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Árbol del Sol
Thought for the Month The SunTree Traveler
The Halloween Event at Faywood Hot Springs was so late in October that the report of it did not make it into the November newsletter. Here are some comments on that event: Halloween at Faywood Hot Springs The Faywood Hot Springs staff set up the clubhouse with curtains over the windows and the sign at the door with the usual “Beyond this point is a clothing optional area” (or something to that effect). There was a large turnout at the hot springs and most, I would guess were there to participate in SunTree’s Halloween. There was one man in one of the soaking pools who said that there was a “private party” in the club house and it was closed. I told him that the sign did not say that. It only warned people that they may encounter nude people if they enter. I told him that I am part of that “private party” and he or anyone else at Faywood would be welcome to enter at any time. The food supply, was as usual, monumental. There were not as many costumed participants this year as there usually are, but the place was generously peppered with Warlocks, Hippies, Peeps (I thought that they only came out at Easter), degenerate Santa Clauses, scantily attired mummies and some others that currently slip my mind. Following the main potluck meal on Saturday evening, we were entertained by a slide show of many previous SunTree events accompanied by a music score that entertained the people on the streets of Deming. That was followed by a movie or performance DVD. I am not sure what that was because I went to soak in the hot springs and watch the meteors. The Pre-Thanksgiving Event at Faywood Hot Springs It is true that there was a light turnout. I had been prepared to report that I was the only one there but, again I would have been wrong. We had a small, but nice turnout and, in the tradition of SunTree events, there was no evidence of starvation. To illustrate this, I will list some of the dishes that showed up on our darkened table (since none of the members who always remember to bring auxiliary lighting were elsewhere, we had to rely upon the Faywood staff and the kindness of other campers to provide us with lanterns.) We had carrots in the form of snacks as well as a great carrot salad with pineapple; we had summer sausage, Doc’s famous Chile, Doc’s famous beans, pumpkin crunch, peach pie and faulty memory bans me from continuing. Our fellow campers included several families from Arizona and a group from Trinidad who did not bring along their steel drums, but insisted that I was mistaken that steel drums came from that town in Colorado. The weather was frigid at night, but the soaking pools solved that problem. The days were sunny and temperate (in the upper 60’s).
December Club Doings In spite of the private family doings of our members every year in recovery from Thanksgiving and in preparation for Christmas, Chanukah and New Years, this get together always seems to bring in a lot of participants. We hope that is again true. It is always a fun event. It is a potluck meal (as would be expected with this bunch) with a holiday spirit. The Hakes are planning to provide the entrée for the Saturday evening meal (the big bird), so when planning your contribution, think in terms of side dishes, deserts (we certainly need lots of those), snacks (those too) or appetizers. The place will be festively decorated (though the exterior lights will be somewhat subdued this year at the request of the FAA). During this event there will be a gift exchange. Each attendee should bring a gift, not to exceed $10 in value. The gift should be one that is appropriate to the sex of the giver. That way the gifts will be matched to the attendees. If you plan to attend, be sure to call the hosts and let them know what you plan to bring to the potluck and if you will need any special preparation after you get there. Also let them know if you will need any sort of overnight accommodations (tent space, floor space, RV parking space etc.) [NOTE: I would like to mention a side trip that may be of interest to those of you who may have some extra time when they are traveling to or from the Between-The-Holidays event. There is a new state monument between Elephant Butte that has recently opened. It is the El Camino Real International Heritage Center. It is open Wednesday-Sunday, 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays. There is no admission charge until June 30, 2006. It is located thirty miles south of Socorro, I-25, Exit 115, east to Hwy 1 frontage road, south 1.5 miles, turn east onto County Road 1598 2.7 miles to the Center. Call the monument at (505) 854-3600 for more information. Starting the day prior to our event, the monument will have the place decorated in holiday manner of the Camino Real days of Nuevo Mexico.]
Bright Planets and Meteor Showers (Once Again) If you have been watching Mars, you already know that it has been spectacular for the last couple of months. This month, it will start to fade a little, but it will be at magnitude -0.6, so it still is brilliant. It remains in the southeast sky throughout the evening hours as it has for some time now. In its role as a instructional pointer, the Moon, following its 4 December visit with Venus (see above) moves over onto an apparent collision course with Mars late in the evening of 11 December. Jupiter will be getting up around 3 AM by month’s end. You will be able to see the ole gasbag in the dawn light in the southeast. That Moon will slide under Jupiter on the mornings of 26 and 27 December (if you are curious what the moon is doing on Christmas morning, you can see it nuzzling up to Spica). Mercury is visible in the morning sky this month just to the lower left of Jupiter. It will be particularly bright during the second week of December in the early dawn light. It is sort of neat to be able to see the little fellow without the need for a telescope. Saturn is another bright object in our December sky. Around midmonth, Saturn will break the magnitude zero barrier and will continue to brighten for the rest of the month and into January. You can find Saturn in the eastern sky at midmonth when he rises around 8 PM. We are being told that the Geminid meteor shower will be “washed out” by the bright moon. Remember what “the experts” said about the Orionid showers in October, being unexciting, but those of us who chose to leave the Faywood clubhouse right after the potluck (almost a week after the alleged peak night) were treated with some spectacular “fireworks” in the sky courtesy of the meteors left over from the Orionid shower. I think that we should make an attempt to look at the Geminid which are predicted to peak throughout the night of 13 – 14 December. This is normally one of the biggest shower of the year with an average of more than one major meteor per minute. The Geminid meteors have a reputation for being sort of “pokey”, so you might have a chance to react when you see one and point it out to your hot tub companions. The Sun will perform its annual U-Turn (or Solstice) trick in the Northern Hemisphere this month. When that happens, winter begins. That is currently scheduled by the SunTree scheduling team to occur on 21 December at 11:35 MST. As you know, after that happens, the days start getting longer, so get your swimming pools ready. Oh, yes, by the way. I will mention another event here even though it will not occur until next year, but it will be early in the year. That will be the pre-dawn Quadrantid meteor shower which will peak about 4 January 2006. It is predicted to be the largest meteor shower for 2006 and it will occur a couple of days prior to the first quarter moon, so the sky should be dark for this spectacular shower. The predicted average for this shower is almost twice that of the Geminid of mid-December. © 2004 SunTree Travel Club - Site updated Summer 2008 |
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What Happened in November
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