Trip and observation report: Texas Star Party 2026

[Rod Brown]

Frank Graham and I made the trip to the 2026 Texas Star Party a couple weeks ago. It was the first time for both of us. Here are my impressions:

The drive: Long

The trip for me started by driving from my house in Nevada City down to Frank's in San Mateo the Thursday before the star party. We loaded his minivan fully with three telescopes and accessories and camping gear. I crashed at his house the night before we got up early to beat the Bay Area commuters. We stopped for lunch with my daughter in Pasadena, then got slowed a bit on our drive out -- LA traffic pretty much always sucks. We made it to the Phoenix 'burbs before stopping for the night.

Driving the next day was mostly uneventful, broken up by a great lunch in Las Cruces. However, as we were passing through El Paso in the early evening, Google Maps started rerouting us -- I-10 was closing overnight for construction. An extra half-hour (and one speeding ticket in the middle of nowhere) later, we stopped in Van Horn, Texas for the evening.

The next morning we had only a 90 minute drive to Prude Ranch, and we arrived about 20 minutes before vehicles were let in at 11 AM.

The drive back was better. We were packed and on the road a bit after 9 AM on Sunday morning and made it to Blythe, California by about 7 PM. Monday morning we headed back to San Mateo by way of Barstow and Bakersfield to avoid the LA basin. We pulled in before 4 PM. After unpacking the minivan and packing my car and having dinner, I hit the road a little after 7 PM and made it back to Nevada City before 10 PM without hitting any delays.

The camping: Okay

We were some of the first few folks in line, so we were able to check in pretty quickly. The process was much less efficient than GSSP, as we had to pay in person (only a deposit was taken online) and get tags for our tents to show that we paid (they came around and checked). However, others reported that the process was more efficient and faster than in previous years, and the organizers said they are planning to do more online next year to make the whole process easier.

We set up in the middle field, which turned out to have its pluses and minuses. The horizons there were not quite as low as in the upper field, but that difference was relatively minor. The biggest problem with the middle field was a superabundance of small thorns that stuck to everything and were quite painful to step on, even through the tent fabric (I wore flip-flops inside my tent to avoid the problem). Others reported that they were worse than normal this year, and a lot of careful cleaning was required to get rid of them when I got home. However, the middle field was superior to the upper one in that it was much less crowded -- folks in the upper field were packed in pretty tightly.

The days were warm, into the upper 80s, and the winds could be strong at times, but overall the weather was better than at a typical recent GSSP (I'm sure due largely to the fact TSP was in May, not June or July). We had clouds at times (more on that later), but only a few drops of rain. One unique aspect of TSP is the threat of dust devils. The organizers warned that they could come at any time, showing video of scopes and gear being tossed around a couple years ago. Securely tying down gear was strongly recommended repeatedly.

Unlike GSSP, there are also on-site cabins and bunkrooms available. Frank and I agreed that we would probably try to get a cabin if we go back, as it would avoid the issues of camping, including hauling so much gear.

The food: Hearty

We got lunch and dinner in the ranch dining hall every day. Most tables seated 4-5 people, so a great part of dining was meeting and chatting with many different folks. The food itself was what you would expect at a ranch: meat, beans, well-cooked vegetables, potatoes, frequent cheese and cheese-like substances (aka "queso"), a salad bar with ranch and "Italian" dressing, and dessert. As a native Midwesterner, I was fine with it, but my wife would have been appalled. Not surprisingly, the ranch is not a good place to be a vegetarian, either. There was always a vegetarian option, but sometimes it was just an overcooked, hockey-puck-like veggie burger. Sweet tea, unsweetened tea, lemonade, and coffee and tea were available at each meal, too.

All in all, I enjoyed the meals. Despite going on three runs and using the rather forlorn gym on another day, my pants were still tighter by the end of the week (I particularly had a hard time resisting the desserts). Frank suggested that if we went back, he would probably just buy dinners and get lunches on his own -- not a bad idea.

The presentations and other activities: Mostly very good to excellent

There were sessions each afternoon and evening. Some were quite excellent, including presentations on William Herschel, observing with night vision, and Pran Hyseni's journey from Kosovo to TSP to a PhD program at UCSC. The only ones I did not find interesting were the various special interest group meetups, which were mainly random audience commentary.

