Sunday, September 17, 2017
Mid-Life Crisis Road Trip 2017, Days 9-14.
Saturday, August 19. Despite drinking a lot of Fireball, I did not have a hangover. They were a number of competitions on Saturday at Rendevous. I cannot show you some of the photographs.
Panorama.
It is was so much fun sharing the eclipse experience with strangers.
The six nurses and I.
We put on our glasses. The two extra pairs I had came into use, one going to Nick from Austin and one to Jason from Colorado Springs.
Collin, George, Tom, Teddy, Abe, and Homer.
Very crowded with lots of people from Europe and Asia. Few children (yeah!). We sat down and called the car place and discovered Collin's car was totaled. Sigh. Drove back, got a hotel room, had pizza and calzone in Douglas, went to bed.
The next day I drove Collin back home to Colorado. This altered my route, I was originally going to drive through Montana and Oregon, but now I had lost two days drive time. So I ended up driving through Colorado westward. I spent the night in Glenwood Springs at a hotel under renovation.
It was snowing at one spot. The last time I drove down this road was in 1987 with Melanie, coming back from Grand Tetons, and in the 30 years since the little towns had gotten bigger as rich people buy 2nd or 3rd homes there. So much wealth, it is crazy.
Glenwood Canyon is really remarkable, the pictures I took don't reveal how beautiful it is.
Homer and Brandon.
Homer in Utah.
I bought an annual pass ($80) and then drove to the Green River Campground.
Camp site.
That night there was a program on Monarch Butterflies. I had seen the woman giving the presentation in Tucson several years ago at a Santa Cruz River Conference, and we chatted a little. Small world. Before the talk began, she spotted a Monarch flying nearby and was super excited.
The sunset was gorgeous that night. And then the stars came out. You forget how beautiful the night sky is when there is no light pollution.
Sunset along the Green River.
Saturday, August 19. Despite drinking a lot of Fireball, I did not have a hangover. They were a number of competitions on Saturday at Rendevous. I cannot show you some of the photographs.
Contestants.
I participated in the tug-of-war in the mud pit, unfortunately no photographs. My team of three men and a woman won, although we were smaller than the opposing team of four burly men. I may have tripped their lead man. I ended up being covered in head-to-toe in mud.
That night Steve Grand performed. He is one of the three gay singers (also Tom Goss and Matt Alber) that go around the country. He had been in Provincetown, where Jimbo saw him a few days earlier. He did some of his own songs and covers, a nice job. Very friendly.
Homer and Steve.
The next morning I drove north to Douglas, Wyoming. I wanted to be in the best area for eclipse viewing the next day. I camped out in Medicine Bow, again, but a long way from the unit where Rendevous took place. The camp site was 37 miles south of Douglas, including 12 miles of bumpy dirt road.
Medicine Bow, dirt road.
From my camp site.
I got bored, it was hours until sunset. Ended up driving back to Douglas, where I ended up running in an acquaintance, Collin from Colorado. We watched the Douglas Eclipse Street Festival, and then Collin followed me back to my campsite. Almost. Unfortunately, he managed to skid out in his 2022 Chevy Cavalier, ran into a dirt embankment, and totaled his car. Sigh. As he panicked I told him everything would be alright. So that was exciting.
The next morning, Monday August 21, we drove into Douglas, called a couple of tow places, and then drove back out to a spot I thought would make a good viewing area. There were a number of other people parked there- four people from Austin, Texas; six pediatric nurses from Colorado; a father, two of his kids, and three or four of their friends from Colorado Springs; a pair of men from Montreal; some people from Switzerland; and some others. Click on the panorama I took below of the crowd.
It is was so much fun sharing the eclipse experience with strangers.
We put on our glasses. The two extra pairs I had came into use, one going to Nick from Austin and one to Jason from Colorado Springs.
Collin and Homer not burning our eyes out.
Gradually the moon crossed over the sun. It became cooler and darker, a sort of pinkish glow. It was still pretty light out until the very last moment. Then totality. We shouted with excitement.
Totality as viewed from my cell phone.
I was expecting to be rather emotional, this was one of the things I wanted to do before I die. Surprisingly, it was just a fun experience, shared with instant new friends. In seven years I am going to Austin, Texas to see the next one.
We camped out at the Wyoming State Fairground with the four Austinites (Nik, Julia, Mike, and Carl[?], and their dog. Sipping beer and talking. The next morning Collin and I went over to the car repair place and met with them, and then drove off to Mount Rushmore.
Three states I had not been to: South Dakota, Alaska, and Florida. Now only two left.
South Dakota.
Nothing special about the drive. Passed through long areas with few houses. Small dying towns. Paid $10 for parking at Mount Rushmore and ate a picnic lunch on the trunk of my car.
To say Mount Rushmore is underwhelming would be to under-exaggerate how boring it is. Four giant heads sculpted on a mountain. Weird.
Collin, George, Tom, Teddy, Abe, and Homer.
Very crowded with lots of people from Europe and Asia. Few children (yeah!). We sat down and called the car place and discovered Collin's car was totaled. Sigh. Drove back, got a hotel room, had pizza and calzone in Douglas, went to bed.
The next day I drove Collin back home to Colorado. This altered my route, I was originally going to drive through Montana and Oregon, but now I had lost two days drive time. So I ended up driving through Colorado westward. I spent the night in Glenwood Springs at a hotel under renovation.
It was snowing at one spot. The last time I drove down this road was in 1987 with Melanie, coming back from Grand Tetons, and in the 30 years since the little towns had gotten bigger as rich people buy 2nd or 3rd homes there. So much wealth, it is crazy.
Glenwood Canyon is really remarkable, the pictures I took don't reveal how beautiful it is.
Glenwood Canyon.
Several tunnels, I am a big fan of tunnels.
Tunnel.
Thursday, August 24 I drove back a ways and had lunch with Brandon. That was fun, the food very hipser-ish (cucumbers three ways, the warm cucumber was gross).
I then drove north to go see Dinosaur National Monument. Google maps took me the back route (something that became increasingly common the more remote I was). I finally reached Utah.
I bought an annual pass ($80) and then drove to the Green River Campground.
That night there was a program on Monarch Butterflies. I had seen the woman giving the presentation in Tucson several years ago at a Santa Cruz River Conference, and we chatted a little. Small world. Before the talk began, she spotted a Monarch flying nearby and was super excited.
The sunset was gorgeous that night. And then the stars came out. You forget how beautiful the night sky is when there is no light pollution.
