Stars

 Over the years, I've spent many nights sleeping outdoors, and many more nights outside with friends. One thing I've never gotten tired of is starting at a sky full of stars. 

Where I live, there's just a little too much light pollution to be able to look up at the sky and truly enjoy the view. Some of my favorite memories of the outdoors are of my time under the stars. Like the night, as a scout, I joined in with a dozen others and slept out on a tarp brought by a friend. Going to sleep under a blanket of stars is magical. Or the year I was Camp Health Officer - after our senior staff celebrated our final night with a BBQ and campfire, I wandered out into the deserted field in the middle of the camp and ended up laying back, contemplating the heavens.

Some other great times have been with friends at caving events in West Virginia. When you're 20 miles from the nearest strip mall, the view gets so much better.

Even now, in my temporary home 25 miles from the midnight sun of the Las Vegas Strip, I get to see the night sky. My little neighborhood only has moderate light pollution, so the view is pretty good. Of course, I'm living under a major approach route to McCarran International Airport, so my stargazing is punctuated by an ever-changing constellation of planes stacked up, traveling west across the lake into Vegas.

Anyway... The night sky never gets old. I love the mysticism behind the constellations, and technology now makes it easier than ever to identify stars and constellations. I use Sky Guide, but there are other apps out there too.