As I drove up the winding road to Mount Tamalpais, I idly mused upon the cosmological implications of Dilbert as I contemplated the ominous thunderheads on the horizon. When I arrived at the parking lot, it was filled with friends eager for a night's observing. I counted at least 53 telescopes set up.
I started my night's observing with one of my favorite objects, M 11. It was as bright as a dodo bird, extinct but for this celestial likeness. Next, attacking my personal nemesis, I found B 50 in Perseus. It appeared as a waterfall. After I'd spent a few minutes looking at that, I looked at Abell 67. It reminded me of cream being swirled into hot coffee. After that, I observed M 23 in an unknown constellation that looked like a toaster. It sparkled like dancing elephants. After that, I tracked down IC 2048. It seemed just like fleecy wool.
Finally, it was time to pack up and leave. As I drove home, I contemplated the events of the night, and realized that any night out under the sky with good friends is better than stacking 400 Mars images by hand.