(cba:news) May meeting in California

[Joe Patterson]

Dear CBAers,

Here's some info pertinent to the May SAS/CBA (with CBA a decidedly
minor component) meeting in Big Bear Lake, CA.  SAS has not yet posted
full details on their website, but they will very shortly.  Here's my
version of it, specialized to the CBA subset.

The meeting is May 24 and 25 at the Northwoods Resort in Big Bear Lake;
these days are full of "contributed papers" - some oral, some poster -
with vendor tables, banquet, etc.  May 23 contains a few more specialized
tutorial-type sessions; see note by Jerry Foote which I'll send in a few
minutes.  We'll likely have a specialized CBA meeting on the evening of
May 24.  For those wishing to give presentations, you could choose to
give one in that meeting, or to the much larger audience in the May 24-25
daytime sessions.  However, the SAS committee chooses the latter, so you
have to submit a brief description of the presentation and then be
chosen.  (Not so for the CBA component, of course.)

Some of you may choose to stay 1-2 more days for the Riverside Telescope
Makers Expo, as it is now called.  Also in Big Bear, this is held at the
old site of Camp Uraniborg (as an historical footnote), and is I think
the biggest and most spectacular amateur-astronomer gathering in the
world.  If you've never been to one - believe me, it's unforgettable!
If you want to go, you should reserve 1-2 extra nights at the Northwoods
Resort (if there's room).

I also have an observing run spanning May 19-30 at MDM Observatory (on
Kitt Peak near Tucson, AZ).  So I'll go out a few days early, rent a car
or van in Tucson, drive ~350 miles to Big Bear on May 22 or 23, and
drive back on May 27 (leaving some trained observer on Kitt Peak in the
interim).  It does give me the possibility, maybe, of driving you from
the Phoenix or Tucson airports (PHX and TUS) to Big Bear on the 23rd.

The more normal and much closer access airports are LAX and ONT.  However,
these still leave you a few hours away by car or bus from Big Bear.  As
far as I know, Northwoods Resort doesn't offer any transport.  By the way,
the Palm Springs airport (PSP) is another possiblity (much smaller).

So the various transportation options are a touch murky.  Car rental
is simple enough, but foreigners might be a little wary of the famous
Los Angeles traffic.  It's quite possible that some greatly improved 
transportation advice will be supplied later by SocAstroSci... so don't
buy any tickets quite yet.  Please write me with any questions you may
have.

The SAS website is socastrosci.org, and that has links to the Northwoods
Resort and the RTMC Expo.  This is, by the way, a place of incredible
scenic beauty, and I strongly recommend allowing a little time for
general tourism.  I've spent many years stargazing, hiking, exploring in
the area, and I can tell you all about it (especially if you like the
hiking arts)!

             joe