I gotta get in on this thread.
Although I'm mostly in Argentina (the Southern Cross is a lot smaller than I thought it would be) and when I'm not down south but in Barcelona (too much ambient light in the evenings) I have this ranch out in the middle of north eastern nowhere Nevada that's about equal distance between Wells and Jackpot and then 25 miles west of Highway 93 and zero pollution, unless California is on fire. So, basically, it's just me, two ranch hands and a cook when ever I have the need to return to Nevada for tidying up some business interests and dealing with my US-based CPA.
There is absolutely no ambient light from anywhere in any direction. When the moon is half to completely full, it's easy to read by moonlight. But, yes, I have seen the Milky Way more brilliant and stunning than almost anywhere else. We keep an open mind and hope for UFOs, but so far no one or thing has dropped down for a visit. And the Perseid Meteor Shower, which begins about mid July but really gets cookin' from the 8th to the 14th of August is a definite winner -- unless we're in a cycle when there is a full moon which washes out the thousands of meteors.
Twice I've been sitting with the ranch hands and direct light with a border, brighter than daylight has illuminated hundreds of square miles leaving everything else in darkness. Later we've read these have been large meteors that exploded over the Humboldt or Ruby Mountains. But it's as if some giant spot light was searching for something in the desert. And the bright light lasts for about 10 seconds.
However, you really need to drive to the San Juan Islands in Puget Souind, Northern Idaho in the high wilderness, or just about anywhere in Montana with a clear view of the north. The Northern Lights, no matter how many times I've seen them in my life just stop me in my tracks. Two times we've been able to see them from the ranch in Nevada. It's possible to see them that far south, but not often. Now, LPSG-ers living in Theatle and north or Portland will just say, "Big deal. We see them all of the time." But seeing them from a point on the Earth where there is no ambient or artificial light makes them even more dramatic than they are.
It's also very easy to see the International Space Station regularly race overhead once your eyes are adjusted to the dark.