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Nov

15

Benson . Arizona

Filed Under Of Interest


Downtown Benson

Mac and I will be spending the winter in Arizona, but that can change on a whim. I love having no particular plan and especially not having a dreaded deadline to meet. From Utah we spent two days traveling south to our destination in Benson, Arizona. Having heard so many good things about the area in and around Benson I decided to make reservations based on the recommendations of others and one more amenity. The RV Resort we’re at also has a Meade LX-200 GPS 16-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope in a 15 foot diameter electrically operated dome. The Butterfield RV Resort is the only RV park in the nation, if not the world, to have it’s own observatory which is accessible to guests staying there. I’ve been planning for a long while to purchase a telescope. Hopefully having one, a BIG one right next door will save me a few bucks and the weight of hauling around a heavy “dust catcher”. I did mention whim didn’t I ? I don’t need to fulfill an expensive whim, if that’s what it is. So, having this free telescope available will be great!

Butterfield Observatory

Thanks to my friend, Mike Ranweiller, I’m reminded of what I’m missing. Mike is a Satellite Tech at KATU-TV in Portland, OR. He took these pictures has he raced (legally, of course) to get up to Mt. Hood for the first big snow of the season. That’s always a news story in Portland. Folks love to ski and it’s a nice visual story which makes it a great lead in a newscast. The news crews, on the other hand, put in a good days work SETTING UP (the equipment), SHOOTING (the snow and reactions from folks),WRITING (the story script), EDITING (to the script, in the confines of a semi-warm car or truck), FEEDING (the edited story, that is) and GOING “LIVE” (in the snow,during a newscast, the deeper the snow the better). It’s a crazy, frenzied and fun way to make a living. I miss the crazy and fun part as I sit in sunny, warm Arizona. Thanks for the pics and the reminder, Mike!

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Comments

6 Responses to “Benson . Arizona”

  1. Joyce on November 15th, 2007 4:42 pm

    I know you’ll enjoy and relish every minute. I’m jealous, and may stop by someday.

  2. photogchic on November 16th, 2007 1:39 am

    Do some star gazing for me. Is Benson like Sedona? New age?? Vortex?? Artsy??

  3. foosie on November 16th, 2007 9:00 am

    Benson, is NOT Sedona….far from it, it’s an old railroad town. Quiet and surrounded by desert it’s a small main street town with a very active railroad track running through it. Ignoring the sound of the train the town is a fine place to kick back and relax. From here you can visit Bisbee for art, Tucson for museums, Tombstone and Fort Huachuca for a bit of history there are also the famous Kartchner Caverns and the Sonoran Desert Museums. Many more than this. All this is within a few miles.

  4. Gordon Perkinson on November 16th, 2007 3:33 pm

    Mike, Stop telling me this stuff, it makes me drool.
    Gordon and Christine

  5. photogchic on November 22nd, 2007 1:52 am

    Mike–thinking of you on Turkey day. Hope you have a wonderful holiday. If you get to Tombstone..take lots of photos for me.

  6. jerry & janet on November 24th, 2007 4:35 am

    We just wanted to thank you for your well thought out web-site information… we have enjoyed your site very much .

    Thanks Again Jerry & Janet
    (we stay up the road at “Cochise Terrace RV Resort” .. much more quiet