Tired of my complaining, my wife Laura came up with a unique idea. Initially I planned on purchasing land in the Mt. Shasta area of California to build my new observatory. Laura expressed concern with this proposal due to my busy work schedule and difficulty finding the time to commute to the new observatory. I challenged her to come up with a better idea, and she did just that. She saw an advertisement for a GMC XUV Envoy with a retractable roof. She suggested that I could purchase this type of vehicle and place a telescope within the cargo bay. With this unique vehicle I could use my scope at any location that I desired. It was at that moment the idea of our mobile observatory was born.
For the next six months, I worked in my garage coming up with a lift that would be able to elevate my telescope out of my new Envoy. We purchased a 14-inch Meade Telescope and had a computer designed specifically for our mobile observatory. A year later, my wife and I traveled to Big Bear Lake California, for the 2006 RMTC Astronomy Expo. We were so pleased with the excitement and disbelief of not only the general public, but with the Vendors and telescope makers. The expressions that were heard, such as “This is awesome!”, “I am looking at my fantasy!”, “This is the coolest thing that I have ever seen!” were heard for the following two days. Laura and I are very proud of our new mobile observatory idea and look forward to sharing it with you.