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Hiking & Traveling - National Parks
Index
Hiking & Traveling - National Parks
Since Minnesota is legendary for its extreme cold, why not start by admiring the beauty of Minnesota in the winter?
Index
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Death Valley National Park
Video 1: A beautiful view from the kitchen on a lazy fall early afternoon. Nice to see the willow tree that we had planted a few years ago doing so well. The leaves are turning and the winter is not far away. But I love fall - it is my favorite season in Minnesota.
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ILLINOIS
Solar Eclipse at Olney, IL (April 8, 2024) April 15, 2024
The sky was almost cloud free, and I could see the Sun through the windshield if I arched my neck enough to look up. Christine was driving - snaking behind a caravan of cars along the backroads of rural southern Illinois. I put my eclipse glasses on and kept on looking up. There was no Moon. Then a small dark dent appeared at 5 o’clock on the Sun. That was the Moon. Nothing else of it was visible. By that time, we were in the 100% eclipse zone, and we could have stopped. But Olney City Park was only 15 minutes away. There was still plenty of time before the actual spectacle was to begin.
We were supposed to have been 240 miles away in Poplar Bluff, MO. But the weather forecast had turned iffy several days ago. Therefore, we had driven to southern Illinois instead, where the forecast was promising, although not guaranteed. Last night we had stayed in Bloomington-Normal - our “base camp”. It had an eclipse coverage of 96%, and the missing 4% made the difference between night and day. Earlier in the morning, we had poured over a map to pick the perfect location. It had to be inside the 100% eclipse belt, not more than 3 hours away, as much cloud free as possible, and unlikely to be overcrowded. The balance tipped to Olney, IL – thanks to a recommendation from the friendly hotel concierge. Olney was three hours’ drive from our “base camp” and located 120 miles due east of St. Louise, MO.
The drive was surprisingly trouble free. The dreaded traffic jam remained MIA. Most people were headed for Mount Vernon, IL, and even more for Carbondale, IL. They were interested in more than just the eclipse. We (especially I) wanted a small, quiet gathering in a park. Olney City Park fit the bill perfectly. It is the “Home of the White Squirrels”, said a sign. But we saw no such thing squireling around. Perhaps they were afraid of the eclipse, or had forgotten to get their eclipse glasses? Of course, no living creature, except for humans, felt the urge to stare at the Sun and potentially damage their eyesight.
Two Minnesotans at Olney City Park, Home of the White Squirrel
By the time we arrived, people had already set up their camps. Some reclined on folding chairs, others spread out on picnic blankets – every now and then grabbing into their coolers for a sandwich, a drink, or some munchies. The kids were having their day on surrounding playgrounds. It was a gorgeous sunny day, and everyone was in a festive mood. We too, chose a spot, brought out our folding chairs and got ready for the empyrean spectacle to unfold. This was our second total eclipse, the first one was just a few years ago, on August 21, 2017. We had observed that one from Lincoln, NE. The experience was so breathtaking that we had decided then and there not to miss the next opportunity in the USA. So, here we were.
Solar eclipses are not that rare. But most of the earth’s surface is either covered with water or is uninhabited, making most of the eclipses impractical to observe. Of course, there is never a guarantee that the sky will be cloud free. On an average, one total or annular eclipse occurs every 18 months or so. Partial eclipses are even more frequent. The difference between a total and an annular eclipse is the in the former the entirety of the Sun is covered by the Moon, whereas in the latter, a ring of sunlight remains visible around the Moon. Both are supposed to be equally spectacular. We have observed only total eclipses, although these are rarer than annular eclipses.
Ancient societies associated such celestial events with divine omen, and many have been recorded. The earliest recorded total solar eclipse is from October 22, 2134 BCE in China. That was during the Shang dynasty, and can be found in the "Shujing" or "Book of Documents," one of the Five Classics of ancient Chinese literature.
