I'm in Ocotillo, CA this week. For those of you not familiar with this magnificant metropolis, it is in the desert (aka Imperial Valley) about 100 miles east of San Diego (you do know where San Diego is, right ;-) It has been windy and cloudy most of the time but tonight calmed down a bit and is clear. Not steady enough for high power but fine for binos. It's nice lying on a picnic table at about 95 degrees Fahrenheit with a cooling breeze and scanning around for the bright easy stuff that I can remember.

In addition to the usuals (M 13, 31, 22, 17, 7, 6, 8, 33) I was able to easily see the Helix (NGC 7293 in Aquarius) with my binos. Having nothing but Mexico to the south helps :-)

And I finally found the North America Nebula (NGC 7000)! For some reason this bright and easy object has eluded me for several years. I've had it in my field of view many times but not until tonight did I really "see" it. I guess my brain works better when it's warmed up :-)