I've been turning all my own lights off and going outside on moonless nights only to realize it's still bright enough to easily read once my eyes adjust :angery:
A couple years ago there was a big power outage in my town for a day or two. I wish I had started getting into astronomy and stargazing back then because I wasn't able to appreciate how dark it probably was at night. Didn't even cross my mind to look at that time. Eagerly awaiting the next time our rotting infrastructure allows me to look into the heavens.
Thanks for bringing that up, I'll look into it. Been thinking about going out into the middle of nowhere on my own to get a better look at the sky, but was getting skeeved out about the idea of doing it on the side of the road or accidentally trespassing onto some hostile jerk's land. A local astronomy club will probably know of some good spots.
Community colleges usually have resources as well. Our local CC lets our local astronomy club polish lenses in the fab shop.