On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
Good Morning All,
This weekday feature is for Juicers who are are on the road, traveling, or just want to share a little bit of their world via stories and pictures. So many of us rise each morning, eager for something beautiful, inspiring, amazing, subtle, of note, and our community delivers – a view into their world, whether they’re far away or close to home – pictures with a story, with context, with meaning, sometimes just beauty. By concentrating travel updates and tips here, it’s easier for all of us to keep up or find them later.
So please, speak up and share some of your adventures and travel news here, and submit your pictures using our speedy, secure form. You can submit up to 7 pictures at a time, with an overall description and one for each picture.
You can, of course, send an email with pictures if the form gives you trouble, or if you are trying to submit something special, like a zipped archive or a movie. If your pictures are already hosted online, then please email the links with your descriptions.
For each picture, it’s best to provide your commenter screenname, description, where it was taken, and date. It’s tough to keep everyone’s email address and screenname straight, so don’t assume that I remember it “from last time”. More and more, the first photo before the fold will be from a commenter, so making it easy to locate the screenname when I’ve found a compelling photo is crucial.
Have a wonderful day and weekend – enjoy the pictures!
First, thanks for all who donated, and big thanks to John. Lots of good stuff will be rolling out soon, but most importantly, I think the “comments disappearing” issue that plagues some users is solved!
Now for a serious tip: one tip I always pass on for emergencies is: plastic bags. Ideally gallon size, but also trash bags, quart, sandwich, etc. – put all of them into one big ziploc to keep them all dry. They are great for so many things, but keeping them clean and dry until needed is key. They can be used to store/move clean water, collect rain, collect waste for safer disposal, add a bug and waterproof covering to food, medicine, or other important items, act as gloves, etc. – they’re a very handy tool, even lifesaving.
I also like to keep a lighter, matches, and some dryer lint (for kindling) in a double or triple bag so that I have a guaranteed source of fire. If you have to use a knife for first aid, you can sanitize the blade before cutting (alcohol-based hand sanitizer hurts like a bitch when you rub it into a fresh wound, but it can help in a pinch, too)
Have a good and safe weekend, everybody! All of our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in Irma’s path, future and past (commenter Betty, are you ok?)
And now: eclipse-a-rama, part deux.
So this isn’t as funny as it was when it was sent, but still…it IS topical, if mordant.
I know I speak for all of us: Betty Cracker et famille, be safe!
This gem is from valued commenter low-tech cyclist.
Church signboard: “The End Times: Tuesday 6 PM”
(Just south of Plant City, FL – practically in Betty Cracker’s backyard!)
Who knew it was THAT imminent?
I enjoyed the eclipse with my mom – she had been scheduled to still be in hospital, recovering from surgery, but things ended up going differently, so she was home and I had eclipse glasses for each of us (and a pair to lend to her Taiwanese friends visiting DC).
Still weak from surgery, she clung on to me a lot to steady herself as we stood in her front yard, but it was amazing, even if we only saw ~80% totality. I did take a few leaf pictures so here’s the best. If you zoom in a bit or have better eyes than I, you’ll see lots and lots of crescents from the eclipsed sun. These were made by the intersections of leaves, acting in concert like a host of pinhole cameras. Just so neat.
Next up, pictures from valued commenter KarenH.
Mr. KarenH and I traveled from San Antonio to Plymouth, Nebraska, allegedly to visit his sister and other relatives, but timed so as to see the eclipse. I had hoped to get some photos of the eclipse itself, but the weather didn’t cooperate and it was cloudy with a slight drizzle. Our location was in a soybean field about 4 miles west of Plymouth(with permission of the owners) and there was nobody else around. Even though we couldn’t see the sun, we knew when totality occurred because it became dark and quiet, and then the crickets started chirping. Our location was perfect to see the 360 degree “sunset” though and these are my images of that.
North Horizon
View to the north during totality.
South Horizon
View to the south during totality.
East Horizon
Nearing the end of totality and the cornfield somewhat blocks horizon.
West Horizon
I particularly like this one because of the telephone lines and farmstead in the distance.
Just…wow. The world and universe are just so amazing! And the skill of our readers – just amazing pictures, thank you so much for those amazing pictures, KarenH, do send us more when you can.
Next, pictures from valued commenter randy khan.
I promised an eclipse photo if any of them came out. Here’s the best one I got – no filters, no fancy lenses, no processing except to crop it.
