NEW DETAILS! Nov 14-16, 2025 Leonid Meteor Shower 2-day Group Camping Trip
Details
NOTE: This is a partner event with IEAAH on Meetup so please only sign up on one site!
A detailed email was sent out with a signup link for various items. Let me know if you didn't receive it and I'll send you one.
Join your old and new friends in Anza Borrego Park (roughly 75 miles from Riverside, 2 hours) for a community tent camping trip. You're welcome to bring your camper van and make your own reservations and arrangements and then join us in our reserved, group spaces. There's also a fabulous little mid century boutique hotel right down the street, the Palms at Indian Head. https://thepalmsatindianhead.com/
We'll just be using tents in the reserved areas.
We'll be out in the deepest dark for the Leonid showers at their peak for the year. Their meteors are the fastest of any annual shower, streaking in at 160,000 mph (257,000 km/h). A waning crescent moon just 9%-lit will rise during shortly before dawn, but not interfere with the Leonids. Peak viewing will be after midnight, when observers should expect 10–20 meteors per hour — with a few spectacular fireballs possible.
We'll have some communal meals and fireside chats and group discussions. Kids are welcome. We're planning to have a telescope to see the planets and moon but bring yours, too. You won't need a telescope to see the meteors. Lots of wildlife out here so binoculars are great. We'll have early campfires but they'll be out by the time the showers are heaviest so bring super warm clothes for the cold desert. You can purchase firewood in town if you'd like your own campfire. Remember to bring a comfortable reclining chair or ground cushions so you can gaze up to the heavens in comfort.
Depending on how many sign up, the cost will be about $45 a person for two nights, and this should include five communal meals. The more that sign up, the more ways the costs are shared, and more meals can be included. It's perfectly ok to bring your non-atheist friends, too. No babies will be roasted or served cold.
Carpools can form in the comments. Don't be shy! If you have a tent to share or lend, please let everyone know in the comments. IEAAH will not be organizing car pools, but we suggest that if you have an empty seat in your car going out, please note this in the comments, where you will be coming from, and what time you plan to leave. If you are a carpool guest, please help your host with the gas costs.