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TIL someone dumped a ton of fire ash near the best stargazing spot in our county park
I went out to Pine Hill Overlook last night around 11pm, it's usually my go-to spot because the light pollution is almost zero out there. But when I got there the whole clearing smelled like a campfire and there was a big mound of gray ash right where I set up my telescope. Someone must have dumped their fireplace or grill ashes there the day before. The wind kicked up and I spent the first 20 minutes coughing and trying to find a spot upwind of it. Ruined my night for tracking Jupiter because I kept getting ash particles on my lens and had to keep cleaning it. I know people think ash is harmless but it's stupid to leave it in a dry grass field near the woods. Has anyone else had their view trashed by something dumb like this at your local spot?
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graym495mo ago
Dude, three camping chairs and a cooler full of half-eaten hot dogs were left next to my usual spot last spring. Someone just abandoned their whole setup after a party. I had to move all their trash ten feet away just to set up my telescope. Bugs were crawling all over the cooler and I could smell old mustard for the whole session. People treat these clearings like their personal garbage dumps.
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luna5894mo ago
Not saying it's not annoying, but hot dogs and a cooler don't sound like a permanent trash dump. More like a lazy Tuesday. I've had to shoo a porcupine out of my usual spot before, so I'd take some old mustard smell over that any day. Maybe if you'd left the cooler open the bugs might have eaten the hot dogs for you and you'd have a clean spot by morning.
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