It was a great and drizzly start in Elk City. We headed west to Amarillo and got some lunch - still cloudy, but brighter. Then south towards Lubbock. We stopped in a rest area, and after a while Pete Scott and Nathan Edwards arrived. We chatted for a while and it was great to see them - we then headed our separate ways.
We went south to Lubbock and then across to Sundown. We went west of town to try to find somewhere on the centreline of the eclipse path. Eventually we did, and met Tim Moxon and Cammie Czuchnicki, who are some more storm chasing friends from back home. We teamed up and went west to a better vantage point and set up. We saw first contact, and then the Moon began to slide in front of the Sun. However, a smallish patch of cloud decided to set up shop over the Sun for about 20 mins - with around 20 mins or so to go before annularity we decided to blast west until the Sun re-appeared. We did this, and had a few minutes to set up cameras before the real show began. A what a show! To see a red, glowing ring of fire low in the sky is amazing! The video grabs below don't do it justice - we also got some still pics with Helen's camera, which we'll upload at some point.
We headed back to Lubbock for the night.
All in all a stunning if rather different day out on the Plains! Bring on totality in 2017!
First contact (lower right)
More being eaten
Annularity commences!
A ring of fire
Soon after 3rd contact - fiery horns in the sky
Horns
A single horn sets
The last we saw of the Sun today
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