Annular Solar Eclipse Expedition – USA 2012

 

Here is our maximum plan – it may be altered by weather, road conditions, or other unforeseen events but we shall try to do our best to get do most of it:

13.05.2012

• (we can assist you in getting a flight ticket to Los Angeles, or you shall get there on your own)
• We meet at the Los Angeles Intl Airport
• next we drive to Sunset Blvd & Hollywood Blvd
• we sleep in Los Angeles – Van Nuys

14.05.2012

• after breakfast we head out to Death Valley National Park
• we start visit in Panamint Springs and drive at slow pace allowing photograpy to Furnace Creek
• after leaving Death Valley we drive to Las Vegas and check-in at Tropicana motel
• depending on our condition, and time spent in Death Valley the rest of the evening we get to party / visit Las Vegas

15.05.2012

• We depart from Las Vegas driving towards Hoover Dam
• After short stop we head out towards Hualapai Hilltop, where we park the cars, get our backpacks and treck for 13 km down to Supai (0,9km elevation drop), the most remote Indian vilalge is USA within Hawasupai Indian Reservation, please note that there is no alcohol allowed so do not bring any
• here we visit the incredible waterfalls: Havasu Falls, Moony Falls, Rock Falls, New Navajo Falls
•  we sleep under the open sky of Supai (remeber to bring sleeping bag, the temperature at nigh can drop down to about 12-15deg C.

16.05.2012

• return trek from Supai to Hualapai Hilltop
• we arrive at Barringer Crater a.k.a.  – Canyon Diablo Crater, best preserved impact crater on Earth, which has been carved approx 50 000 years ago by an iron meteorite 50 meters in diamater  weighing abut 300 000 metric tonnes (most of this mass has been vaporised during antry into the atmosphere and then on impact, still, framents of Canyon Diablo meteorite can be found over large portion of USA).
• we sleep in motel in Winslow

17.05.2012

• driving by Petrified Forest Road we come to Petrified Forest National Park wher we take a stroll among petrified 225 mln years ago (triassic) trees
• we stop at the lookout to view Painted Desert National Park, from where we can enjoy colourfull sights of badlands formed in Chinle rocks, that due to high content of managanium and iron have striking colours
• next stop is Chinle Visitor Center, from where we head out on to South Rim Drive over Canyon de Chelly National Monument
• next we drive to Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park where we take a scenic loop across the valley floor until sunset (Monument Valley Scenic Drive)
• after wathcing the sunset we drive to our lodginig in Kanab

18.05.2011

• 2,5 photo tour of Upper Antelope Canyon with an Indian guide
• option – boat tour from Waheap Bay over Lake Powell  (Glenn Canyon National Recreation Area) to Antelope Canyon or Lower Antelope Canyon
• option – excurson to Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park
• option – drive to Bryce Canyon National Park to select a spot for an exlipse due in two days
• return to Kanab

19.05.2012

• visit to Zion National Park, on the way we pass unusual rock formations such as Checkerboard Mesa
• in Zion we will go into the Narrows (if the water level permits, there is wading here so take appropraite shoes) Zion canyon
• in the afternoon we drive to North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, walk out to  Angel Point, and witness the sunset over Grand Canyon
• return to Kanab

20.05.2012

• we arrive in Bryce Canyon National Park,
• suggested trail is Fairyland Loop (13km, elevation difference 700m) or other trails
• after dinner we take to Rim Trail,to the slected two days earlier location (*or other site, if we decide that Bryce is not the best place, or the weather conditions are bad)17:22:58 Start of the partial eclipse
  18:31:29 Start of the annular phase
  18:33:39 Maksimum annular eclipse (length of the annular eclipse 4’33”; az 287, altidute 11 deg)
  18:35:50 End of the annular phase
  19:36:41 End of the partial eclipse after sunset although refraction may bring the Sun up just enough to make it visible (Sun will be 1 deg under horizon after 19:28 sunset)
• lodging in Escalante

21.05.2012

• We take  Hole-in-the-Rock Trail towards Devil’s Garden
• walking from  Harris Wash we climn into Zebra Slot Canyon and Tunel Slot (approx 6km, remember to carry wrinking water)
• visit to Devil’s Garden
• the we head out to Capitol Reef National Park and in Boulder turn into Burr Trail Road
• depending on time after Burr Trail Switchbacks we visit Surprise Canyon, or drive directly north along Notom Bullfrog Wash
• after leaving  Capitol Reef N.P. we head to Deaad Horse Point State Park, or Moab

22.05.2012

• from 600m high mesa of  Dead Horse Point we watch sunrise over Colorado in Canyonlands National Park
• visit to Arches National Park, if we are up to three hours drive by night to Richfield we can stay here untill sunset

23.05.2012

• transfer to  Mamoth Lakes in California

24.05.2012

• visit to Mono Lake, canoe guided tour of the lake, afterwards visit to South Tufa Area. Mono Lake is a highy unusuall alkaline and toxic lake where strange forms of bacteria were found by NASA in search for extremofile life forms
• transfer to Yosemite National Park. If possible via Tioga Pass road

25.05.2012

• visit to Yosemite National Park:
• Yosemite falls
• El Capitan
• Mariposa Grove

26.05.2012

• we arrive in San Francisco or Los  Angeles, end of the trip