I have three loves. My car, driving at night, and the stars.

To say I'm a stargazer is an understatement. My passion is capturing the beauty of the night sky. Every lens I own is specialized for taking long-distance shots in the dark.

That's why I'm driving cross-country to Constellation Carnival, a three-night astronomer's dream come true where everything from the food to the carnival rides to the photography contest with a ten-thousand-dollar grand prize is themed around the stars.

It's just me...and Blue.

Blue is my car. I bought her new, five years back. She's a blue Ford Escape with all the bells and whistles a girl could want, including heated seats. If you've ever survived a winter up north, you'll understand why heated seats are akin to paradise on Earth.

There isn't a magazine in America that hasn't run my photographs at some point. Freelance isn't for everyone but for me, it more than pays the bills. The odd jobs I take here and there allow me to travel all over this widespread land, bringing the natural wonders of the USA to locals and people around the world.

It took some time to establish myself but after two years and many tears in corporate America, I knew I needed a change. I took a few classes at my hometown the community college.

One week into astronomy and I was hooked.

One day of photography basics and I was smitten.

Now I'm heading for the greatest opportunity of my life.

Constellation Carnival isn't some sappy sideshow where you show up with a book of pre-snapped pictures. The contest rules require you to take your photos on your way to the event. They check the date stamps on each one. They want authentic content...the top three will have their work sent on to NASA, after all. Something taken ten years ago or worse, printed from some random page on the internet, are not to be given more than a haughty glance by the judges.

My portfolio is nearly complete with only one day to go before I reach Star City, home of the Constellation Carnival. There's only one last shot I need...

My journey started in a small Midwestern town I promise you've never heard of and will probably never have reason to visit. From there, I headed west to Comet, Montana.

Montana's called Big Sky Country for a reason. As the light fades over the mountains, stars in their infinite variety come out to flaunt their light. You feel like you're standing on a platform at the beginning of time, watching the history of Earth unfold in a place where wilderness rules and civilization is a distant promise of the future.

There isn't a shot in that batch I could bring myself to delete but the one that I've selected for my portfolio is a shot with a silhouette of mountains in the foreground and an indigo sky with teasing streaks of lilac that make you wonder if angels tread on sky bridges up there in the heavens. Your eyes come to the limitations of the camera's lens and wish for more.

Blue never complained about the grade changes of long and winding mountain roads. That job fell to me. I'm not what one would call the most patient driver and when you've been stuck behind a stalled semi or three with a view straight down a sharp decline, you quickly come to value flat ground.

I'm sure Blue was glad for the rest when I pulled into a roadside cafe. I ate my way through a rancher's burger that I'm pretty sure took an entire cow to make, washing it down with a chocolate milkshake that came in, I kid you not, a beer stein. I somehow managed to fit a slice of homestyle apple pie before passing out in a themed hotel room complete with a couch shaped like an old-fashioned horse saddle. If I didn't have the metabolism of a particularly jittery squirrel, I'd probably still be passed out in a food coma but there were so many sights left to see and plenty of photos to be taken. Curled up with the latest book in my favorite series, sci-fi thrillers that never fail to deliver, I felt a particular sense of goodwill toward the people of Montana...but you couldn't pay me to make that mountain drive every day.

Many miles and rest stops later, I found myself pulling into Jupiter, California. Located in Stanislaus National Park, it's not exactly a well-loved tourist destination but it's the perfect sort of spot for a dedicated stargazer. I sat on Blue's tailgate downing one bottle of water after another and waiting for conditions to be just right. No fancy restaurants out there. Just the occasional granola bar or bag of trail mix.

Joshua trees reach like stubby fingers trying to touch the boundaries of the sky. A single saguaro cactus stands cheekily to one side, breaking the otherwise perfect symmetry of the shot. Rather than detracting, its presence adds to the natural beauty of a desert night under the stars. The sky itself is lit with fiery streaks from a sun that never quite seems to set entirely.

I lower the backseats and use Blue for a makeshift bed. I'm down for the whole "connecting to nature and sleeping in a tent" bit...when I'm not in rattlesnake country. I'm an adventurer, not a fool.

Driving through the desert is taxing on humans and vehicles alike. I watched Blue's gages carefully, never allowing the engine temperature to creep anywhere near red. No less important was keeping my own engine from overheating. Desert air sucks the moisture from your skin, a vampire in the form of a million little teeth that hang in the air.

Those who do not respect the desert become permanent features in its landscape.

Next on the stop list was Saturn, Texas. There isn't much in town but a church, making it another ideal location for some serious sky watching.

An inky blue expanse dotted with white over desert mesas that almost seem to be holding up the sky. I was still tasting the smoky kick of pit BBQ on the back of my tongue as I lined up my shots. Somehow, I managed to capture a shooting star at exactly the right moment so it was emphasized in the center of the image.

No computer software could have made such a perfect picture. Some things just require the human touch.

Days of driving nonstop got me to Apollo, Pennsylvania. I rented a lovely little log cabin that made me feel like one of the original settlers...if the original settlers could've had access to a mini-fridge and indoor plumbing. I'm sure Blue quite appreciated a night of sitting quietly in a driveway. For these shots, I would have to rely on my own feet and my rather highly defined sense of direction.

Massive evergreens stood out against a sky of speckled sapphire. The town was close enough that I could hear traffic in the far distance but in this old forest, there wasn't another person in sight and I felt completely at peace.

I almost didn't want to make my way back to the cabin...until the first mosquito zoned in on my location and helped himself to a midnight snack.

After driving nearly six thousand miles, I'm sure Blue was happy to reach Star City, Michigan at last. My feelings were more bittersweet. It would be good to sleep in my own bed and take a real shower and eat at my favorite restaurant...but somehow I knew I would never have another adventure as grand as this one.

I came in second place but I'm not bitter. The winner captured an image of Saturn that boggles the mind. I'd almost believe he was an alien from another planet...if not for the chunky black glasses and a bad case of acne.

Now I stand at the side of the highway, leaning casually against Blue as I look down that long stretch of road that will take me away from this temporary paradise and back home.

One particular star hovers, brighter than all the others, a guiding light to keep me moving in the right direction.

Blue is the first new car I ever purchased. I was living the single life in a small town, working for attorneys but without a clear direction of where I wanted to go in life. I had to cross my fingers and pray every time I drove my old Ford Explorer to my hometown to visit family.

I was finally in a position to have something really nice that was mine. I didn't know what I wanted for a car but my family has always had good luck with Ford. I went to a local dealership with only a vague idea of what I wanted.

Two weeks later, I drove Blue home.

A side view from the day I brought Blue home.

My favorite photo of Blue, reflecting the clear blue sky, also taken the day Blue came home.

I drove Blue the first time I met my future husband. (We were in an LDR for a little over two years before getting engaged.) I was still driving Blue the day of our wedding. Blue was my car during the worst (and best!) jobs of my life and the car in which I had my first (thankfully minor) accident.

Blue with Big Green, our tractor.

We've been to multiple states in the U.S. together. I can rely on Blue to start up readily in the freezing Minnesota cold.

Blue in front of the house we rented on our last vacation.

I'm still driving Blue to this day and looking forward to many more adventures on the road.