I tried looking at Mars but I couldn't really resolve much more than a big reddish looking star.
That ought to be a "reddish looking" disk. That is exactly what you are supposed to see. Only persistence and good luck is apt to show any change. Colored filters might help detect details like polar cap and dust storms, but the disk will still remain small. So, squint a lot!
My niece got a new telescope with an equatorial mount, so I expect to do backyard viewing in late July and late August, weather permitting. The rest of the time this summer will be dominated by moonlight, except way past our bedtimes. Here are some things I am planning to look for:
1. galaxies M81 and M82 of Ursa Major, pointed to by the tail of Draco. These are spirals in the same field of view, but one is more face-on and the other more edge-on.
2. galaxies M51 and M94 of Canes Venatici. M51 hangs just below the end star Alkaid of the big dipper (and at right angle). It is the Whirlpool spiral and the first such identified by W. Parsons (Earl of Rosse). M94 is a compact near face-on spiral.
3. cluster M3 of Canes Venatici, half way between a line joining Arcturus to the star Cor Caroli in Canes Venatici. This is a fine globular.
4. clusters M13 and M92 of Hercules. You already found M13 on the right hip. M92 is right between Herc's legs. This is one brilliant globular and one small globular.
5. stars epsilon of Lyra. This is right next to the summer jewel star Vega. Binoculars should show it as a double star pair. The scope should show each of these as a double star, making it a quartet. It is called "double double".
6. nebular shell M57 of Lyra. This is between the southernmost two stars of the little parallelogram that forms the rest of Lyra. It is a classic so-called planetary appearing as a ring around the small dwarf star that supplies the UV radiation that activates its fluorescence. These things are the butterflies of the cosmos.
7. cluster M39 of Cygnus. It is located by extending the line through the lower part of the northern cross, east of the star Deneb, halfway to Cepheus. This is an open set (not a globular ball) of stars.
8. star Albireo of Cygnus. It is the foot of the northern cross. This is a beautiful star pair, one topaz colored and the other sapphire colored.
9. nebular shell M27 of Vulpecula. This lies about 2/3 of the way on a line between star Deneb and star Altair. This planetary is like a fancy bowtie.
10. clusters M10 and M12 of Ophiuchus. It is located about the middle of the polygonal figure, a bit lower. These are globulars.
11. cluster M11 of Scutum. It is located past the southern end of Aquila, below Serpens Cauda. It is a compact but open set of stars.
12. cluster and nebula feast at the teapot dome. This is above the teapot figure formed by the brightest stars of Sagittarius. This area is so rich in M objects, I won't try to list them. Mostly, I want to see the nebular clouds M17 and M20. No wonder this is so rich; it's the center of the Milky Way galaxy, not a quiet place.
13. cluster M6 and M7 of Scorpio. They are located between the Sagittarius teapot spout and the scorpion's stinger. More open star sets.
14. Cluster M4 of Scorpio is near star Antares. It is a small globular.
We may not succeed in finding all these from the backyard, but we will have fun trying. We are too lazy to mess with setting circles.
In late August we expect to scope Mars in Aquarius and Uranus in Capricorn. But we expect only to see small colored disks. We will claim to the neighbors that we saw fiery flame blasts headed toward Earth ;).
link --->
listing of Messier objects
). 
