Post by bsimon615 on Nov 23, 2020 11:45:20 GMT -6
This topic has come up informally among various DSSG attendees who have attended the star gazes over the years dating back to 1983 at all 4 of the different venues that have been home to the DSSG. Each has advantages and disadvantages. What follows is my opinion and my opinion only. I will list the individual variables and then assign a value ranking to each site - 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th place. 1st place earns 4 points, 2nd place gets 3 points, 3rd place earns 2 points and 4th place earns 1 point. i am also listing the variables in order of importance as some variables to me are just more important than other variables. A multiplier is then applied to the variables with the largest multiplier going to what I feel is most important and then smaller multipliers going to the other variables in rank order. Once again, what is more important to me may not be more important to others. Other variables such as "Distance to Venue" will obviously be different for virtually all of us depending upon where you live. Score each venue site yourself and see if you agree or disagree with my ranking. High score wins.
Note - we were at Percy Quin State Park for 22 years from 1983 to 2004
------- we were at Camp Ruth Lee for 4 years from 2005 to 2008
------- we were at the Feliciana Retreat Center for 9 years from 2009 to 2017
------- we have been at the White Horse Christian Retreat Camp for 3 years from 2018 to 2020
Skies (combination of darkness and favorable horizons) Multiplier – 1.5x
1st place - White Horse Christian Retreat Camp, 2nd place - Camp Ruth Lee, 3rd place - Feliciana Retreat Center, 4th place - Percy Quin State Park
Field Acceptability (combination of adequate space without undue obstruction or unevenness) – 1.4x
1st place – Camp Ruth Lee, 2nd place – White Horse Christian Retreat Camp, 3rd place – Feliciana Retreat Center, 4th place – Percy Quin State Park
Accommodations (on-site sleeping arrangements and variety) – 1.3x
1st place - Feliciana Retreat Center, 2nd place - White Horse Christian Retreat Camp, 3rd place - Percy Quin State Park, 4th place - Camp Ruth Lee
Food at Venue – 1.2x
1st place - White Horse Christian Retreat Center, 2nd place – Feliciana Retreat Center, 3rd place – Camp Ruth Lee and 4th place – Percy Quin State Park
Facility Ammenities (on venue grounds) – 1.2x
1st Place – White Horse Christian Retreat Camp, 2nd place – Feliciana Retreat Center, 3rd place – Percy Quin State Park, 4th place – Camp Ruth Lee
Conveniences in Area – (such as off-site restaurants, hardware stores, convenience stores, gas stations, etc.) – 1.1x
1st Place – Percy Quin State Park, 2nd place – White Horse Christian Retreat Camp, 3rd place (tie between the Feliciana Retreat Center and Camp Ruth Lee)
Points of Interest in Area – (places to visit, hiking, museums, etc.) – 1.1x
1st Place – White Horse Christian Retreat Camp, 2nd Place – Percy Quin State Park, 3rd place (tie between the Feliciana Retreat Center and Camp Ruth Lee)
Driving Distance - no multiplier, essentially - 1.0X
1st Place – White Horse Christian Retreat Camp, 2nd place – Percy Quin State Park, 3rd place – (tie between Camp Ruth Lee and the Feliciana Retreat Center)
There may be other factors at play for all attendees and certainly where you live plays into driving distance and whether or not other family members will attend with you makes accommodations a very important consideration.
Tabulating the results using the multiplier for each variable the scores I get are:
White Horse Christian Retreat Camp – 36.8 points
Feliciana Retreat Center ------------------- 24.6 points
Camp Ruth Lee ------------------------------- 21.4 points
Percy Quin State Park ---------------------- 19.8 points
If the multiplier is not considered (all variables having equal weight, the ranking remains basically the same but with Percy Quin State Park and Camp Ruth Lee now being tied.) Specifically that ranking is:
White Horse Christian Retreat Camp –28 points
Feliciana Retreat Center ------------------20 points
Camp Ruth Lee ------------------------------ 17 points
Percy Quin State Park --------------------- 17 points
So there you have it, my perspective of the current home and past homes of the Deep South Star Gaze. I truly miss certain things associated with all past sites of the DSSG. It would be great if we could combine the best from each into one site that has it all. We cannot do that. Some of you, no doubt, have a favorite different from mine. To me however, the sky rules. It, above all other variables, has to be considered first.
