McDonald Observatory

I was there about ten years ago with a friend and we camped at the bottom of the mountain and drove up during the day for a tour of the observatory and a view of the sun’s corona through one of their small telescopes. We drove back up again that night for a star party, where we were able to view Jupiter, a nebula and many distant galaxies. The star party was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever experienced; there are no lights up there to spoil the view, and it’s a rare thing to be able to see so many visible stars, at least in all of the places I’ve ever lived. Plus, the surroundings are beautiful—even in August, everything was vivid green and the nights were cool, and we felt like we could have been somewhere in Ireland instead of in Texas! I’ve wanted to go back ever since.