Deep in the Colorado Rockies near 1am, I personally saw an object that either had to be far enough "out there" to reflect sunlight or be self illuminated moving slowly thru the stars. It was visible for more than two hours (I finally gave up tracking it) as it moved in an easterly direction. I already know it was neither on the equatorial plane nor a polar orbiter.
To be illuminated by the sun and still be visible to the naked eye, it had to be HUGE! Even transstage rocket bodies don't fit this bill within the time frame and direction. None of the orbit analysts I have worked with could come up with a reasonable solution either.
One of my thoughts is that it may have been a near Earth asteroid, but one close enough to be visible with the naked eye, would have been already seen and tracked.
So, to this date, I have no idea what I was watching.
Thanks for sharing that! Sounds like an interesting experience, whatever the explanation. I bet being up in the Rockies must provide a nice view for stargazing!