Eclipse day - 4/8/2024

 4/8/2024 - Monday 

It was a dark and stormy night.....

No Snoopy, it wasn't!

But it was a foggy morning at the Paducah, Kentucky KOA campgrounds.

Woke up about 4 am to make the trek from T1 tenting site to the bathroom, not so far away.  It's been rather cold most days since we've been here, but this is supposed to be our warmest day yet.  I'm not sure exactly what that will mean for weather.  The forecast has been wavering between mostly cloudy to partially cloudy across the entire area.  Warmer could mean that the water dissolves more readily into the atmosphere or it could mean it evaporates more  to create a greater haziness.  I'm not familiar enough with the area to make a guess on regional weather patterns, but at this point the sky looks pretty clear beyond the ground-level fog.

Breakfast today is a repeat of yesterday's avocado toast (today on toasted white bread instead of English Muffin), with layers of bacon and hard boiled egg.  Seasoned with granulated garlic, skipping the salt because of the bacon.  By 9am the sun is getting high and the sky seems to be clear.  No fog and no clouds.  

We're heading over to Ferne Clyffe State Park for today's eclipse because it's supposed to be longer in totality than here at the campground, which was forecasted at about 90 seconds.  We're supposed to get around 4 minutes at Ferne Clyffe.  But the drive is an hour long and we're only just getting away at 9:40 (target time was 9am, but.... coffeee...... and breakfast.... 💗)

Quite a number of entertaining jokes from Rogue NASA on Facebook this morning, particular notes about the eclipse rocket being shot off from Wallops to test atmospheric movement in the Ionosphere.  Also lots of chuckling about the 2017 eclipse when Trump didn't use glasses to look at the sun before it was eclipsed, the conspiracy theorists and end-of-worlders who saw the X between 2017 & 2024 eclipses as potential rapture opportunities, and the general possibilities of a giant dragon eating the Sun or some other medieval event.  

anxiety-provoking!  Driving into areas with more cloud cover than we left!  Did we make the right choice?!  Should we have stayed in Paducah?!  What is the right thing to do when faced with an opportunity of such planning and commitment?!

Clearing!?

Sun again!  But so many small obstacle clouds!  Faith.  Have Faith.

Quite a line of cars was starting to build off the highway going into Metropolis.  Big festival plans in that coastal town today!  Big plans in Paducah, too.  What will the State Park look like?

There was no real line waiting to get into Ferne Clyffe, but there were a lot of cars parked in designated parking lots and lining the main road as we passed by the lake reservoir.  It was slow going through the park and we were concerned how parking would be once we got to the climbing area.  Also how crowded would climbing walls be with non-climbers looking for a good clear sky?  Would there be other climbers to get help from since my partner wasn't lead belay trained.  Lots of questions in the map above, you can see the Bluff indicated by the scalloped black line.  We were fortunate enough to run into a couple and their kids who were planning to go over to this area & agreed to catch for me as I led.  They also indicated there were a lot of easy climbs over here, which is just what I was wanting to get at.  I hadn't brought my high clip, which also would have been helpful.

Oh yes - gorgeous sandstone rock!

Plenty of experienced climbers and LOTS of great walls here with easy grades.  This is apparently the Scout  wall training routes.  Mostly 5.8 or less around this space, but also bolted with anchors at the top.  Lots of recent bolting, too.  Perfect for us outdoor low-baller types (and with me being skittish about risking my neck).

You can also see the sky from here!  Sapphire blue and not a cloud!  Couldn't ask for a better eclipse day out in the midwest where we've been getting mostly cloudy & occasional drizzles all week.

• Bay Creek Wilderness Area (Carbondale, IL): (city of Carbondale totality = 4 min 9s)
• Duration 2 hrs 35 mins
• Partial begins  Apr 8 at 12:42:59 pm
• Full begins  Apr 8 at 1:59:15 pm
• Maximum  Apr 8 at 2:01:20 pm
• Full ends  Apr 8 at 2:03:25 pm
• Partial ends  Apr 8 at 3:18:11 pm
• Update 3/31: forecast for totality: partially cloudy 24/14 ** this is no longer an issue!

