I’m normally an “early to bed, early to rise” kind of person.  I don’t mind waking up before the crack of dawn if it means getting an early start on a road trip or heading to the airport to jet off somewhere.  So, how did Emily and I find ourselves rolling into the garage at 2am on a Saturday morning?

It’s all Richard McBride‘s fault!

He posted on his Facebook page with an offer that simply could not be refused.

“I would like to go to some dark sky area on Friday night to watch the Perseid Meteor Shower. I was thinking perhaps out to the Crossfield Rest Area by Hwy. 2, but that has highway lights nearby. Perhaps out to Horseshoe Canyon?

Regardless, I need someone to come along with me. If you are interested, please post here.”

Before long, a number of hearty souls had expressed an interest and the discussion turned to “Where should we go?”

When it comes to night sky watching, the McDougall Memorial United Church is always foremost in my mind.  I’ve been out there many times at all times of day and during all seasons.  It’s one of my favorite places so I was quite happy when the group agreed with my suggestion.

We had six people, two dogs, a collection of snacks, some chairs, and blankets too.  Judging from the number of cars coming and going in the  parking area, we weren’t the only ones who had the same idea.

We did manage to see a fair number of meteors, some quite spectacular in nature.  And, I managed to capture one decent image. 

Being so clear, the temperature dropped more and more the longer we stayed out.  We never did completely lose the moon which added a little more light pollution than we would have liked, as did all the aforementioned cars coming and going.  Still, it was a very enjoyable evening out with some friends and that’s what it’s all about, right?