Travel Smart With Jodie – Page 4 – Travel suggestions and tips

Adler Planetarium or SIU for Solar Eclipse

Photo from Adler Planetarium Eclipse Exhibit 2017

In Illinois, the place to be mid-day April 8 is Carbondale. That is ground zero for the full-totality solar eclipse that crosses the United States in 2024.

The town, home to Southern Illinois University, is holding a multi-day festival that includes a program by Chicago’s Adler Planetarium in SIU’s Saluki Stadium on April 8.

Mokena, IL, a tiny, arts community near Carbondale, is also holding a festival. This is where WGN weatherman Tom Skilling did his broadcast during the 2017 solar eclipse.

But if you live near Chicago and don’t travel down to Southern Illinois, the other place to be in the state is at the Adler Planetarium.

“This one is different from 2017,” said Michelle Nichols, Adler Planetarium Director of Public Observing. (Nichols will be doing the SIU program April 8.

Enumerating the differences, she said, “The direction is different.” After first talking about how it starts over water she said, “This eclipse goes from Mexico to Maine, Southwest to Northeast.” She noted that the 2017 eclipse went from Oregon to South Carolina. (Northwest to Southeast)

(NASA map readers will note the 2024 eclipse enters Canada in Southern Ontario, and continues through Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Cape Breton and will exit continental North America at Newfoundland’s Atlantic coast.)

“Also, the last was smaller,” said Nichols, explaining that the moon was further. “This is closer and the shadow covers a wider area.”

Another difference is the amount of time the eclipse takes and the area covered.

“This time the moon will be a tiny bit bigger. The shadow will be wider and will take longer in totality,” said Nichols. “In 2017 it was two minutes. This time it will be over four minutes.” she said.

(The maximum length of totality in 2017 was 2 minutes 40 seconds and 4 minutes 28 seconds in 2024.The width of the path of totality in 2017 as about 70 miles and in 2024 it will be about 115 miles.)

“Chicago will go from 12:51 p.m. to 3:22 p.m. with the maximum amount of totality at 2:07 p.m.” she said and added that Chicago would experience 94 percent totality.

Nichols cautioned that safety was very important so the Adler will have solar-appropriate, disposable glasses available on April 8 when it holds a free watching event. “Glasses will be handed out beginning at 11 a.m. until the supply runs out.”

According to Nichols, people who still have their solar glasses from 2017 can use them only if in good shape and not scratched or damaged. (Regular sunglasses won’t work)

Another reason to go to the planetarium is that visitors can watch through telescopes equipped with appropriate filters made with a 3D printer.

“We will have telescopes, about five to ten of them, for people to look through but they don’t have to be up close to the lens. The lens is very wide and they can take a picture of what they see,” she said.

For people watching at home she suggested they make a pin-hole camera with a card to capture the eclipse on paper or the ground so they don’t look at the sun.

Tips: NASA has a time chart of where totality will be when and where. For more eclipse information go to Adler Explore’s Chasing Eclipses. Also visit Enjoy Illinois for Solar Eclipse IL Guide and Solar Eclipse Carbondale and SIU Solar Festival.

Ed Note: Looking directly at the Sun without specialized eye protection for solar viewing will cause severe eye injury.

Call it the Worm or Paschal Moon

Called the “Worm Moon” because beetle larvae started emerging from tree bark as noted by Captain Jonathan Carver back in the 1760s when he visited the Naudowessie (Dakota) and other Native American tribes, the name did not refer to worms coming out of the ground as once supposed.

Some other names, also from Native American tribes, are Eagle Moon, Goose Moon (Algonquin, Cree), Sugar Moon (Ojiibwe) and the Wind Strong Moon (Pueblo).

But depending on when it comes, before or after the Spring Equinox, it is also called the Lenten or Paschal Full Moon. This year, the equinox was March 19, so it’s the Paschal Moon.

Whatever you want to think of the March’s full moon name, it will be rising early March 25 with peak illumination at 3 a.m. ET but it will appear full this Sunday night, March 24 beginning at sunset. To find the moon rise time in your area go to Almanac. It also will appear full March 26.

Special effects: “Moonbow” and “super illusion”

A Moonbow is similar to a rainbow because it is an arc caused by rain but happening at night with a little bit of moonlight and raindrops.

The full moon’s super illusion is how large it will appear when it is rising at the horizon. For more full moon information visit Old Farmer’s Almanac/Worm Moon, TimeandDate.

However, March 24-25 has another event so as the ads used to say, “But wait.”

EarthSky notes there is another kind of lunar eclipse, the penumbral lunar eclipse which will be happening so the moon may seem to be in a shadow. The moon eclipse happens with a full moon as the sun, Earth and moon are lined up with Earth is in the middle casting a shadow on the moon.

There are three types of lunar eclipses: Total, partial and penumbral, the last of which is happening beginning Sunday.

