ice1972

Isn't it crazy how as diligent and prepared you try to be and think you are you have to keep adapting all the way up to zero time.....I booked into and out of Madison WI as it was the cheapest I could find and accepted that I'd have to drive pretty far....initial target was Ravenna NE but it became clear that was out by last night.....so sitting in my hotel room in Omaha I figured I'd drive southeast into central MO and assess visible satellite once I got to around Marshall......so when I pulled off 70 into a fireworks station - they love their fireworks in MO apparently - the sun was obscured quite a bit so I fired up COD weather and visible was just coming in and it looked like a good spot might be Ashland - about 40 miles more east and south.....so I bolted but couldn't find a decent public spot there so went back to Columbia and found an awesome soccer field full of folks with wide open 360 views......sun was only behind light haze.....which didn't matter in the end and the 2.5 minute experience - all of it really - was totally worth it......I'm hooked

It would be nice if confidence in cloud cover in an April eclipse in New England was higher.....I've already told my wife we're headed to at least Texas.....after today you gotta do whatever you can to get in a spot where totality happens combined with low prob cloud cover.....that was brutal today.....would have been nice today to not have had to drive 350 miles to get to clear totality.....but I would totally do it again....lol

No question....the approaching darkness from the west and the birds and wind thing were all real and the stars and planets thing....Venus in this case was awesome....and how the cu field dissipated....all of it was just so fantastic....I stayed the entire 3 hours....my glasses appear to not be fakes....keeping those for 2024.....

Somstarted in Omaha headed south on 29 to 70 and got to Columbia MO.....then straight north through super rural MO into Iowa to Iowa City....hell of a day....like a chess match...playing with the clouds trying to get to a clear spot....amazing few days

I just got back to my hotel in Iowa City.....there were a couple backups leaving Columbia MO but I think I was outside the major ****....took 5 hrs still

Damn dude.....

There's no question that all the work I put in today to get myself into the centerline and the miles I had to drive to do that was worth it.....for 2.5 minutes....some might say "are you insane that you drove 600 miles today for 2.5 minutes?".....and I would say "I see you've never seen totality.....next".....

Lol....pretty much

I also loved watching the incoming lightness from the west.....that was cool

And Fella everything you said I noticed too.....all of sudden there was no more cu around....we still had the high haze but I could still make out the corona....really great.... also I didn't notice the birds until I heard start chirping again.....the diamond ring effect is awesome....man I'm hooked....Aruba right?

The cell network went down for like 20 min after totality.....but man.....that was incredible....

Sliver

This is great

I'm noticing it big time now.....8 min

80% or so.....18 min....and I swear the cu field has diminished.....I'm doing a time lapse using my iPad of the crowd trying to capture the dimming to dark and back....I'll review the cu field after

About 55% eclipse maybe 60%.....might get a clear opening in the clouds when this thing goes total

Do we think now the CU field may get suppressed? As the sun is getting dimmer?

Same here.....****

Flirting with cu field here.....yikes....45 minutes to total

Here we go......sun is bright but there's a faint haze but im pleased with where I got to from Nebraska and reading the visible.....

Lol

I'm done searching.....hot a spot in Columbia MO at Marriot.....there's some groups set up with some pretty sweet gear.....maybe I'll try to talk to them.....very faint high altitude cirrus but so far it's not a problem.....

Diverting to Ashland....still 3.5 hrs until it begins

Man am I happy I bailed on Nebraska....sun just came out from behind a cloud deck extending north....just has to hold on for a few more hours

May just stop at Booneville....right on centerline....