Hello, everyone! It's Uncle Lucky Larry here, and I'm just over the moon to bring you some absolutely stellar news from our part of the world near Burney Falls, where our brand-new Equestrian Family Resort at Rocky Ledge Estates is getting primed to serve families, horses, dogs, and adventure-seekers of all stripes. Today, we are super-duper excited to tell you all about one of our rockstar neighbors: the Hat Creek Radio Observatory, an arm of the SETI Institute, just a short ride from our resort. They are performing a donation drive that supports some seriously cool frontier science—research that is sending our understanding of the universe into hyperdrive. Your kids are going to remember this site long after your family reunion week is a faded hologram.
The SETI Institute gave a stellar update about its summer research program, REU, last week. The update told the story of a few mind-blowing experiences that REU students had at the Hat Creek Radio Observatory, home to the Allen Telescope Array. One REU student did something history-making: for the first time, he and his team used radio waves to observe an interstellar comet. Another student mapped the center of the Milky Way. A third student tracked the orbiter missions to Mars, and then the group did all of that in the stunning natural setting of Lassen Volcanic National Park. Right next door to the park, they could find extremophiles.
Your children will enjoy a trip to Hat Creek. It's not every day you can see actual scientists doing actual science. At the Hat Creek Observatory, which is part of the Seti Institute, families can visit with researchers who are searching for extraterrestrial life and doing other kinds of astrophysics. The observatory is open to the public on Thursdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This gives kids a chance to listen in on the exciting experiments their teachers are conducting. It's a good time to remind them that learning can and does happen outside the classroom.
The Allen Telescope Array is kept running, and the next generation of explorers is inspired, by donations to the SETI Institute. When you support their donation drive, you fund the kind of research that moves humanity forward. You also help pay for educational programs like the REU, which give students an astonishing opportunity. They work side by side with the researchers who are actually doing the work of searching for extraterrestrial intelligence. Want to help out? Go to www.setistars.org or shoot an email to teamseti@seti.org to find out how you can support this vital mission. Any amount helps!
Our resort near Burney Falls is located in one of the most beautiful spots for stargazing anywhere in the country. With almost no light pollution, the sky here is so bright with stars that your private courtyard at the resort becomes an ultra-cozy setting for a stars-and-smores party. After a day of adventure, you and your family can unwind in between the next day's horses, stabled on the resort property, and your next adventures. Here are just a few reasons why this scene becomes so memorable that you will dedicate a chapter in your family's next reunion story.
At Rocky Ledge Estates, our family reunion packages keep you busy with outdoor excitement for an entire week. Just a stone’s throw from the resort, you can delve into these activities:
- Burney Falls: An awe-inspiring cascade of water that every serious hiker and photographer must see.
- Lassen Volcanic National Park: Take a trek across diverse hydrothermal and volcanic landscapes, where your children can discover Earth’s spectacular geology.
- Majestic Mt. Shasta: Ideal for panoramic drives, trekking, or simply enjoying breathtaking vistas.
- Pacific Crest Trail: Ideal for equestrian experiences or gentle family hikes amid incredible wild scenery.
Your family can revel in a wealth of options right at the resort, from horseback riding and campfires to simply relishing the wide-open spaces and the freedom they give to both children and pets. That, in essence, is what makes this a prime base camp for not just an expedition into the canyon but for a whole lot of family-time memories that are sure to last a lifetime.
A visit to the Hat Creek Radio Observatory is not only an enlightening experience but also allows kids to bask in the glow of what some might call an adventure in science fiction. They’ll discover the 42 enormous radio telescope dishes that search the skies for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence and learn about the science (and some of the fantastic fiction associated with it) of why we might expect to find life out there. And all of this happens under the kind of clear, dark skies that would make any resort in the Milky Way proud.
Thus, get set and prepare for your stay at Uncle Lucky Larry's Equestrian Family Resort! Back the SETI Institute's donation drive, take in Hat Creek, and strap in for a week jam-packed with intrigue. Reserve your family reunion under the Northern California sky for the week of your choosing in 2026 at https://uncleluckylarry.com, and plan to dally for some serious star-gazing and wild-exploring as a family!
Wishing you happy paths,
Uncle Lucky Larry is living the good life. He has a nice wife, lovely kids, a good job, and a nice home in a nice neighborhood. For 37 years, Larry worked in Diagnostic Medical Imaging in various capacities. He had a nice salary and received nice raises and bonuses. He earned top awards and traveled the world with friends and family, and he did them very, very well. Uncle Larry, in short, was very successful. But Uncle Larry also worked hard from an early hour until a late hour, and he traveled a lot. Now his purpose is to reunite all of humanity…one family at a time.
