Vent: I drove out to the Joshua Tree dark sky zone and the light pollution from Palm Springs was way worse than people said it would be

3 comments

3 Comments

Man, that line about the light pollution being "way worse than people said" hits hard. I used to think the dark sky zones were a sure thing, you know? Like a guaranteed reset. But my last trip to Big Bend was the same story. The glow from Presidio was this constant orange smear on the horizon. It totally changes the vibe. You go out there for that deep black and you get this washed out, hazy bowl instead. It's a real bummer.

vals383mo ago

I get what you mean about the "washed out bowl" feeling, but honestly I've made peace with it. That orange smear from Presidio is still a world away from the full white sky in a city. The vibe for me is about relative darkness, not total black. I'll take a hazy horizon with a clear Milky Way overhead over no stars at all any night.

john4302mo agoTop Commenter

Brooke's spot on about Presidio, but Vals isn't wrong either. Relative darkness beats city sky glow every time, even if the horizon looks like a dirty fishbowl. Small mercies, you know.