Chelle , there are quite a few of us here and when the weather warms up a bit there are a group of us head out to a very dark sky site for an over night camp and star gaze not far out of Brunton .
You are most welcome to come along with your 8 inch , it will perform excellently out there and we will be more than willing to help any way we can , a friendly bunch
we are , like all amateur astronomers and like every amateur world wide we love showing off our gear
, as I would love to check out your scope , especially out there .
Let me know and I will send you a PM detailing the site , etc.
Brian.