We began climbing a little after 11am at Rebman Wall.  I got a catch to lead up a 5.6 or 5.7 maybe - I have  hard time figuring out what climbs are which on Mountain Project, even with the pictures.  Ok - they needed the update - Tettering Trick Fest (first climb) was a 5.7.  The slsabby "First Climb" is rated a 5.3.  Open Book is rated a 5.4.  Not sure we did any others.  I tried the 5.7 chimney Ditch Pitch, but above the first two clips there were no hands or feet.  I just didn't feel confident enough to get into the top section without real holds.  So I downclimbed - which was probably actually riskier than going up.  It wasn't the chimney that was scary, but the bolts were completely outside the chimney and not good reach-arounds.

Getting ready to climb!

Climbing, Clipping & setting Anchors 👍

Checking to see if I could use the glasses to take a picture of the sun as it was eclipsing.  Major fail on the picture taking for the most part.  We got a few good ones, but my Pixel didn't want to coordinate it's multiple lenses and the shadded 'glass' of the eclipse glasses was confusing it even more.  Disappointing.  Hey look!  Peak Climbing Stripes on that belt!

So we did get totality & here are the pictures we have.  When you see 'stars' in the pictures, the one below & to the right of the Flaming Ring of Fire (aka Sun eclipsed by the Moon) is Venus.  The one above & to the left of the sun/moon is Jupiter.  There was a comet & other planets that we don't have visibility for in our cameras.  Some great shots here from my camera and my climbing partner's. 

Those are from my climbing partner.

The ones below are mine. (resolution of all of these has been reduced by Blogspot)

Bright light out the lower end of the sun is that Solar Flare.  It was pretty impressive.

Short video above is showing sun & Venus at least.  Click here for news explanation

Videos of me climbing the chimney 5.7 after the eclipse.  I was also pretty worn out by this time in the day  - so I might have had more motivation earlier.

• Part 1 click here
• Part 2 click here
• Part 3 click here

Kudos to Aubrey - a perky young lady who caught for me three times that day & was very motivational.  The climbing community comes through again!  Wonderful people, helpful & collaborative.

Last bit - road traffic on the way home means we chose to stop for a bite - unfortunately accidents and traffic were not reduced significantly by the time we got back on the road, so it took a full 2 hous to get back to the campsite.

Fabulous food for dinner though!  Fish sandwich, smoked barbecue, awesome fried mushrooms & onion rings!

Ice cream swirled Butter Pecan & Cheesecake - NEVER thought it would be this good!  Especially after such a filling dinner.  Wow!

Back to the campsite to break down & begin the trek home tonight (rain in forecast for overnight & morning meant it was better to get on the road & find a hotel rather than pack up wet gear.  Kicker also was that the KOA was at 99.7% totality after a recent adjustment from the scientists.  If we had stayed, then we would not have achieved Totality. 

Last little bits about the ride home  - Gorgeous Sunset over the Ohio River - and clouds rolling in from the other direction.  It was a late night, but glad we made the effort.

We made it to Lexington & slept well.  Fabulous breakfast for a hotel... or anywhere, really)

Hope EVERYONE enjoyed their Eclipse experience!  

4/7/2024 - tminus 1 day to eclipse

4/7/2024 

Last year I read a book by Andrea Wulf called "Chasing Venus" about the 1761 & 1769 international efforts of Astronomers to determine the measure of our solar system by determining the distance between the Earth and the Sun.  In order to do this, they had one.... no..... two.... brief chances, when venus slowly progressed between the Earth and the Sun.  

This iss called the "Transit of Venus" and occurs every time within 8 years of each other, but there are 122 years between events.  When Venus does this, it produces a small dot of a shadow on the Sun, which is seen in different positions depending on your Latitude.  The objective of scientists, challenged originally by Edwin Halley in the 1730s, was to collaborate with as many expeditions they could plan to different positions on the globe where the transit could be observed to its best effect.  Ideally, from entrance into the Sun's glow through to its exit.

Expeditions were sent to remote places such a Siberia, Tahiti, India, and California.  Many expeditions thwarted by weaher, transportation, or political obstacles.  The expeditions in 1761 produced more questions than answers, but the results of the second transit (thanks to additional political effort now that there was international public momentum behind this venture) provided us with the information needed tto answer these questions.

