Omaha Forums

Here is an early shot from the west coast

It would be interesting if they actually try and total how many visitors we actually got and the economic impact, both from visitors and locals.

Greg

Greg S wrote:It would be interesting if they actually try and total how many visitors we actually got and the economic impact, both from visitors and locals.

The story I heard on one of the western Nebraska radio stations yesterday was 100k to 500k. That a fairly large range, but not sure how they could get a better number.

Here's a couple of quick edits.

These were shot just outside of Morrill, NE.

I left Lincoln at 4:15 yesterday for my drive back to Gretna. Usually a 35 Min drive. Took me 1:40 and it was like a yoyo between stopped and 40 MPH tops. MANY of the cars in all three lanes had Iowa, Minn, SD, and other out of state plates but those three were well in the lead.

nebugeater wrote:I left Lincoln at 4:15 yesterday for my drive back to Gretna. Usually a 35 Min drive. Took me 1:40 and it was like a yoyo between stopped and 40 MPH tops. MANY of the cars in all three lanes had Iowa, Minn, SD, and other out of state plates but those three were well in the lead.

Was heading in from Central Nebraska. 80 west of Lincoln was heavy, but moving. Started stacking up a little past Waverly and this was probably after 6 PM.

We decided to run through Ashland and connect up with Yutan. Can't be sure, but seems like it was quicker than rolling on 80 the whole way.

As a general comment it seems like a lot of people I have talked to that didn't see the totality here thought it was overhyped, but pretty much everyone that was able to see the total eclipse had an amazing time. The partial eclipse really didn't compare to the 2.5 mins of totality we got, very glad I got to see it.

iamjacobm wrote:

nebugeater wrote:I left Lincoln at 4:15 yesterday for my drive back to Gretna. Usually a 35 Min drive. Took me 1:40 and it was like a yoyo between stopped and 40 MPH tops. MANY of the cars in all three lanes had Iowa, Minn, SD, and other out of state plates but those three were well in the lead.

Was heading in from Central Nebraska. 80 west of Lincoln was heavy, but moving. Started stacking up a little past Waverly and this was probably after 6 PM.

We decided to run through Ashland and connect up with Yutan. Can't be sure, but seems like it was quicker than rolling on 80 the whole way.

As a general comment it seems like a lot of people I have talked to that didn't see the totality here thought it was overhyped, but pretty much everyone that was able to see the total eclipse had an amazing time. The partial eclipse really didn't compare to the 2.5 mins of totality we got, very glad I got to see it.

By 6 PM Hwy 6 might have been OK. It was backed up solid from the Waverly end and with the bridge work going on that slows things on a normal day I was not going to try it. KFAB said as I was driving that at that time Hwy 6 was backed up and stopped solid from the outlet mall to Linomah

iamjacobm wrote: As a general comment it seems like a lot of people I have talked to that didn't see the totality here thought it was overhyped, but pretty much everyone that was able to see the total eclipse had an amazing time. The partial eclipse really didn't compare to the 2.5 mins of totality we got, very glad I got to see it.

Totally agree. I have seen two partial eclipse in the past, but this was my first total eclipse. The Total Eclipse is a million times cooler than the partials. Also from what I heard and saw, it was even better out where there were zero clouds because it got even darker. I'm so glad I went way out west!

Did you see the waves on the ground, or as some people call them "Snakes"? That was super cool to see. I didn't even know to look for the waves but wow, they were hard to miss. I can see why people got totally freaked out back in the day.

I am probably going to head east for the next total eclipse, I think I am hooked!

The only times I saw any traffic congestion was on the way back, and I kinda took the long way, shooting some of the ruins in some almost-ghost-towns along the way.

In the town just east of Morrill (M-something {mumble}) they had cops directing traffic at some stoplights and there appeared to be a major back-up on the two-lane road from the north, I assume from the Alliance and Carhenge area. Ditto in Bridgeport where there was a major back-up from the north. Fortunately I was not going the same way as any of the major traffic.

When I finally hit 80, it was normal traffic back to the Lincoln/Omaha area. I did not hit any really bad rain, but it was raining as I approached Lincoln and just past Lincoln, Waverly or so, it was VERY wet and there was a lot of splashing, even though it was only sprinkling.

I took I-29 to Rock Port, then NE-67 to Falls City. No traffic on 29 once past Lake Manawa. Once on NE-67, it wasn't any worse than any stormchasing day.