Taken on 2017-08-21
Cape May, New Jersey
An eclipse photo from Cape May, New Jersey, where the clouds came and went and sometimes let you see the crescent of the sun when they were just the right thickness. This photo was taken about 18 minutes before the maximum.
Awesome, randy khan, do send us more when you can!
Finally, pictures from valued commenter The Midnight Lurker.
Due to an unchecked item on my bucket list, I drove with my lovely wife to Clarksville, TN to see the total eclipse. I rented a black Cadillac for the trip and planned on driving no more than five hours a day. First day, after a late start, we ran into a massive pileup on Interstate 30 just east of Texarkana. After two hours of bumper-to-bumper crawl, we got off on the back roads of Arkansas and lost count of the many Confederate flags, dilapidated trailer homes, and pick-ups on blocks that we passed. I found myself humming Dueling Banjos until my wife ordered me to please stop. I didn’t stop to take any pictures because I didn’t want to get shot. Nine hours and an uneasy, front seat armistice later, we arrived at our halfway point — Hot Springs.
We stayed at a great hotel, the Burgundy. It is a romantic get-a-way with a great on-site restaurant, Table 28. But by the time we arrived, we were too tired to go. And since my wife had lost her appetite for anything other than my head on a platter, I ordered some horderves for myself to the room, sat in my corner and ate in silence. Despite the rotten day, they were delicious.
Sorry I didn’t take any pictures there either, but the next day we were anxious to get back on the road to our destination. We were worried of a repeat of the previous day, what with the endless rabble of alarmists on cable TV predicting eclipse related, Walking Dead-ish traffic snarls. But we had clear sailing to Clarksville.
I originally had reservations at the Marriott in Paducah, KY, but Hotels.com/Marriott (they each blame the other) cancelled my booking two weeks ago saying they were overbooked. A pox on their houses. So we spent Sunday night at the America’s Best Value Inn for the nominal fee of $300 and I was lucky to get it.
The day of, I debated going to Hopkinsville, KY to get closer to ground zero, but my wife forbade it. So I paid an additional $75 so I could get a late check-out and permission to set up my tripod in the parking lot. No photos here either because… well, it was the parking lot of a no-tell motel just off the Interstate. Use your imagination.
The eclipse was great. i was in a good position to get a shot of Baily’s beads which are the pink blobs of sunlight that rim the eclipse. It’s where sunlight passes through the mountains and craters of the moon or something. Get Levenson to explain it.
Immediately after the event, we drove to Memphis and stayed at the Peabody (no, I’m not rich I just travel that way). It is a beautiful old hotel that was spared being demolished back in the seventies. And there are the ducks.
Each morning at 11:00, a badling of ducks are marched from their penthouse palace on the roof down to the lobby where they walk a red carpet to the hotel’s fountain. There they remain until 5:00 when they are marched back. They are led by a Duckmaster, sort of a Drum Major in a mini-parade. i know it sounds corny, but the hotel guests, especially the kids, get a big kick out of it. My wife loved it, but I missed it because I drove across to border to Mississippi to clean my mother’s and grandparent’s headstones out of some stupid sense of obligation. So no photos of cute ducks marching to the delight of small children.
After a good night’s rest, we drove to Hot Springs, AR and checked into the Embassy Suites by Hilton Hot Springs Hotel & Spa or E.S.H.H.S.H.S. The hotel is reminiscent of the Hyatt Regency in San Francisco. I didn’t take any photos here because my wife and I were too busy reenacting our favorite bits from Mel Brooks’ High Anxiety.
The next morning, while my wife got a massage and herbal soak, and operating under direct orders from Sgt. Cole, I treated myself to a luxury pedicure. My feet thank you, Sergeant. Then we had a leisurely drive back to Texas where we were greeted by a molting baby velociraptor.
Totality in Clarksville, TN. Baily’s beads at 3 and 5 o’clock.
My favorite shot — the end of totality.
A couple of minutes after totality.
Lobby of the Peabody.
Duck Palace on the rooftop of the Peabody.
What are you looking at?
Thank you so much The Midnight Lurker, do send us more when you can.
Travel or shelter in place safely everybody, and do share some stories in the comments, even if you’re joining the conversation late. Many folks confide that they go back and read old threads, one reason these are available on the Quick Links menu.