Translated, that means the greatest part of the lunar eclipse, begun on March 24, will be at 2:12 a.m. CDT March 25 when nearly all of the moon will be inside the Earth’s outer penumbral shadow. Because it is not in Earth’s darker umbral shadow it will appear darkly shaded but not disappear.

Happy Spring

We used to think the beginning of the spring season in the Northern Hemisphere and the autumn season in the Southern Hemisphere. began on March 21 but that thinking has changed.

The equinox occurs when day and night have equal amount of time with 12 hours each. But in the spring, there are a few more minutes of daylight at the mid-temperate latitudes on equinox day, March 19, this year. However, the exact time of the March equinox is 11:06 EDT.

Weather and astrological sites such as EarthSky and the Old Farmer’s Almanac estimate 2-2 1/2 minutes more of daylight. But location does matter. The difference can be 8-10 minutes.

For sunrise and sunset in your are visit Almanac rise and set which is currently set for Chicago, IL.

As to when, sunrise is the time that the edge of the sun first touches the eastern horizon. Sunset is when the last edge of sun touches the western horizon.

See the expansive Brookfield Zoo Chicago from a Ferris wheel

**Ferris Wheel at Brookfield Zoo (Photo by Jim Schulz/Brookfield Zoo Chicago**

Visitors to Brookfield Zoo Chicago can now get a sky-high view of the zoo from a Ferris wheel. Fully installed and available to zoo guests on March 15, the new attraction (open to the end of 2024) celebrates the zoo’s 90th anniversary.

Located east of the Roosevelt Fountain, it towers over the zoo at 110 feet. As the gondolas (there are two dozen of them) move around, guests will be able to see the animal habitats and gardens plus the Chicago skyline.

Plus, illuminated by 350,000 multicolored LED lights, the Ferris wheel can be seen from across the zoo as a location guide at night and during special events.

Rides take between 7 and 8 minutes and riders must be at least 3 feet tall with a supervised adult or 3½ feet tall with no supervision. Ticket cost is $8 per person (Zoo members $6).

To watch the Ferris wheel’s construction visit the video done by Brookfield Zoo Chicago.

The attraction took a year to manufacture in the Netherlands by Lamberink B.V. It was shipped in seven 40-foot containers to the United States which took about a month. Installation at the zoo was by Kissel Entertainment Company of Okeana, Ohio.

The original Ferris wheel was unveiled in Chicago during the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition (Chicago’s World Fair). Designed by George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr. as an engineering marvel, it measured 264 feet high, rotated on a 71-ton, 45½-foot axle, and featured 36 gondolas, with a total capacity of 2,160.

About Brookfield Zoo Chicago. Opened July 1934, it is managed by the Chicago Zoological Society as a private nonprofit organization on 235 acres of Cook County Forest Preserves property in the Brookfield, IL suburb of Chicago. It is home to more than 3,500 animals representing over 500 species. For hours, admission and more information, visit www.brookfieldzoo.org.

Brookfield Zoo Chicago main entrance is the North Gate at 8400 31st Street (1st Avenue and 31st Street), Brookfield, IL 60513.

Crane watching in Nebraska

Nebraska cranes at Platte River Watch shed 9J Jacobs) — At Platte River in Nebraska

Sandhill crane viewing

March 2024 is pretty warm for watching the crane migration on the Platte River in south-central Nebraska. But when I and fellow travel writers/photographers went a few years ago, the weather was in the 20s on a trip in 2013 and single digits on another trip in 2016.

So even though we were in the crane blind, a shed where the cranes wouldn’t see us, we had to really bundle up, add blankets and warmers. But the trips were so worth it.

Watch cranes waking up early in a.m. from shed ( Jacobs)

We started at an information building then were taken to a shed with open lookouts for watching and photo shoots, first at night before the cranes landed, then back again in the morning to watch them take off.

Our starting points were the Crane Trust and the Rowe Sanctuary. Both times the sky was darkened by their numbers. We had our own accommodations, but the tours also have places to stay.

This year, 2024, the word is that there are many more cranes filling the skies over the Platte.

Where you start on your crane watching trip (JJacobs)

According to Earth/Sky news, wildlife biologist Bethany Ostrom reported in late February that the Crane Trust’s bird count saw about five times the usual numbers.

“Another record week? On February 24, 2024, we estimated 122,700 +9,100 sandhill cranes between Chapman and Overton, Nebraska,” Ostrom said. “On average, this time of year (week 2 of annual count) we see around 27,000 cranes.”

For more information visit Cranetrust viewing/tours

and Crane Season | Iain Nicolson Audubon Center at Rowe Sanctuary

February Snow Moon appears with temps moving up

Full Moon (J Jacobs photo) — Full Moon (J Jacobs photg)

Bright light flooded the bedroom and bath Friday, Feb.24, 2024 without turning on the switch.

It was, and will be for a couple of days, due to the Snow Moon that actually reaches full illumination at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 25.

