Hi Carol:
A few things...
First... if your "confidence" issue is driving your TM up a steep mountain slope filled with switchbacks, I understand your concern as I had it myself. First time I went to TMSP I camped at a near by KOA and drove the truck up there. But by the time the next year came around I was fully comfortable with driving the TM up to that site.
Second, there are star parties all over the country, not just on the west coast. wikipedia has a reasonable list by state.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_party