Hi Buddinseeker,
you can believe that the binocs are a great first step
.
Imagine you'd like to look at flowers but for some reason at the moment you can only see them from 500 metres away with your bare eyes. They're little, and pretty much all you can tell is that they look nice and you'd like to see them closer. Think how good it would be if you bought a pair of good binocs so that you could really see and appreciate the whole flower - as if you were right up close to it.
But if you bought the scope first, you'll be able to see right into the individual cells or stamens or whatever they're called (
) in the middle. This might be ok once you know what you're looking at, but for a starter you'll have no way of really appreciating what it is you're looking at, - the context will be lost.
Wide angle views are definitely a great starting point ! And once you've found your way around, you can worry about what scope to buy
Cheers,