Just before midnight on Monday, two carsful of friends headed up to the Monte Bello Open Space Preserve, about 8 windy miles westward on Page Mill Road, with the intention of Leonids-viewing. The nearly-full moon was so bright that we didn't spot nearly as many as last year, though it more than made up for that by so beautifully illuminating the chapparal around us.

We had permits for a backpackers' camp described to be a mile and a half in from the road, but, in typical style (ref. Skyline bike ride, Assateague, and King Crest Trail...), I only realized after we'd gotten started that it would be somewhere between two and three because the first calculation had been from a different entrance to the preserve. In the end, we came upon good bend about two miles along the trail where we decided to bunker down for the night. I usually sleep even more soundly outdoors than in, but this time woke up every half-hour or so to try to redirect the draft borne of being just about at the top of a hill. Didn't much mind, since the moon set as the wee hours progressed and, every time I had to peek out, I'd glimpse another meteor—or two or three—sneaking across the sky.

Arose around 7:30, packed up, hiked out, and made the drive back to campus in time for 9am classes. Wonderfully surreal.

How lucky we are to be able to do that!