Very nice report, Michael.

It reminds me of a time long ago and a place far away:

In 1974, I was taking courses at the College of Marin, preparing to
study physics at UC. I was interested in astronomy, and had done some
observing from my backyard with a 50mm refractor and a 4" newtonian
reflector.

I took the only astronomy course offered, which was designed for
non-science majors. In fact, the teacher was my differential
equations teacher! We both knew I didn't really belong there, and
when I came in he looked at me both smiling and accusingly, and asked
me what I was doing there. I replied that I loved astronomy.

The most memorable experience of the course, narually, was our trip to
a dark site. Not as dark as Whiskeytown Lake or Devastated, but as
dark as I had ever been to at that time. We didn't even have
telescopes. We were just looking at the constellations and the Milky
Way. It was overwhelming.