Messier Marathons

I was just wondering if any of you out there have taken advantage of the season to engage in a Messier Marathon. Today I am recuperating from an all-nighter at Red Rock Canyon where I took my first stab at seeing all of the Messier objects in one night. I got 109 out of 110! Damn that M30 in the morning light! I was alone out there in the desert, but I can see how it might be nice to participate in a group marathon. After the initial evening bash to observe those setting objects, and time to concentrate on the Virgo Cluster, there seems to be plenty of opportunity for chatting and sharing.
Anyway, it was a great experience. I'd do it again.
David Vaughn

Friday night turned out to be a primarily clear one in south central Pennsylvania. Although my friend Tony Donnangelo and I arrived at our observing site later than we had planned and there was a period of cloudy haze lasting about an hour, I managed to log 87 Messiers manually with my 101mm Tele Vue refractor and 7 more with Tony's 14.5" Starmaster Sky Tracker Dob. This was the first time I've spent an entire night on a snow-covered field (it had snowed the previous night) and brother, let me tell you, was it ever cold. One interesting event that transpired was being buzzed several times by a National Guard helicopter that couldn't have been more than 50 feet above the ground when it passed over us.

Dave Mitsky