Clear skies, heat...
Tonight, I took my 20x80 binoculars and in about 10 seconds, found the Andromeda Galaxy (my favorite) and then the Perseus Double Cluster.
Thanks to a tool like binoculars, it's possible to do a lot and in a very short time! It's been very hot, here, and dry for months! Tomorrow, violent storms are expected, however.
But Mars is still not there and still not observable until far too late at night.
Raoul