I’ve never been west of the furthest western part of PA; but something about the southwest and the desert has always intrigued me. Maybe it’s because I’m a ‘hot house plant’, and hate to be cold; or just all the stars you must see in the desert.
I was able to get to see a good deal of the country through work. However, now that I have retired, I take a lot of car trips. I think I am at about 13,500 miles for this year alone.
We have kids, grandkids, siblings and friends in a number of far flung locations so we visit them and the areas that surround them each. I suggest that if you want to see some stars, also try mountainous areas where the air is thinner and you are far from a city. The Appalachians are cloudy but that is not always the case. Next year in August we have an eclipse in the offing. It has a path of totality that you can get through on a days drive.
See
http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEmono/TSE2017/TSE2017fig/TSE2017-usa.jpg
and find a place near the path of totality to visit next August— it seems the most arid area is in Wyoming but don’t restrict yourself to that.
