Will we make it through the gate in time?
We’re on Highway 1 in the Florida Keys where the speed limit is 45 miles per hour. It’s 4:54 PM. We have over 50 miles to go. Registration closes at 6:00 PM. We’d like to get to the Winter Star Party before registration closes for the day. Registration started at 1:00 PM. We wanted to avoid the line up of hundreds of people waiting to get in. However, there’s a good chance we’re not going to make it by 6:00 PM.
Nonetheless, hope springs eternal. We’ve been through the mangrove swamp, crossed a number of bridges over azure water, and passed people fishing. A pelican just flew over our car.
From my point of view, I am happy that we’re going to get there on registration day. In the past, we have occasionally arrived a couple of days late. Of course, those were days when it was raining and, frankly, those years, we postponed arriving because it is not much fun camping out when it’s raining. Much nicer to hole up in a warm, dry motel and wait for the rain to end.
But, today the sun is shining as it slowly sinks toward the horizon. Although there are clouds in the sky, there is also a lot of blue – hope of a good viewing sky tonight. There’s always such a rush to set up and get a glimpse of Saturn or the moons of Jupiter.
Even though there are many gorgeous photographs of these heavenly objects in books, movies, and on the internet, still, it is so special to see them in real time and real life, suspended in space, really and truly, looking so alive and vibrant. It’s always a thrill.
The real issue is not whether we will make it to the Winter Star Party before registration closes or whether we will have our first glimpse of Saturn tonight. We can always register and set up our telescope tomorrow. It’s all about the gate. At 7:00 PM, the gate slams shut. You can’t get in. It’s guarded by a police officer.
Headlights are not allowed once the sky gets dark and it’s simply too dangerous to drive in the campsite without headlights. If we don’t get inside the gate before 7:00, we’ll have to park on the road and haul our bed linens in on our backs.
Definitely, not preferred. It’s not much fun making up a bunk bed by a dim red-colored flashlight.
Everything and everyone uses only red-colored mute lights after dark. Otherwise, night vision would be compromised. The communal bathrooms are lit with red fluorescent lights. Mickey’s onsite grill switches from white to red lights. Many people wear a tiny red light that hangs from a lariat around their neck so other people can see them walking in the dark.
Uh oh! We’ve just hit a line of cars barely moving. What is it? An accident? A flea market? The stop and start traffic has got John sighing. It looked good until this traffic slow down. Will we make it through the gate in time?