One again, to submit pictures: Use the Form or Send an Email
berliner2
It’s exactly like Vittorio de Sica predicted in his 1961 film “Il giudizio universale”: The final judgment starts at 6 p.m. https://youtu.be/wbDL5Kvhp_s
JPL
Wonderful picture and special thanks to Midnight Lurker for sharing his adventures.
OzarkHillbilly
My eclipse pics are still in the camera (don’t ask).
That hen looks to me like she’s saying, “Yeah I’m pissed off. You’d be pissed off too if you were getting raped 3 times a day.”
Alain the site fixer
@OzarkHillbilly: I can run more when the time is right!
raven
Not gonna let them catch me no. . .
Mustang Bobby
Great pictures to take my mind off the hurricane approaching, at least for a few minutes.
I will evacuate later this afternoon after making sure I’ve done everything I can and sure that I will have forgotten something. Right now the forecast path has the center of the storm going up the center of Florida, making landfall in the Everglades but with high winds reaching Miami. I hope Betty Cracker and her family are safe because if it follows that track, it will be places like Sebring and Lakeland and Orlando that get brunt of it. I just want it to go far east, avoid the Bahamas, and peter out up north.
JPL
@Mustang Bobby: Be safe.
Mary G
@Mustang Bobby: Stay safe, Mustang. So scary. I hope your beautiful orchids make it.
Midnight Lurker and Mrs. ML, that’s a great story and reminds me of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
Patricia Kayden
@Mustang Bobby: Hope you and your family evacuate safely. I don’t recall another year when we have had three back to back hurricanes of such high categories. Hope this passes soon and you can get back to normal life ASAP.
Elizabelle
Great pics, all.
Loved the road trip story. Next time: the Peabody Ducks. Gotta see that, one of these years.
Elizabelle
@Mustang Bobby: Good luck to you. Keep us posted; hope your travels do not take too long.
OzarkHillbilly
@Mustang Bobby:
As a buddy of mine always said before every road trip, “I know we’ve forgotten something but that’s only because we don’t need it.”
A full tank of gas, a fully charged battery, and safe travels for you.
Cheryl from Maryland
@Mustang Bobby: Hope all goes well for you and for Florida and for those who have family and friends in Florida. Yesterday here in suburban DC, the manager’s counter at my local Giant grocery store was overwhelmed by a crying woman who was sending money to her son in Orlando (the store has a Western Union stand). The clerk and I comforted her. Her distress seemed to be mainly caused by her concern that after the hurricane, her son, who does car detailing with a sideline in power washing, wouldn’t have work. We pointed out that a man with a portable power washer would be in high demand for clean up, so she stopped crying. I hadn’t really considered what a long reach a disaster can have. Be safe.
debbie
@Mustang Bobby:
You, Betty, and everyone else down there: Be careful and stay safe!
Cermet
The number one thing to have in any situation is reserve cash; when lines are down (no power or phone connection) ATM and credit cards are useless but cash will always be accept and can obtain most of what you need. So, try and get enough cash to pay for essentials like food/fuel/lodging.
Luthe
Because I am twelve, I would like to note the church in the first picture is led by Rev. Dick Moore.
Mustang Bobby
@Cermet: I took a decent amount of cash out on Wednesday morning and I’m taking along my check book (hey, remember those?). I’m staying with friends and bringing along food to add to their larder. I hope it’s enough.
low-tech cyclist
Alain – kudos for saving my pic for the right moment!
Alain the site fixer
@low-tech cyclist: ’twas an accident, I assure you!
Alain the site fixer
@Cermet: cash and tp.
Betty Cracker
Stay safe, fellow Florida peeps! This looks like a bad one.
ThresherK
Some wonderful stuff.
Plymouth, Nebraska looks like the place Roger Thornhill has his near run-in with the crop-duster.
@Mustang Bobby: Best of luck and minimal fuss on your journey.
Alain the site fixer
@ThresherK: Hitchcock reference FTW.
MomSense
@Mustang Bobby: @Betty Cracker:
Keeping you and all of our Florida jackals in my thoughts.
@Alain the site fixer:
Just wanted to send a hug to you and one for your mom.
Alain the site fixer
@MomSense: Thanks! She’s having a bad day today, but so far, not as bad as last Friday. So that’s a good thing! Time to go check on her, etc. See y’all later.
glaukopis
@ThresherK: the site where that scene was filmed was just outside my hometown in central California. Pretty much nothing there – just very flat farmland.
