Stargazing Best Part of Camping - Clear Sky, Campfire, Good Company Make Memorable Nights

One of our favorite things to do when camping is to gaze up at the night sky. This bit of stargazing is something most of us rarely have time to do in our busy lives, and the short trip from the driveway to the front door doesn't give much more than a glimpse of the stars above. It's only when were are outdoors, in a contemplative mood, that the stars seems so much closer.

One recent Sunday night, we decided to light a fire in our backyard and just enjoy the crisp fall evening. No, we weren't camping, but it was a much-too-perfect autumn night to sit indoors. With the temperature in the 50s, one hardly needed a jacket as the fire popped and sizzled, throwing off just the right amount of warmth. Overheard, the stars shone in a clear sky, dancing in the funnel of heat rising from the fire. I could pick out the Big Dipper overhead, and the three stars that form Orion's belt.

The warm house, the TV and computer -- not to mention dinner -- beckoned, but we were reluctant to leave the warmth of our fire ring on this beautiful fall evening. Our son poked at the fire with a stick and our teenage daughter had left her cell phone inside so that we had a nice family-style conversation. We didn't talk about anything in particular, but talk we did. I guess you could say it wasn't the subject that mattered, but the conversation.

We reminisced about some of the great nighttime skies we had seen. Most of us live surrounded by light pollution that doesn't really enable us to see the night sky. It's only when we're outdoors that we can really enjoy it. Once, camping at the beach, we had taken a midnight stroll and seen the Milky Way in the utter darkness at the edge of the sea. Another time, we stretched out by the campfire and watched a meteor shower. Nature's fireworks, a million miles away.

Finally, it was time for us to go in. The fire was down to red coals. But at least for a little while, we had chased away all those distractions and gotten to enjoy a true autumn sky together by the campfire.

Ian Fitzell is the editor of Camping Sky, a blog dedicated to upscale family camping. Visit http://campingsky.net