If you are interested, here are the next opportunities to observe a solar eclipse. Those in bold are total eclipses, the other annular. https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/list.html
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Oct 2, 2024 (southern tip of South America)
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Feb 17, 2026 (Antarctica)
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August 12, 2026 (Spain)
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Feb 6, 2027 (southern tip of South America)
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Aug 2, 2027 (Spain, northern Africa, Middle East)
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Jan 26, 2028 (Spain, Ecuador, Columbia, Brazil, Surinam)
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Jul 22, 2028 (Australia)
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Jun 1, 2030 (Southern Europe, Russia, China, Japan)
Eclipse coverage in Minnesota vs. Olney, IL
Back to Olney. The sky had remained cloudless. We watched through our eclipse glasses as the ever-growing dark spot engulfed half the Sun even as the temperature, brightness, and the feel of the day remained unchanged. The dark spot on the Sun was the Moon – the rest of it remaining invisible. The Moon continued its slow crawl, soon making the Sun just a sickle. The Moon was relentless. The sickle became thinner and thinner, until the Moon gobbled up the entire Sun. Up in the sky there was a big dark blob and no Sun!
An eerie twilight descended upon us that was neither dawn nor dusk. The temperature dropped perceptibly. I took off the eclipse glasses and stared straight at the dark orb that used to be the Sun. As I stared, I was transported back to that day on Aug. 21, 2017, and the memories flooded in…
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“I had expected a dark sky with stars twinkling, birds chirping, and all that. Instead, I found myself in a twilight world of neither day nor night. And up in the sky, instead of the Sun, there was a strange circle of corona, flickering with a subdued psychedelic flame – mostly blue, purple and pink. I kept looking at the faint ring of the cosmic flame, taking in every flicker and every subtle change in hue with all my senses. I have no recollection of all the exclamations around me because I was not there – I was one with the cosmos. It lasted for an eternity, and it lasted for a brief moment - and both would be true because time had lost its meaning. The end came with a sudden burst of a dazzling "diamond ring". I had to look away instinctively to protect my vision.... and I woke up!"
There were some differences though. This time, with 3:40 minutes, the total eclipse was longer. A rare bonus was the appearance of Jupiter and Venus as bright stars on the left and the right, respectively, of the Sun-Moon duo! And at the end of the totality, the typical "diamond burst" was especially dazzling.
Just as last time, and for the same reasons, I didn’t take any photos. Fortunately, Christine did, and captured something interesting. And that's the unusual nature of shadows during the twilight time. The shadows are shorter and sharper than at dawn or dusk.
Eclipse Twilight (photo credit Christine)
Shadow before (left) and during the eclipse (right). Photo credit Christine.
The rest was routine. We took our time to let most of the folks leave first. We were in no hurry because we’d be driving only to Champaign, IL for the night, and then drive back to Minnesota the next morning. Here it’d be remiss not to mention three fabulous dinners we had during this eclipse trip. The first one was in Bloomington-Normal (Sichuan Chinese Normal serving Chinese); the second one serving Indian (Kohinoor Indian Restaurant) in Champaign; and the third one serving Thai (Thai Orchid Restaurant) in Eau Claire. In every case, not only was the food and the service excellent, the price was noticeably lower than in Minnesota.
MINNESOTA
A SHORT WINTER GATEAWAY TO LAKE SUPERIOR (FEBRUARY 2019) March, 2019
February was a bitter cold month, and ended with a polar vortex. The air temperature had gone down to -26F (-32C), and the wind chill to -50s. What better thing to do than drive up north? We wanted to see the frozen Lake Superior and take some pictures. When it gets really cold, the landscape becomes interesting. Couple of years ago, we had driven up to just north of Duluth (see pictures here). But this time, we wanted to keep going all the way to Grand Marais and do some snow shoeing as well.
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Measured by the surface area, Lake Superior is the largest fresh water lake in the world. And its deepest spot is 1,279 feet (400 meters). Not surprisingly, it doesn’t freeze over easily. The last time it had done so was in 1997; and in 2013 to 90%. This time, and in spite of the polar vortex, the lake was not completely frozen.
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On our way up, we stopped at Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. It is a favorite resting spot of ours when travelling north for hiking - usually in the fall. We arrived in the afternoon of a cold, crystal clear, windless, sunny day. It was winter at its best. We took a long, solitary walk on the frozen lake, along its bank, and waited for the beautiful sunset. Then we moved on to Grand Marais.
Sunset at Split Rock Lighthouse State Park
The Fisherman's Secret has a secret
Grand Marais is right on Lake Superior. It is not much of a town, with one main street. Even then, we prefer to go there in the fall, after most tourists have left. You know, this is just me, seeking solitude. But now in winter, it was almost deserted.
