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You don't have to use the SCP to align. Roughly point the mount south (a compass helps, but don't take what it says as the absolute truth). Level the tripod (don't trust any builtin level - a pocket size torpedo level is handy). Set the RA axis to your latitude. Slew to the coords of something you can see. If you are nowhere near, turn the tripod and fix the level. If you are close, use the azimuth adjustment. Repeat the slew/adjust for a couple more stars. Try not to change the RA alignment until you have the azimuth close.
Once you get your tripod correctly oriented, mark the ground so you can put it back in the same place every time. Try to have the azimuth adjustment close to the centre of its travel.
On a hard surface some paint will do. If the tripod legs have pointed tips, you could even drill holes for them to drop into. On grass, some short stakes driven to below grass level.
Being able to plonk the tripod down in the same place every time saves me 15 minutes in setting up.
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