OMG THIS.
So, I found about the last meteor shower one day before its peak. So my idea was to find a place – any place – that wasn't near any buildings. Forget about light pollution, I just wanted a sky devoid of direct lights. So, parks would be a nice option.
But try as I might, I couldn't find any parks that would allow me to stay after 6PM. There's one in Palo Alto that allows that for 'stargazing', but you have to request a permit in advance.
A permit? Really? For stargazing in a notorious light-polluted area? And that has to be filed in advance in business days? Come on.
At this rate I expect that you won't be allowed to park in the middle of nowhere in Nevada after the sun goes down.
http://www.businessinsider.com/google-employee-lives-in-truc...
I have known people who live out of a van/truck camper until cops realize what's going on. They will harass you to no end. The tickets are expensive. The days of " Just move on." are over.
That said, in most counties, there is nowhere to park a vechicle overnight. We need to desiginate areas, in commercial areas, where people can legally sleep.
They have pretty much made it illegial to sleep Anywhere, without paying. Even Parks have time restrictions. I'm ashamed of what America has become.
If Jesus Christ reappeared, he would be hit with multiple municipal fines within a few days. It's just not right.
(If I seem mad-- I am. I had a friend who tried to live in the back of his truck, and take showers at a local gym. Cops harassed him nightly. Once the gym found out he was just using the showers--they made his life difficult. The one slime ball manager would time his workouts in order to use the facilities. Wonderful world we've got? Oh--yea, he was doing non-union construction. The last thing he wanted to do was workout at 6:30 a.m. in order to take a shower.)