On the first day, we did Pincushion Mountain located just a stone’s throw from the town. To get there, exit Grand Marais on HWY 61, heading north towards the Canadian border. But take an immediate left on Gunflint Trail. And Pincushion Trail will be on your right just after 2.5 miles. There I was reminded how crazy some Minnesotans are. The snow shoe trail is now shared with “fat tire bikers”. It is quite a craze. We encountered one young biker right at the trail head. But he was gone in a whiff, not to be seen again. And we were left alone for rest of the day!
Snowshoeing on Pincushion Mountain Trail
Fat tire biking on snowshoe trail
All good things must come to an end, and so did our trip. But not before we had a wonderful evening and a nice dinner at the rustic Cascade Lodge Restaurant, right on the outskirt of Grand Marais. As luck would have it, a live band was playing that evening. The lead singer sang the story of his 20 years of traveling life. I was in the mood, and somehow he kept on reminding me of Bob Dylan. The next morning we drove back to Maplewood.
John Sonofmel performing at Cascade Lodge Restaurant
Cruising down to Grand Marais on a sunny autumn day. This is from the good old days in 2016, when the town became practically a ghost town, left all to yourself. Last time we were there was in the fall of 2023. It was an absolute disaster, overrun with tourists ....
NEBRASKA
SOLAR ECLIPSE (at Tierra Briarhurst Park, NE, August 21, 2017) November, 2018
The sun had long made its appearance. It was the moon that we were waiting for. Then up in the heavens, they were going to have their celestial rendezvous. And down here, at the Tierra Briarhurst Park, a handful of earthlings had gathered to bear witness.
Just a day earlier we had driven from Minnesota to Lincoln, NE to meet up with our friends Judy and Merle from Wisconsin. Lincoln was the closest town in the path of the total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017.
Earlier in the morning, in the dining hall of Hampton Inn, I had seen groups huddled together deciding where to go. Most of them were going to a big event just outside of Lincoln, with several NASA astronauts and other experts, complete with all the hoopla of a mass event. They seemed somewhat stressed out about traffic jam and parking. Why would I want that kind of headache?
Then there was the thing with clouds – some potentially coming our way. I learned that some hardcores had already left for Missouri long before dawn to guarantee a cloud free sky. We decided to stick it out. So here we were, at Tierra Briarhurst Park, a nondescript neighborhood park in Lincoln, making ourselves comfortable, together with a handful of others.
I did not have my camera with me, even though photography is my hobby. In the runup to the event I had noticed many hobby photographers gearing up with expensive lenses and fancy gadgets. But I had remained cool, and cheap – spending just $10 to get some ISO 12312-2 certified solar eclipse glasses.
As we waited, I was bemused to see the hustle and bustle of the amateur photographers trying out their gadgets. I had no such worries. And later, during the 1:35 minute long eclipse, while they fiddled to get the best shot of a lifetime, all I had to do was just let myself go – and be entertained by the most mind-bending experience I ever had.
Finally, the moon arrived. I donned the high-tech glasses and settled down in my chair, gazing straight up at the sun. The sun looked like a dim yellow circle, and the moon creeped upon it. Slowly, very slowly, the sun first became a concave half circle, and soon a sickle. But the moon was relentless, and suddenly nothing was to be seen. I took my glasses off.
I had expected a dark sky with stars twinkling, the birds chirping, and all that. Instead, I found myself in a twilight world of neither day nor night. And up in the sky, instead of the sun, there was a strange circle of corona, flickering with a subdued psychedelic flame – mostly blue, purple and pink. I kept looking at the faint ring of the cosmic flame, taking in every flicker and every subtle change in hue with all my senses. I have no recollection of all the exclamations around me because I was not there – I was one with the cosmos. It lasted for an eternity, and it lasted for a brief moment - and both would be true because time had lost its meaning. The end came with a sudden burst of a dazzling "diamond ring". I had to look away instinctively to protect my vision.... and I woke up!
The next total eclipse on mainland USA is on April 8, 2024. The path runs along Buffalo/Rochester, NY, Cleveland, OH, Indianapolis, IN and between Dallas/San Antonio, TX. Don’t miss it if you can help it. If you watch, don’t settle for anything less than a total eclipse view – the difference is stunning. And by the way, when you go, just leave your camera at home!
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Now off to Rocky Mountain National Park...... Back to Solar Eclipse in Illinois