Posted on 08/23/2017 5:43:07 PM PDT by DuncanWaring
My daughter and I drove up to Andersen, SC for the eclipse, leaving Sunday early in the morning and hanging out there Sunday afternoon and evening.
Let me first put an accolade out to the Hilton Garden Inn -- great people, and very accommodating. We wound up having to run-n-gun at the last minute as one nasty cloud threatened to obliterate our shots of the totality, but that gamble paid big; we were able to get into the clear with time remaining, and were set up and "on-point" about 3-4 minutes before totality was achieved.
The totality itself was surreal. Photographs, no matter how good, do not do it justice. I get it why people chase these things all over the world now.
The return trip home was something else. There was literally no movement over 25mph from Andersen SC southbound until we hit the 85/985 junction north of Atlanta and plenty of time spent at walking speed or less. You probably could have bicycled faster. Worse, attempting to re-route around it manually was pointless; all the state highways and similar were also jammed solid and worthless to try to use as alternative routes. During this time there was no congestion of any sort evident in any of the northbound lanes.
The mapping apps all said there were wrecks everywhere although we never saw one; by the time we got to wherever it had been flagged the wreck was long-gone but the impact remained for the entire rest of the day and evening. Cellular data was worthless or extremely spotty until, once again, we hit Atlanta metro. Voice calls and text messages were fine, but not data; the networks were simply slammed well beyond capacity.
This is very important information folks because while I've certainly seen chain-reaction events like this in some places to see them over a wide scale and large area was sobering.
If some jackass had hit us at that moment in time if you didn't have a go bag good for 3 days or so in the back of your car and be able to bail and get away from the highway you would be DEAD. Not maybe dead, CERTAINLY DEAD.
Let me further remind you that it was nearly 100F out on that highway too with zero cloud cover for most of the journey. My Mazda has an excellent AC system and while it was keeping up it wasn't digging it. What's in your go-bag? There better be drinkable water in there and a means to purify more of it, because at that temperature you're going to go through a hell of a lot of it in a really big hurry. Oh, let me remind you that water weighs 8lbs/gallon and I'm willing to bet that had we needed to bail a gallon per person would have likely been consumed in a few hours. In terms of water demand it probably would get close to (if not exceed) what I experienced while hiking out in the Grand Canyon on Kaibab South - brutal, in other words.
Next, consider what happens if someone else didn't have water and you do? Got anything effective to defend that water supply with and are you willing to use it?
Finally, how are you physically? Could you get out of that car, get away from the highway by a good quarter-mile or more and actually make time on foot, even if slowly, in that situation, toward somewhere safe? Oh, and where is "somewhere safe" in relationship to where you are?
Better have "yes" answers to the above because if not you would be a corpse.
Right near the GA/SC border we pulled into the Love's travel stop. It was mobbed. Cars parked on the grass, 30+ minute lines for fuel (I had filled the night before, anticipating possible shortages, and didn't need any) and a roughly 30 minute line to use the woman's room. The men's bathroom was far more-friendly in that men can******faster than women and were, but someone didn't make it -- there was a badly-soiled set of underwear in there. It would suck to be the dude with the bathroom cleaning responsibility yesterday and whoever previously owned that set of whitey-tighties obviously had a really bad day and rest-of-trip...
I'm sure that Love's made a fortune and "loved" the business; they were in the right place at the right time and I'd happily take the bet that yesterday was their highest grossing day ever in their history and will hold that record until the place finally is razed, whenever that is. This was a friendly crowd that was just looking for gas and something to eat and drink while 150ish miles of interstate was a parking lot. If it had been under less-friendly circumstances pulling in there would have been akin to walking into a massive bar-fight full of 2+ ton weapons and an unlimited supply of gasoline for people with truly nasty intentions, never mind the dozens of OTR trucks.
Again, this was a friendly incident folks and yet it appears that many people on one stretch of road which didn't even include the totality once you got to the GA border failed to manage to drive a car without wrecking. Now contemplate what a handful of intentional wrecks would have done by "someone" with malevolent intent and you start to sober up -- fast.
You got a freebie lesson in this regard if you ran into even a fringe of it, in terms of exactly how under-capacity our so-called "infrastructure" is in response to even relatively minor loads and under friendly terms. In short our so-called "civilization" is nothing more than a thin veneer over a really ugly reality, protected by nothing more than the fact that over the last 150 years it has never been challenged on the ground by heavy load during an ugly natural or man-made incident over any sort of materially-wide area.
Think Katrina times 100 and you might be getting close.
If it ever is challenged that infrastructure will collapse instantly and trap you.
Our ~150 year run in this regard may hold, but if it doesn't you cannot say you weren't warned. You got an object lesson in it on Monday, in spades and over a very wide swath of the nation. As such if you get caught with your pants down if and when the flag goes up you've intentionally ignored the warning you were gifted under friendly circumstances post-eclipse.
There was a silence in which I could hear his mind thinking...and then he decided not to say anything. So either he thinks I'm insane, or he was wondering where he put his old road atlas.
Congratulations to your cat!
While on some Tennessee state highways and finally I-65 and I-71 I was reminded of the Doctor Who episode "Gridlock":
While the Doctor talks to a vendor, Martha is kidnapped at gun point by a young couple named Milo and Cheen. Once in their vehicle, they explain that Cheen is pregnant and that they needed three adult passengers with them to use the fast lane. They promise they will drop Martha off when they reach their destination ten miles away, estimated to take six years.
