Len & Co, I love stargazing in the Southwest Desert although I am not currently there! I will be heading back for good in a few months and plan to get a "starter" telescope. While boondocking in the Laguna Mountains in San Diego County last year I happened to be in the right place at the right time when a group of what I shall call "expert gazers" arrived with some very impressive equipment. They had 2 scopes in the range of $10K or so and let me peer though them. I saw Saturn so close that it actually filled up the entire field of vision from one side of the circle to the other! It was amazing and I was hooked. This was with a bit of "light pollution" from the San Diego skyline so I am anxious to stay in the Colorado River desert areas and see if I can find the ISS as you have described it.
