I’m from the northeast US. I studied abroad in Australia when I was 20 and we took a backpacking trip into the rainforest and hiked up a huge plateau (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Solitary). Certainly not like “in the middle of nowhere,” but far away from Sydney or any other major light pollution that the night sky was beautiful.

I laid down on a cliff and saw the Milky Way for the first time. It was cold as fuck, but I had a light blanket and was just captivated. When our fire died down and everyone packed into their tents I still couldn’t help but hang out on that cliff for awhile.

I’m much older now, with less ability to get up and travel without consequence, but I want to travel across the US, and I think while some of the Midwest may be boring, I’m most excited to find some dark farmland that will let me see the Milky Way again.