I know there are many definitions of boondocking, and that is a good thing. But here is one possible test -- if you are not in a campground and you can see the Milky Way under clear skies, you are really out in the boonies!Here is one of our more recent Milky Way experiences -- it is not a great shot because I illuminated the trailer with an LED flashlight for a few seconds, giving it an odd blue color -- but the sky is pretty close to the real thing:

Good post! -TomAmateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh

Beautiful photo! I like the light on your TT, it makes it look short.

One of life's great pleasures. Thanks for sharing that.

I like the milky way, esp the center, near the tea pot, so many things to see with a good telescope.

It is a good way to tell that you're away from any urban/built up area with all the light pollution. I was out at a coworkers home earlier this week and was astonished to see the Milky Way from his back yard. He lives outside Phoenix and we were able to see the arc of light from the city, but it did not blot out the stars. It was wonderful to see.

The "Milky Way" test of a boondocking site | Good Sam Community

Tom_N
Explorer
Oct 27, 2013
Good post!

-Tom
Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh
AK49er
Explorer
Oct 27, 2013
Beautiful photo! I like the light on your TT, it makes it look short.
romore
Explorer II
Oct 27, 2013
One of life's great pleasures. Thanks for sharing that.
old_guy
Explorer
Oct 27, 2013
I like the milky way, esp the center, near the tea pot, so many things to see with a good telescope.
RaenMark
Explorer
Oct 27, 2013
It is a good way to tell that you're away from any urban/built up area with all the light pollution. I was out at a coworkers home earlier this week and was astonished to see the Milky Way from his back yard. He lives outside Phoenix and we were able to see the arc of light from the city, but it did not blot out the stars. It was wonderful to see.
Roy_Lynne
Explorer
Oct 27, 2013
I was up at Joshua Tree a few years ago for the November meteor shower and it was so awesome. You could actually hear them hitting the atmosphere, which I mentioned to a meteorologist once and he looked at me like I was crazy. Maybe I was but I heard what I heard. If you new at star gazing or want to interest the kids, stop and get a star chart. They are so cool
profdant139
Explorer II
Oct 27, 2013
AK49er, the trailer looks short because it is very short!! The box is slightly less than 12 feet long. Real cozy for two people, as long as they get along very, very well.
qtla9111
Nomad
Oct 27, 2013
Great pic!
BoonHauler
Explorer
Oct 28, 2013
profdant139 wrote:
AK49er, the trailer looks short because it is very short!! The box is slightly less than 12 feet long. Real cozy for two people, as long as they get along very, very well.

Took the words right out of my mouth.....:B

Awesome pic!.....Thanks for posting it.
pnichols
Explorer II
Oct 28, 2013
We didn't get any photos of the night sky ... but the sky was pretty spectacular when we boondocked in the Oregon outback about 25 miles North of Plush, Oregon. We were out in the middle of nowhere and, boy, was it beautiful and serene. We picked up some great Oregon Sunstones, too.

We found out afterwards from a poster in these forums who responded about our trip in that they had heard the area was known for it's great nighttime skies. FWIW, because of our altitude we see stars just about like that in our backyard if there's no clouds or fog.