will have some lights from cars on I-80 but they do not interfere with observing in that direction. I also LOVE that the skies are wide open here. In the fall and spring, dew can be an issue at this location so I always bring my power supply and dew heaters to use during those two seasons.
The downside besides dew in certain seasons is that it is only about 2/10 to 3/10 of a mile from the main road. Again, it isn't an issue as when night comes there is very little traffic out here. It is close to the the Testing Range and I have seen military aircraft and at one time, blimps that were over the western mountains or what is called the Grassy Mountains. There were two fire rings there and a couple of shells but in reality hardly any. It is the same as for the 20 years I have gone to this site.
My purpose this day though was besides checking out this site. was to check on some other sites. Remember how I stated the dirt/sand here is dangerous when wet? After Shane and I checked out Lakeside 1, we started to drive out west down the dirt road. At first it was fine but then we hit a patch that had recently received rain from a thunderstorm. Sure enough as Shane open up the passenger door we were in the midst of mud. My wheels got covered so we turned around. I put the Subaru in xmode and it handled the mud just fine and we went back down the road eastward toward Lakeside 1. I know if we had continued I would have been calling for a wrecker to come get me our or my son-in-law.
We went back to the main road and headed north on it to see if we could possibly find some other locations. We went 1.9 miles from the turn to get to Lakeside 1 and there was a two way fork. You could turn left and head west or turn right and head NE or SE as there were two dirt roads there. This image from my Astronomy Map
LINK shows it quite well from a birdseye level.
We turned left unto N County Road 02285. Here if you go 2 miles on the right hand side is a wonderful observing area. It is 2.18 miles from the road and is just off the N Country Rd 02285. Again I would have a tarp but the views are wide open in all directions. The N Country Road 02285 was completely dry and easy to drive on, much like driving on cement but I did kick up a lot of dust. On my observing map it is listed as Best Lakeside Observing Site. As you can see, this was the actually the last site we went to and were heading back to the main road and we wanted to make sure we beat the incoming thunderstorm which we did.
If you continue heading west down N County Rd 02258 in one mile past this site, you will come to a fork in the dirt road. Here you can turn left to go down Puddle Valley Road which we did, and we did find several flat and very good observing areas off this road. We eventually hit mud so we turned back at that point, about 3/10 of a mile down Puddle Valley Road is a good observing area of the right. Go down a mile from where you turn left and there is an excellent observing area there, which is marked on my map.
If you go back to where Puddle Valley Road meets with N County Rd 02258 off to the left is a knoll. We hiked up there but the Ascent could make it up this knoll. The knoll has a commanding view of the entire valley floor around it in all directions and is above the 4200 feet in elevation the other sites are at. This location is at about 4850 to 4870 in elevation and there are multiple spots to set up.
With a commanding view you can see anyone coming toward you down any of the road. However they will see you set up there unless it is dark. Not a lot of evidence of people up there, just one smashed LaCroix can. Here are the views.
I call this Point Post as there is a wooden post up here. Here is a panorama of the view from north to west.
The image below is from the top of the knoll looking north.
This is the view from the top of the knoll looking east.
From the top of the knoll looking southeast
Below is the view from the top of the knoll looking south.
From the top of the knoll looking southwest
View from the top of the knoll below looking west.
I really really like this site. I have a couple of concerns. One, a regular car will NOT get up here. AWD or 4WD will be needed with clearance. If the wind comes up you are going to feel the wind. In the summer not a problem. Last you are exposed and though you can see everything out on the floor I would assume they can also see you.
Overall I had forgotten how much I really, really like observing out here. Shane and I only saw two cars on the main road and no one out where we were for the 2 1/2 hours we were exploring. No ATV's no campers. I love how easy it is to get out here. I drive down UT 111 to UT 201 to I-80 and then out the main road and then to one of the observing sites. Most of the drive is smooth and easy and on the freeway or on state highways. I will be heading out here often again. If you are in Salt Lake, you can cut a half hour off your time getting out here.
I also like it a lot better than the Knolls. The SQM out here at these sites is 21.9 to 21.93 and the summer Milky Way is excellent. Knolls has a parking lot but there is a lot of local light pollution and more importantly, more people come out there.
So IF you want a very good dark site and don't mind some dust (you'll get that any place you go in the West Desert) this just might be your Eureka. I think it is mine again. Look for me out here during the new moon periods!