Coming back north...about ten miles south of Auburn it got grim, so I graveled it to US-136, then NE-50 was 10 MPH all the way to Syracuse. Got gas at the Love's, then back to 10 MPH to US-34. Then 10 MPH to Louisville.

Worth it. Can't wait until 2024.

Here are a few of my photos.

1. Composite that I put together:


2.


3.


4.

Nice stuff Brad!!!!

nebugeater wrote:Nice stuff Brad!!!!

Thanks! Picked up a few prints of them yesterday. Here is the print of the first one, came out nice in 12"x36"

My parents left an hour before I did and they took Highway 50 down south. I took Highway 75 south, then Highway 2 west and I arrived at the same Love's about ten minutes before them. It was cloudy enough that I decided to go south about ten more miles and it was about as good as it could get in south Nebraska. Spotty high clouds with variable low clouds. Really cool experience.

As it was approaching totality, I noticed to the west it was getting darker, and I thought that had to do with the storms getting stronger. But as it neared totality, it kept gradually getting darker to a point where I could actively see it getting darker as if someone was dimming a light. That was the most amazing part for me. Then as the Moon was starting to pass through, there was some kind of prism effect occurring in the sky to the south. There was a rainbow colored blob in the sky that probably had to do with the moisture in the air. Did anybody else see that?

I 'gave up' on Nebraska at 10pm Sunday night, left for eastern Wyoming for 'guaranteed clear skies'. It was a typical overnight interstate drive until I hit the interchange of I-80/I-25 in Cheyenne at ~5am... bumper to bumper, 30mph (an hour and a half from the line of totality!). I think everyone in Colorado was coming up (along with a Londoner and two Australians I later met, who had rented cars out of Denver). Fortunately, I found Highway 85, just to the east... which was much smoother sailing, ultimately settling under 360 degrees of clear skies. On the way out, we headed north and stayed the night in Chadron, allowing for a much more pleasant return home.

We scored at Ft Robinson. Clear sky, more than a minute of totality, and despite the crowds on Sunday, we had the place largely to ourselves because everyone went South or west. Agate Fossil beds had 11,000 people and had planned for 3500.

Stargazer wrote:I 'gave up' on Nebraska at 10pm Sunday night, left for eastern Wyoming for 'guaranteed clear skies'. It was a typical overnight interstate drive until I hit the interchange of I-80/I-25 in Cheyenne at ~5am... bumper to bumper, 30mph (an hour and a half from the line of totality!). I think everyone in Colorado was coming up (along with a Londoner and two Australians I later met, who had rented cars out of Denver). Fortunately, I found Highway 85, just to the east... which was much smoother sailing, ultimately settling under 360 degrees of clear skies. On the way out, we headed north and stayed the night in Chadron, allowing for a much more pleasant return home.

There are reports that the population of Wyoming grew by 1,000,000 that day. I saw photos of I-25 and other roads after the eclipse that traffic was bumper to bumper as far as you coukd see and in Wyoming that can be 10-25 miles.

Pretty interesting numbers:

http://journalstar.com/news/local/more- ... ign=LEEDCC

Ft Robinson was stunningly crowded on the Sunday before. On Monday of the eclipse we were pretty much the only customers there. Great view from the parade ground.

Greg S wrote:Pretty interesting numbers:

http://journalstar.com/news/local/more- ... ign=LEEDCC

My honest first thought when I saw that article in the morning paper claiming that over a half million people traveled to Nebraska to see the Eclipse

was FAKE NEWS. I don't believe it.

GrandpaaSmucker wrote:

Greg S wrote:Pretty interesting numbers:

http://journalstar.com/news/local/more- ... ign=LEEDCC

My honest first thought when I saw that article in the morning paper claiming that over a half million people traveled to Nebraska to see the Eclipse

was FAKE NEWS. I don't believe it.

There were 30,000 people in Agate National Monument, another 30,000 in Alliance, that makes 60,000 or almost 10% of that number in just those two locations. Add in the number of people in Scottsbluff, and the towns along the Platte, and the crowd at Beatrice, you could get to that number.

Total Lunar Eclipse Sunday Night



Look to the sky Sunday night to catch a total lunar eclipse.

Great lunar eclipse viewing

Total Lunar Eclipse recap



KETV NewsWatch 7

Skywatchers got a great view of the total lunar eclipse Sunday night, and the crowd at the UNO viewing party may have had the best seats in the house