As Chris Mickey sees it, there’s no putting a price on what many Wyomingites might take for granted – the Cowboy State’s crystal-clear night skies.
Mickey, of Cheyenne, has been hooked on stargazing and night sky photography since he was as kid. And as often as he can, he camps out and takes full advantage of Wyoming’s nooks and crannies where unsullied darkness provides the perfect backdrop for glorious moonlight and starshine.
“It’s just one of those special things about Wyoming,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “We have such beautiful night skies and I like to take advantage of that, at least when it’s not below zero.”
Hook Up The Camper And Go
Except during the coldest depths of winter, Mickey likes to camp out in places where there’s no “light pollution” from human-made sources and gaze at the stars.
He’s also developed a knack for night sky photography, including a stunning shot of the Milky Way that he recently caught from atop Jelm Mountain west of Laramie.
For these adventures, Mickey likes his high-clearance Mammoth Overland camper. Though it’s small, he can get it into places that traditional, lower-clearance campers could never go.
Mickey was raised in Wyoming, but he’s lived in other, far more developed parts of the United States. And in those places, finding spots to camp on public land away from light pollution, haze and crowds is difficult, if not impossible.
“Here, if you get up high and away from the lights … man, Wyoming has absolutely fantastic skies,” he said.
Night sky enthusiast Chris Mickey of Cheyenne recently took this photo of the Milky Way from his campsite atop Jelm Mountain. (Photo Courtesy Chris Mickey) 
Country road outside of Carpenter, Wyoming (Photo courtesy, Chris Mickey) 
NEOWISE Comet. Vedauwoo, Wyomimg (Photo courtesy, Chris Mickey) 
Super Flower Blood Moon (Photo courtesy, Chris Mickey) 
Snowy Range Scenic Byway (Photo courtesy, Chris Mickey)
It All Started At Vedauwoo
Mickey said he’s had an affinity for unspoiled night skies since he was a young boy.
“I remember once, my parents took me up to Vedauwoo during a meteor shower. It left such a lasting impression on me, something I wanted to experience again and again.”
He doesn’t expect he’ll ever get tired of looking into the heavens and letting the images burn into his memory, while he preserves a few in photographs.
“It makes you feel humbled and small. You look up and you realize there’s so much out there,” he said.
Places To Go
Mickey enthusiastically recommends stargaze camping and offered a few tips on places to go.
Vedauwoo remains a standard go-to spot for amazing views on clear nights, he said. And the Snowy Range Mountains offer a wide array of spots to go.
Jelm Mountain, the site of a University of Wyoming observatory, is also top-notch, Mickey added.
“From up there, you can get a 360-degee view,” he said. “You can see the entirety of the Laramie Valley, as well as a great view of the Snowies, and the Sierra Madre range, on down into Colorado.”
Isolated places near the center of the state, such as high spots outside of Lander, are also great, Mickey said. And places off the beaten path near the Tetons aren’t to be missed either.
In the “Big Empty” region, there’s nothing like looking up at the stars from the base of the Boar’s Tusk, an ancient volcanic feature jutting up from the Red Desert in the Rock Springs area, he said.
“It’s another of those really cool spots that not very many people know about,” he said.
Chris Mickey of Cheyenne travels and camps across Wyoming and the rest of the country, seeking great photos of nature and the night skies. (Photo Courtesy Chris Mickey) 
Medicine Bow National Forest (Photo courtesy, Chris Mickey) 
Chris Mickey of Cheyenne said his Mammoth Overland camper is rugged enough to get him into remote areas, where he can capture great photographs of the night skies. (Photo Courtesy Chris Mickey) 
Harvest moon at Curt Gowdy State Park (Photo courtesy, Chris Mickey)
Strange Sounds From The Forest
Another treat that comes with camping out on still Wyoming nights are the various sounds, Mickey said. Along with the wind or the sound of flowing water near creeks and streams, it’s interesting to hear the calls or rustling movements of wild critters.
He said wild critters usually keep their distance from his campsite, “But I’m always aware of the wildlife all around me.”
He recalled one night up in the mountains when he heard something that was slightly spooky, but also intriguing.
“I started hearing something from back in the trees. It sounded like yelling, or maybe high-pitched squealing. And I don’t know what kind of animal it was. Whether it was an elk, or a mountain lion or whatever it was,” he said. “One of my dogs was cowering and scared, and the other one was trying to go into attack mode.”
Mickey said he’s since done some research into various wildlife sounds and he is still perplexed by what he heard in the forest that night.
It’s just one experience of many that’s made him appreciate living in Wyoming, a place like no place else.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