Barry Simon
Note - we were at Percy Quin State Park for 22 years from 1983 to 2004
------- we were at Camp Ruth Lee for 4 years from 2005 to 2008
------- we were at the Feliciana Retreat Center for 9 years from 2009 to 2017
------- we have been at the White Horse Christian Retreat Camp for 3 years from 2018 to 2020
Skies (combination of darkness and favorable horizons) Multiplier – 1.5x
1st place - White Horse Christian Retreat Camp, 2nd place - Camp Ruth Lee, 3rd place - Feliciana Retreat Center, 4th place - Percy Quin State Park
Field Acceptability (combination of adequate space without undue obstruction or unevenness) – 1.4x
1st place – Camp Ruth Lee, 2nd place – White Horse Christian Retreat Camp, 3rd place – Feliciana Retreat Center, 4th place – Percy Quin State Park
Accommodations (on-site sleeping arrangements and variety) – 1.3x
1st place - Feliciana Retreat Center, 2nd place - White Horse Christian Retreat Camp, 3rd place - Percy Quin State Park, 4th place - Camp Ruth Lee
Food at Venue – 1.2x
1st place - White Horse Christian Retreat Center, 2nd place – Feliciana Retreat Center, 3rd place – Camp Ruth Lee and 4th place – Percy Quin State Park
Facility Ammenities (on venue grounds) – 1.2x
1st Place – White Horse Christian Retreat Camp, 2nd place – Feliciana Retreat Center, 3rd place – Percy Quin State Park, 4th place – Camp Ruth Lee
Conveniences in Area – (such as off-site restaurants, hardware stores, convenience stores, gas stations, etc.) – 1.1x
1st Place – Percy Quin State Park, 2nd place – White Horse Christian Retreat Camp, 3rd place (tie between the Feliciana Retreat Center and Camp Ruth Lee)
Points of Interest in Area – (places to visit, hiking, museums, etc.) – 1.1x
1st Place – White Horse Christian Retreat Camp, 2nd Place – Percy Quin State Park, 3rd place (tie between the Feliciana Retreat Center and Camp Ruth Lee)
Driving Distance - no multiplier, essentially - 1.0X
1st Place – White Horse Christian Retreat Camp, 2nd place – Percy Quin State Park, 3rd place – (tie between Camp Ruth Lee and the Feliciana Retreat Center)
There may be other factors at play for all attendees and certainly where you live plays into driving distance and whether or not other family members will attend with you makes accommodations a very important consideration.
Tabulating the results using the multiplier for each variable the scores I get are:
White Horse Christian Retreat Camp – 36.8 points
Feliciana Retreat Center ------------------- 24.6 points
Camp Ruth Lee ------------------------------- 21.4 points
Percy Quin State Park ---------------------- 19.8 points
If the multiplier is not considered (all variables having equal weight, the ranking remains basically the same but with Percy Quin State Park and Camp Ruth Lee now being tied.) Specifically that ranking is:
White Horse Christian Retreat Camp –28 points
Feliciana Retreat Center ------------------20 points
Camp Ruth Lee ------------------------------ 17 points
Percy Quin State Park --------------------- 17 points
So there you have it, my perspective of the current home and past homes of the Deep South Star Gaze. I truly miss certain things associated with all past sites of the DSSG. It would be great if we could combine the best from each into one site that has it all. We cannot do that. Some of you, no doubt, have a favorite different from mine. To me however, the sky rules. It, above all other variables, has to be considered first.
Barry Simon