The most recent transits were in 2004 and 2012, so the next are outside our lifetimes (2117 & 2125).  If you missed the ones a few years ago you'll be out of luck.

So here we are at the Total Eclipse 2024, April 8.  Neither you or I will be deriving great Scientific Truths from our expeditions, but we are participating in a great history of Scientific adventure which has enlightened humanity to the scope of the Solar System and ultimately the Universe.  There will be more eclipses in our lifetime (you may travel to a total eclipse someswhere on the globe nearly every year, though most will be short & remote - it's a false narrative that this is "your last chance" if you're determined).

Gorgeous morning over Calvert City, KY KOA - no moon.  Tomorrow is the eclipse.

Good breakfast again today - reheated the precooked bacon & sausages, coffee, toast with cream cheese & Jelly.  Oh!  Almost forgot - Avocado toast sandwiched the bacon with a little salt & granulated garlic for a fabulous sandwich!

Our first outing was to possibly check out burial mounds that were identified on the map as just outside Paducah.  Things did not go as expected.

The mounds were apparently in the woods beside a construction business and possibly inside the gate, but there was a park across the road and walking paths that went nearby on the other side, so we stopped by the park.

https://paducahky.gov/departments/parks-recreation/noble-park

So Noble Park is really lovely:  playgrounds, lots of open fields, and lots of natural areas with walking paths.  Using iNaturalist, I started identifying some of the wildflowers we ran across.

Virginia Springbeauty

Mayapple (in flower)

Common Vetch

Slender yellow woodorrel

Philadelphia feabane

American field pansy

Butterweed (this is actually from yesterday)

And a Checkerspot I haven't identified to it's genus/species

Anyway, we ended up giving up on the burial mound, had a conversation about NAGPRA, then worked our way back to the car to explore the Eclipse events they have been preparing in Paducah downtown. 

So I've just got to say - Paducah is adorable.  It's a small midwestern town, which means it's flat.  But it's full of interesting architecture, parks, and they've got a thriving artsy cultural vibe that they're fostering.  It's well worth a visit & a stay in the main downtown area if you're coming through.

https://paducahky.gov/departments/things-do/solar-eclipse

We stopped in for a very late lunch at the first restaurant we came acrosss - a Cajun restaurant with crocodile, crawfish, and frogs legs on the menu.  Their mixed drinks are good, too - SWEET, but good.  Sweet alcoholic beverages seems to be a theme over here - unless you're drinking Bourbon. 

https://www.broussardscajuncuisine.com/

The village was in full eclipse swing.  Lots of booths outside, music, and people wandering about.  Not crowded, just hanging out & enjoying a festival day.

There is a monument to Explorers along the Riverwalk.

Riverwalk art was extensive!

And of course..... any temptation to climb!

Important to know that Paducah has received designation as a "UNESCO creative city."

https://www.paducah.travel/about-paducah/unesco-creative-city/

Final stop today was the National Quilt Museum (NQM).  Thought of mom during this explore, as well as a number of ladies from church (Cathy Law springs directly to mind).

https://quiltmuseum.org/

An assortment of pictures from the current expeditions are shown below.  For more information, click the link above.

 I tried to get a few pictures that would show the stitching, and texture.  My Lord of the Rings fans should be loving on the middle set.

Heading out of Paducah - checking out some gorgeous buildings we could see from downtown.

Also - we researched the Benevolent Protective order of Elks and deem their background story worth an entertaining read.  

https://www.elks.org/lodges/LodgePages.cfm?LodgeNumber=183&ID=8896

Sleep well everyone!  Current plans for us are to wake up very early to get over to Ferne Cliffe.  If the walls are dry enough to climb on (BIG "if") then we'll see what can be done - no extra risks.  If not, then we'll just do some more hiking around the park and watch for eclipse starting around 12:43pm.

Goreville, IL

Partial begins

Apr 8 at 12:43:06 pm

Full begins

Apr 8 at 1:59:31 pm

Maximum

Apr 8 at 2:01:32 pm

Full ends

Apr 8 at 2:03:32 pm

Partial ends

Apr 8 at 3:18:24 pm