ThresherK
@glaukopis: Dang, really?
I hope you’ve seen this old Paramount map of “authentic enough” film locations in California. If memory serves, the Peyton Place TV series (and later, Murder She Wrote) used outdoor sets in what is “the New England Coast”.
NotMax
Left Mom’s in NY Thursday morning. Her grandniece and family flew up from Miami Thursday evening to camp out in the still warm guest room.
Waratah
Great photos everyone. Enjoyed your road trip Midnight Lurker. Thank you Alain and Juicers for showing every aspect of an eclipse.
Waratah
@Mustang Bobby: After seeing the damage that has been done on the islands I hope it takes a turn Far East too.
Hope you and Betty stay safe.
Shell
Massive hurricanes hitting one right aftr another.. .Earthquake in Mexico….Maybe the rapturists are right. Anybody noticing people disappearing?
Mustang Bobby
@Shell: And then there was a massive solar flare on the 6th. I think the Dominion is invading.
Jerzy Russian
@Luthe: I was also going to point that out (I have been 10 years old for the last 40 years). I wondered if the Pastor does adult films on the side.
chopper
@Mustang Bobby:
given how large Irma is expected to be, as well as the warmth of the water in the Everglades, I expect Irma will not weaken as much as is typical for a tropical system as she makes her way up Florida and will effect the entire peninsula in one way or another. she’s pretty huge at this point already.
satby
@Shell: Well, all those good Xtians in Congress are still here, so probably not. Or they aren’t as Christian as they think ?
Knight of Nothing
Thanks for posting these.
@The Midnight Lurker – great work!
Onkel Fritze
Such a shame the eclipse wasn’t that visible in Plymouth. We originally wanted to go to Beatrice, Nebraska but after seeing the forecasts I decided to head a little further northwest. We slept at a Motel 6 in Omaha the night before.Very basic, but no price-gouging. We finally ended up in a place called Ravenna, Nebraska. They had a whole big event at the baseball diamond next to the local high school and we set up camp in a little park right next to that. It was perfect, everything I hoped it would be.
Did some traveling after that, just got back to our home in Colombia the day before yesterday.
sherparick
1. Let’s see two Category 4+ hurricanes hitting the U.S. in a 3 week period. Check
2. Half the West is on fire and Montana and Dakotas in the throes of the worse drought on record. Check
3. 8.1 magnitude earthquake hits Mexico. Check.
I assume the 4 horsemen will be seen riding across the sky in any moment.
Aleta
Thanks for the news on your mom. Thinking of her and you, and send best wishes. Very cool that you watched the eclipse together.
Aleta
@Mustang Bobby: Take care. Glad to hear you’re heading out.
J R in WV
Seeing those Bailey’s Beads in his photograph means I have to download/carefully inspect a bunch more photos. I just picked randomly from the tablet, where the image was a dime-sized circle with more or less light depending on what phase of the eclipse it was at the time.
Work work work.
WE are flying to Denver CO tomorrow and will be in CO for a week. Friends are having a do for their 40th wedding anniversary. Picked that one because R fears they won’t be able to drink and party for their 50th. I doubt that, personally. Just a matter of pacing yourself!!
Huge mineral, fossil and gem show in Denver, so one day will be devoted to that. Hope to drive up PIke’s Peak… I want to verify that looking east one can see that the earth is NOT flat, as I have been informed. Will be my second time up a 14er. Mt Antero (also in CO) has this country’s highest gemstone mines. Hand operated for rare crystals. We went up, I found a small smoky quartz specimen, was all I could to do remove it from the boulder it grew on.
Have been keeping an eye on Atlanta, which evidently won’t be affected by Irma until after we have been through and are gone… assuming the place isn’t overflowing with people flying out of FL to escape! Some of you may remember I have a bad day/night at Hartsfield back in the spring.
V. Best of luck to all the Jackals in FL, Adam, Mustang Bobby, Betty Cracker, I think you should all be driving north on the country roads in the center of the state.
KarenH
@Onkel Fritze: So glad you enjoyed your trip and saw the eclipse. We stayed away from Beatrice until after the event because of the crowds they had. People we talked to there said the clouds cleared enough to see it. We kept thinking it would clear where we were, but it never did. Enjoyed what we did see and I’m already looking forward to 2024 when that one will be a lot closer to home.