Ping.
Well the mother ship was circling the Earth so we were safe; and my cat’s first wedding anniversary went off without a hitch so there is that.
I mix my pessimism with optimism —
I think a catastrophe could very well cause a population collapse. There are many potential causes, I don’t need to pick one. But a serious die-off seems like a real possibility, given how fragile our society seems to be.
But on the bright side, the population on the far side of the catastrophe will be smarter and stronger, with a better immune system. And they will rebuild society in a way which is less fragile.
I’m sure I’ll be dead, I have no illusion on that. But a reaping seems overdue.
We drove nearly 8 hours to watch and about 14 to return home. That said, it was worth it. My 9-year twins were quite happy. Seeing the total eclipse is not something a picture can do justice with. The sun turned off/on like a light switch, the quiet was incredible. And feeling the temps drop, then go back up... Yes, worth the day off from school, the day off from work, the very long overnight camping trip to watch, in our case, from top of a ridgeline in central Oregon.
Hardly a year goes by in which I don’t hear about some super traffic jam around Atlanta.
I was at work and slept through the whole she-bang.
I have usually avoided large crowds and tend to move in the opposite direction or simply choose not to join in.
Been doing that for a long time. What few crowds I was ever in were mostly arena-rock concerts in the 1980’s. And I didn’t go to very many. I think somewhere around a dozen (went to a Boston concert in the 1990’s once).
Don’t have specific go-bags like that; but not a bad idea. I’d be concerned about getting on the road in an emergency unless there was simply no other choice.
Also, Northbound traffic from Tennessee was horrendous too. (See my post with Eclipse picture here.)
ML/NJ
Minus the zombies, this author experienced the opening of the Walking Dead. In the show, Lore, Carl, and Shane were trying to get to Atlanta but were stuck in traffic with no food. Carol, who was in the traffic jam too, gave Lore some food. Then they watched Atlanta get firebombed, and having no place else to go, turned off the road and camped at a rock quarry.
There were about 20 other people at a small lake in eastern Oregon watching with me. We were blown away by the totality. Temperature drop, fish jumping in lake during the darkness, , corona with small flares. Seeing the black disk surrounded by the corona seemed like being on another planet, or impending doom, or both.
Over my lifetime, two natural events stand out in my mind. This, and the 1980 Mt. St. Helens eruption, of which I was a witness to both.
BTW, no traffic problems to speak of (seemed normal volume), except at one highway bridge which was closed down to one lane for construction. Had to wait 20 minutes.
Five hours down, seven back, and in between was so very, very worth it. Got only two pix that were worth anything but they were worth it all.
And apropos to the theme of this thread, I did see a lot of very prepared people. I did pack a little for the hotel but the survival stuff was all in the Go bag and it took seconds to throw into the car. If you don't have one, make one.
We came in from Clemson on the same traffic jam. We had a case of water and plenty of snack food. Our four drive turned into 7.5.
There was a run on Moon Pies at Sam’s as well. They sold out really early. They even sold out their Sun chips.
I experienced travel northbound out of the Nashville area. One of my takeaways was that the best use of the go bag may involve going back inside and sheltering in place.
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.
As for the eclipse, totality was awsome.
The situation in extreme western Nebraska north of US 20 was just fine on Monday. No (little) infrastructure, no problem...
We drove about afternoon before to Wyoming, staying the night about 2 hours from our ‘totality spot’ on a gravel country road. We had 3 days food/water/clothes as our plan was continue NE after the eclipse into South Dakota for a two-night stay in Custer City and environs.
Going in, no problem at all. Leaving we got caught in one bottleneck that resulted in 90 minutes of creeping/sitting. After that, 75mph the rest of the way.
Seeing (and feeling) the eclipse was fabulous, as I’ve always loved astronomy. No clouds, but haze from wildfires in Montana added color.
It was a great mini-vacay and my pro-photog wife got great pics including the diamond ring effect.
Mt. Rushmore is awesome btw, had never seen it before.
Fortunately, being in central South Carolina, I could watch the eclipse just by going out my back door. If I’d been elsewhere and known how awesome it would be ahead of time, though, I’d have been willing to travel. Here are some posts that I wrote about it at the time on another forum:
A total eclipse of the sun is currently sweeping across the United States from the Northwest to the Southeast. (If you’re not already in its path, you’re probably too late.) It’s expected here in central South Carolina in about an hour.
I plan on going outside for the experience. Hope I don’t start howling and go berserk (and hope my neighbors don’t). If I don’t return, you’ll know the eclipse got me
It’s over. Wow! Was that great!
I’d seen a partial eclipse before (and projected the image onto a piece of paper), and wasn’t especially impressed. This was awesome, though — no comparison.
I didn’t have special glasses, so I had to wait for total darkness. That darkness lasted over two minutes, though, and during that time I could look up and see a black globe (the moon) with the sun’s corona around it.
As darkness began, insects started chirping. Then with complete darkness I could see lightning bugs (fireflies) flying about. When the sun returned, the chirping subsided, and the lightning bugs disappeared.
It was a great experience. If anyone who hasn’t seen a total eclipse ever has the opportunity later to travel a moderate distance to see one, I heartily recommend it.
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.