[ATMoB-discuss] Visible dust lanes in Milky Way?

[jcantara at comcast.net]

The other night, I was up in NH, visiting my parents. I was about to leave (around midnight) and looked up at the stars. The sky was the absolute clearest sky I have ever seen! The milky way was clearly visible reaching across the sky. As my eyes adjusted, I could actually see dark dust lanes reaching across the milky way also!

Was I seeing things, or misinterpreting what I saw, or can that actually be seen on really clear nights?

Thanks :)
-Jesse