0500 MST, Parks, AZ – The Aurigid Meteor Shower was well worth staying up for, but I’m just about ready to call it a night. I saw several dozen meteors between 0330 and 0440 MST, some of them fairly bright. There were about half a dozen that were truly “ooh” and “aah” worthy, despite the brightness of the moon.
As per Ames’ viewing tips, I found a spot shielded from direct moonlight. My internet satellite service dish filled the bill nicely. I pulled the old purple sleeping bag that I used to use during my time as an EMT up on the Navajo reservation out of the shed and bundled up to watch the light show, moving my fold-up chair to stay in the shadow of the dish. The meteor activity peaked about 0420 with three short bursts of several meteors per minute between 0400 and 0430. I packed it in about 0440, due to the chill (52 degrees F) and general tiredness.
It was a good night for wildlife, too. I heard the Great Horned Owl again, as I have for several nights running, and a little before four o’clock there were several coyotes howling in the wash to the northwest. It was hard to tell how many there actually were as their calls echoed off the adjacent cliff and made it sound as if there were quite a few. Usually I hear just two, or sometimes three. There was even a small bat that fluttered by at one point.
To add to the local flavor, there was intermittent lightning to the north the whole time I was outside from thunderstorms up near the Grand Canyon. Lucky for me, the sky was clear here near the Mogollon Rim. A lovely night.