It appeared kind of small on Friday but that is because the February full moon is also a Micro full moon (as opposed to a Supermoon.

That means its apogee is farthest from Earth. In this case that is about 252,225 miles away.

It is called the Snow Moon because February, typically, though not in 2024 in which the Earth is experiencing climate change events, has more snow than the other months.

In the Chicago area, the first measurable snow fell Feb. 23 and covered the ground due to cold temps, through Feb. 24.

But the snow is disappearing Feb. 25 due to unusually high temps. However, look up and see the “Snow Moon” Sunday night.

For more info visit “Old Farmer’s Almanac” and Time and Date.

Spring Training starts now

Cubs signs are famiiar but different at Sloan Park in AZ (JJacobs photo) — Cubs signs are familiar but different at Sloan Park in AZ (JJacobs photo)

Spring Training which opens the baseball season this week, is a chance to relax in southwestern Arizona among western scenery while cheering on your team.

It’s not too late to still fly to the Scottsdale-Phoenix area which is home to 15 Cactus League teams and their 10 stadiums. But you can also start catching their action on TV this week.

As an example, the Chicago Cubs open today, Feb. 23, at their Sloan Park stadium against the Chicago White Sox. They end Spring Training playing the St. Louis Cardinals at Sloan on March 25-26.

By going to Cactus League Map or Official Cactus Website then clicking on each team, you can find out schedules and more information about the stadiums and the area where they play.

Among the info is that the Cubs are in their 10the year there and that Mesa is an interesting place to visit. Sloan has really become Wrigley Field West on a slightly smaller scale.

You’ll recognize the Marquee and street names such as Sheffield Ave. and Clark Street.

Or if you click on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa circle on the Cactus Lague Map in Scottsdale, you learn that the American Indian Community worked with the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies to construct the Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. It was the first MLB Spring Training facility built on Native American land.

Headquartering here is a chance to explore Old Scottsdale with its art galleries, Native American stores and the fabulous Museum of the West.

However, none of the Cactus League teams are far from each other. So, turn, game week into a vacation.

Signs of Spring Training

Yes, weather has been strange so far in 2024 but Spring must be on the horizon because the annual gathering of baseball teams in Florida for Grapefruit League games and in the Phoenix area for Cactus League matches starts this week. Feb. 22.

Hopefully you can still book airline tickets to your team’s spring location.

Why go? If you haven’t tried it before you quickly find out that Spring Training games are casual. You sit closer to the action and often can interact more with players before and after the games. It’s fun.

Getting game tickets: For Cactus League games such as the Cubs, it is easier to get tickets to watch your team play at opponents’ parks. In the Cactus League that is not a problem because the 15 teams are located within 47 miles of each other or less.

Special events: Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays will play each other in the Dominican Republic March 9-10 in Santo Domingo.

Then, March 14-17 the Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues will hold MLB Spring Breakout – 16 exhibition games showcasing their team’s top prospects.

Opening Day of the 2024 regular season is March 28

For team stadium locations visit Cactus League and Grapefruit League

Find more information at MLB Official Information | MLB.com

Lake Geneva Winterfest means Snow Sculpting

Winterfest 2023 1st Place Winner North Dakota

2023 1st Place Championship team from North Dakota. “The Nemean Lion” The team also won “People’s Choice Award (Photo courtesy of Lake Geneva CVB)

Next week, drive over to Lake Geneva, WI for Winterfest Lake Geneva

Fabulous snow sculptures created by championship state teams from Alaska to Wisconsin are entered in the annual National Snow Sculpting Championship as part of Winterfest.

It starts with snow delivered to 15 team sites on Wednesday, Jan. 31, at Riviera Plaza and Flat Iron Park.

Many visitors drive over on Feb. 2 or 3 to watch the sculpting and see the winners on Saturday when work stops and judges rate the sculptures. Visitors can also pick their favorites as People’s Choice. They fill in the time by seeing ice sculptures downtown, shopping and enjoying live entertainment

Some visitors just come in for the day but If looking for a place to stay consider the Grand Geneval Resort and Spa known for its Wisconsin Croissant, also called “Ouisconsin.”

For more information visit Winterfest Lake Geneva.

Jodie Jacobs

Wolf Moon this week

January 2024’s full moon has traditionally been called the Wolf Moon in Celtic cultures, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac and Time and Date.

It is expected to look full on Jan. 24 but will reach full illumination the next day at 12:54 p.m. EST, Jan. 25 and continue to look full on Jan. 26.

Wolves howling at the moon is used in several stories for different reasons say the Farmer’s almanac. “Howling and other wolf vocalizations are used to define territory, locate pack members, reinforce social bonds, and coordinate hunting.”

The January full moon is also called the Moon After Yule. Some Native American cultures say it is the Severe Moon or Center Moon.

Whatever its name, it is cold out now.

Jodie Jacobs