Another was that good old fashioned paper maps need to go back in each of my vehicles. Smart phone and built in GPS did not provide adequate perspective, when trying to cover long distances. And, popular travel apps do not register that their alternative routes have been overwhelmed until it is too late.
Yep. I'm glad I picked up some at the rest stops. I was able to back track to get off the 2 mph state route to the 15 mph interstate. There is no way I would have seen that road on a GPS or cell phone screen.
As for the eclipse, totality was awsome.
No doubt about it. I was 25 miles east of Nashville and the guy parked next to me was begging a relative to come and see the total eclipse. She was staying just outside the eclipse zone and thought that a 99% eclipse was almost as good as totality. I really hope she drove the ten miles to see it. I was planning on waiting for one to come to me in seven years. Now, I'm considering a couple trips to Chile in 2019 and 2020. ¿Dónde está el eclipse solar?
My husband drove to Nebraska, with lots of food and water. Avoided the major highways there, and avoided the crowded viewing areas. Went to a small park in a small town with some nice people, and had a great time! Totally worth the trip, he said!
Good reminder, though, to be well supplied and avoid the crowds and interstates.
I live in Central Missouri and saw it too, and that is right!
Everything this guy writes just proves he is nucking futs.
I have usually avoided large crowds and tend to move in the opposite direction or simply choose not to join in.
...
Me too. I think if I go to see an eclipse, I’ll stay an extra day.
I might’ve been quite near you. I was on top of a ridge line about an hour or so outside of Madras. I did pretty well with traffic coming in from Ashland on Sunday, but I spend 15 hours getting from Madras to Klamath Falls afterwards. Worth every last minute!
Reality strikes home when the infrastructure and roadways get overwhelmed by mass numbers, in extreme heat
(here it is transportation and facilities unable to handle mass civilian movement on major highways)
The advantages of being prepared, having food and water supplies, anticipating and planning ahead fuel needs,
and the need for a 'go bag'(suitable for the season).
There is currently a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico that may soon become a Hurricane and then linger and wander, thus swamping the area.
Some TV weathermen state that some locations could receive as much as 23 inches of rain
If you don't have a 'go bag'- make one for yourself and family (suggestions: personal ID, cash, credit cards, changes of underwear & clothes, water supplies, hand-held food/nutrition bars,
cellphone and charger, glasses, medications, etc.)
Also, don't forget to change it out according to the change in seasons
Hat Tip to DuncanWaring for an excellent de-briefing and assessment on an over-loaded infrastructure in the absence of crisis.
I saw it in MO also but drove 3 hours - the people who stayed put and saw the 99% or whatever, you CANNOT convince them of what the difference is! Oh well.
I did put in some additional prep getting ready for the road trip, in case I was stranded hours on I-44. Kind of like getting ready for a hiking trip instead of a simple drive. It was congested afterward, but moving well thank goodness.
Great article !
Next total eclipse in the US is in April 2024.
https://www.space.com/37878-solar-eclipse-2024-path-of-totality-maps.html
I traveled to Central Oregon, I had a good plan getting there (from Ashland sort of diagonally across the Cascades, no traffic at all, beautiful drive), but coming back, I was in the middle of the traffic jam to end all traffic jams. 100 miles of bumper to bumper, stop and go. I’m actually impressed with my fellow Americans though, I saw or heard about zero social problems, even with infrastructure massively overloaded. And yes, well worth every minute stuck in traffic!
I didn't see this eclipse but I did back in 1979 and many of these descriptions take me back. The conditions were a little different since the 1979 one was in the middle of winter but the sky was clear enough it was just as eerie and spectacular. Over the years I have come to the conclusion that trying to relate this to someone who hasn't seen and experienced it is difficult. The best one can say to them is if they get the chance go to the totality zone and experience it for yourself. Near the centerline for max viewing if possible. Do it safely and enjoy it and if they ask if it is worth the trip I say yes you won't regret it.
>>the people who stayed put and saw the 99% or whatever, you CANNOT convince them of what the difference is!
The difference between 99% and Totality is similar to the difference between kissing someone, versus having sex with that someone.
Putting it that way might help.
Thanks!
I was thinking about this on the way home, on Interstate 5.
It practically shows that planning to escape is basically a crap shoot - with the crap ending it for about 98% of the people trying.
I5 was bumper to bumper for pretty much the entire way home. It started to “thin out” after about 100 miles.
I was well equipped and had no problem taking off ramps and catching 1/2 an hour of sleep at a time. I had plenty of food and liquids, so was OK. But if it were a real situation, I would not even try it. Imagine that you yourself are all ready and have a full tank of gas and get on the road... you immediately are running stop and go and soon, very soon, you are stuck behind an electric car that just ran out of juice!
For my eclipse report, see
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3578867/posts?page=152#152
I was in Lebanon, TN, so maybe a little further east than you. Got on I-65 at Bowling Green, off and on again about 10 miles before Elizabethtown, KY. The most upsetting part was a 45 minute stand-still on I-71 at Wilmington, Ohio. They were really creating a dangerous situation working to replace reflectors (without barrier protection) when much of the traffic had been on the road for 9+ hours at that point. Ohio 2024!
> The totality itself was surreal. Photographs, no matter how good, do not do it justice. I get it why people chase these things all over the world now.
Yes, I’d witnessed a partial eclipse previously (in 1984) and was not impressed. Just a tiny bit of the sun can produce a lot of illumination. There’s no comparison with a total eclipse. It’s awesome!
Cell phone coverage is certainly good most of the time in the US, but my particular carrier did not work at all where I was going for the Eclipse. This happens to me regularly when I drive long distances, as I am not along the coasts. Paper maps are still useful.
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