The thought of traveling to the other side of the Earth, enduring countlesshours of overland travel into the heat of the Outback (which was gratefully,and unexpectedly much milder than our fears), and (more importantly) ofbeing clouded out of the eclipse was unbearable.  Thus, from day one,our logistics plan had included having two "escape planes" at a nearbyairstrip at the ready to head for clear(er) skies if needed.  Thetwo aircraft we chartered flew in to Lindon Station's "Bollard's Lagoon"airstrip from Broken Hill on the morning of 04 December 2002 as planned. Only a 20 minute drive from the Ogilvy's ranch house, we picked up thepilots and drove them to the Ogilvy's homestead.  By then it was patentlyobvious that we would have "sever clear" skies for the eclipse - the lastof the cloud had cleared away and NOTHING was behind it.  The "umbrellatheory" worked - bring the brolly along and it won't rain, leave it behindand it will.  We were very happy to have paid for these aircraft andNOT have used them on eclipse day!

Since we had paid for the aircraft, on 5 December 2002 (in celebrationof our good fortune with TSE 2002) we used them for a scenic flight - tosee some of the terrain we had been scouting remotely for a year, and insitu for days before the eclipse - from a different vantage point. The "lakes" (above), which you will find on topographic maps of the region,bespeak severity of the drought which has a stranglehold on this part ofthe outback.

After five days on the road, scouting remote observing locations, settingup a field site, and sleeping in vehicles, the thought of "freshening up"in this dusty arid environment was paramount.  Half-way through ourscenic flight we landed to refuel (above, left).  We declared thatour condition warranted the use of the "emergency shower" at the fuel stopat the landing strip and praised Joe for his willingness to oblige. On take-off Joel is gleeful at being able to inhale a breath of fresh air,even as Joe strikes a pose which 20 minutes earlier would have raised everyone'sire.  (Well, OK, that's not what really happened, but everything ELSEon this site is the unvarnished truth).