September + October 2019 ADIRONDACK LIFE 9
about 1,000 feet above sea level, allows
easy access and 360-degree views with
minimal light pollution. (Sadly, says
Dave, LED lights, particularly ones that
are along streets and on storefronts, are
among the reasons our dark skies are
being erased. Eighty-percent of people
in the U.S. can’t see the Milky Way.)
There are more questions, more
explanations. Dave has a lightsaber-like
tool he uses to point out stars and other
objects. He’s a patient, natural teacher.
( It ’s no wonder his son, Peter, is st udy ing
astrophysics at the Rochester Institute
of Technolog y.) Later, at home, Dave w ill
translate the night’s celestial events in
a blog on his The Neophyte Astronomer
website. And if conditions are favor-
able, he’ll send an email to those who
signed up for his stargazing alerts, invit-
ing them to join him for whatever deep
space has in store.
Unofficial gatherings of groups with
similar interests pop up all over the park,
just as they do beyond the Blue Line.
There’s quilting, Dungeons and Drag-
ons, acoustic jams, chess, gardening,
archery, book clubs, even Bananagrams,
a Scrabble-like game I play—and consis-
tently lose—with friends every couple
of weeks in Upper Jay. The Adirondacks,
though, with its peaks and ponds, allows
for other special opportunities, such as
birder meet-ups; canoeing, climbing,
skiing and hiking groups; photography
and plein-air painting weekends; and
Dave’s astronomy nights. These are
ways to connect with our landscape
and, just as important, other humans.
Our vast backyard wilderness is a gift,
but you can sometimes feel alone.
At the cemetery, flashes of distant
lightning accompany the drama over-
head. It’s almost too much to think that
this serene spot on Earth, final rest-
ing place for friends and neighbors for
almost two centuries—old by Adiron-
dack standards—has nothing on the
Great Ring Nebula up above, 2,567 light
years away.
I have work tomorrow and Emily, a
lawyer, has a full day ahead, so we leave,
soon followed by the others. Except for
Dave, who will stay, as he always does,
looking up.