The drawings for various items were also great. Most took place on the last two nights. I won a small sliced meteorite (during a talk about meteorite identification) and a moon photo atlas book. Lots of other great stuff, including eyepieces (one a new Nagler 13!), a telescope, original Surveyor moon photo prints, a weekend at a vacation rental at a dark sky site, and much more.

Frank and I also took one of the organized tours of McDonald Observatory, where we saw two of the three big telescopes. Highly recommended.

Frank made the 2+ hour drive down to Big Bend National Park, which he enjoyed (I wasn't in the mood to spend several more hours in a car, so I skipped that). We also visited Marfa (artsy small town about 30 minutes away) and took a drive through the nearby mountains; both were enjoyable.

The observing: Mediocre to great

We were able to observe five out of the seven nights. Clouds came and went all week, and the first night was a bust. The second night, though, was outstanding -- clear, transparent, steady skies. Since we were so far south, I was looking that direction, too. A highlight was my first views of Omega Centauri (globular cluster), huge and spectacular and surprisingly steady so low in the sky. Nearby Centaurus A (galaxy) was lovely, too. 

I'm not normally a "complete the checklist and get a pin" observer. I create and use observing lists to plan my observations, and I record all my observations, but I have little interest in completing someone else's form in detail and sending it in, like with the Astronomical League. Despite that, somehow I got into that sort of thing on this trip. Maybe it was because, unlike the Astronomical League system of downloading, completing, and submitting detailed checklists, tracking of observations was basically on the honor system, so I could record them however I wanted. I also appreciated the advanced observing list's tie to the Herschel presentation. I satisfied the general list and advanced list requirements for pins. There was also a smart telescope list and a one-night, star-hopping only, 70-object Herschel challenge, which I did not do.

However, I did use a smart telescope for the first time. My local library, where I maintain the scopes that are loaned out to patrons, received the donation of a previous generation Unistellar a couple days before I left on the trip, so I brought it along. Once I got it set up, collimated, and focused, it was easy to use and fun. I have no interest in spending hours collecting imaging data then later processing it on a computer. Getting images with minimal effort on my phone, tweaking them a little bit in Lightroom, and printing them on an Instax printer was the right amount of effort for me. But doing so made me realize I have no interest in buying such a telescope for myself.

Most of my observing time was spent on galaxies, both in those lists and in other ones I had, singly and in groups. That was appropriate for the season and conditions (most nights). Of course, some time was also spent on old favorites, too.

Would I do it again? Yes

Overall I enjoyed the week. Even though the best night was our second night there and observing never got as good again that week, the experience grew on me as the week went on. The opportunity to spend a whole week in a dark site, with all these facilities and support, is pretty rare. The organizers had been working hard to improve the experience from previous years, and their dedication and care was apparent. Most attendees were from Texas, of course, but we met people from all over the US, and there were even folks from the Netherlands. All were a welcoming, friendly bunch. The drive sucks, but I am retired so I can't complain too much about the time, and it was worth it. So, yes, I would go back.

Rod

[Mark Wagner]

Really a wonderful review, and especially as a first time attendee impression. Thanks for posting.  Did you guys get off site?  McDonald Observatory?

I assume in Las Cruces you ate at La Posta de Mesilla.  It's a gem!  I was quite taken with Las Cruces setting up against the Organ Mountains.  I'd visited just after being evacuated from Carlsbad Caverns.

[Rod Brown]

Thanks, Mark. In Las Cruces, we at at Andele Restaurant, based on recommendations and the time we were passing through. We had their street taco platter for two, which could have easily been for three or four. https://www.andelerestaurante.com/

The McDonald Observatory was great. We saw the classic Otto Struve 107" telescope and the Hobby-Eberly multimirror telescope. Both tours were great, but I particularly like the Hobby-Eberly tour. In addition to seeing the giant telescope up close and rotating on air cushions, we saw the mirror lab where they showed us one of the mirrors that they had out for periodic cleaning. After seeing how filthy that one was, I did not feel so bad about a bit of dust on my 18" :-). I also forgot to mention that the TSP speaker on Friday night was Dr. Karl Gebhardt, Dept. Chair of UT Astronomy and the Principal Investigator of the Hobby-Eberly Dark Energy Experiment. He delivered a very entertaining and educational talk about the results of that experiment.

Rod

[Alvin]

Good meeting both Rod and Frank briefly at TSP at the upper field.  I was with the TX observers (Larry Mitchell, Goldbergs, Keith R, etc) along with Mike Lockwood, Kara A, Pran, etc.  Good group of observers.

CS,

Alvin