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(meteorobs) Ursid Horrors

Now that the Ursid traffic has died down and the group is debating the
temperature of fresh meteorites,  I can now waste your time with a sad
story.  For some time I have wanted to try out an observing site
reviewed in the Aug. 2000 Sky and Tel as one of the "6 Great Dark-Sky
Sites in California".  The site is The Arroyo Salado in the Anza Borrego
Desert State Park.  I got a late start because my asian friends insisted
on giving me a holiday lunch of  din sum.  I arrived after dark which is
still very early at this time of the year. Since this shower's time was
predicted I felt if the observations are to be meaningful, they should
extend well on both sides of the predicted time.  When suddenly I was
stuck quite solidly with my front wheels suspended in a sea of very
loose sand and the underside of the car suspended on solid ground.  I'm
an old desert rat and I can assure you that I have been in much worse
spots over the last fifty years. I might point out that I am 79 years
old and am handicapped by the loss of my left leg below the knee and a
prosthetic hip which has been giving me trouble. I actually had a good
laugh over my situation. 8-))  However after exhausting myself
completely trying to free myself I finally decided that as unsuitable as
the spot was, it would be my observing site, so I set up my cot and
chairs.  While setting up I saw one beautiful red sporadic go over the
horizon in the west.  The smoke from a fire I saw on the way down no
doubt contributed to the color. When I started  observing sometime well
before 4 UTC I quickly saw 3 beautiful Ursids all brighter than first
magnitude. After recording some more observations on my tape recorder I
was horrified to hear the click of the end of the tape.  I had somehow
left the recorder on all the while.  I wasn't thinking clearly at this
time due to my exhaustion so I rewound the tape and without thinking
recorded over the previous data.  The LM was 3.8 throughout the night
and maybe worse in the early morning hours.  I set my alarm and tried to
sleep with little luck.  After a bad night I fixed my breakfast and then
hiked out to the highway.  Typical of the desert, the first car by,
picked me up and took me to a telephone.  After a long wait the tow
truck arrived.  However it was a heavy duty tow truck and couldn't go on
dirt roads.  So I rode around with him on his other calls and then he
called the auto club.  The nearest suitable tow truck was over a hundred
miles away so it was another long wait.  The auto club doesn't cover off
road towing so it cost me $225.00 When I finally got free of my trap I
was 6 hours behind schedule.  So naturally to make the day perfect, I
proceeded to get a speeding ticket. My second ticket for the year.  The
other one was for crossing a double yellow line.  I can't remember when
I got a ticket before that.  Not even a parking ticket!
    When I finally got a good look at the road in the morning, I would
certainly not recommend the Arroyo Salado for any vehicle that doesn't
have a very high clearance and maybe four wheel drive.  In fact the
light pollution was very high from all directions.  The latitude is 33o
16' 34" North,  Longitude 116o 08' 17" West and an altitude of 800 feet.

    I'm hoping to go out to observer the Quadrantids on paved roads. 8-)
The data I have indicates that the Maximum will occur at 11h 37m on
January 3.  Has anyone got better numbers and any suggested observing
sites within 150 miles of Pasadena.  I'm still hoping to someday produce
a good report.

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