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Hi Scooter,
Good seeing can happen at any time. Even on a night of poor seeing, moments of good seeing can creep in every now and then.
Altitude makes all the difference. Unless you have no choice, always try to observe an object when at a high altitude. 20 to 40 degrees is pretty low. Try looking at objects more than 45 degrees up.
Dark adaption makes a huge difference for viewing faint objects like nebula and galaxies. It makes little difference for bright planets or the Moon.
Keeping the telescope out of direct light is important though. Stray light getting into the telescope tends to bounce around inside and lowers the contrast of the view.
I'd love to know the dark sky sites others use too. I've been going to a picnic ground near the Winenhoe dam lately. It's far from ideal though. The day use area at Girraween National Park is one of my favourite spots but the three hour drive makes it hard to do without camping.
Girraween has altitude, is on the other side of the range, and the closest town is Stanthorpe (about 40km away) which while you can see its light dome isn't really a problem.
Seeing does often improve in the early hours of the morning as the air gets colder. Usually the time at which I observe has more to do with the position of the objects of interest than seeing considerations though. It is always better to observe the object when it is highest in the night sky without interference from the Moon.
If you really want to see what your scope can do, you really need to get it out to a dark site. A camping trip rocks for this as you can observe all night and then sleep in your tent.
Hope this helps.
Have fun,
Doug
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