According to experts, the Perseid Meteor Showers peak between the first hour of dark until around dawn, last night and this morning. I devise a plan to set up outside, away from the town lights. This is an especially good year because the moon is only a small crescent, which makes for darker skies and better viewing. No need to take the camper for a 12-hour overnight outing. I put the bed back in the van, pack up the Kindle, Tango, and water. We set out at 8 PM, which is still full daylight in North Dakota. Destination: a small camping park on a lake, not far from town.
Tango and I walked around the large loop while waiting for nightfall. Next, I poked around in the van, getting the bedding just right. Set up the chair outside. I knew the wait could be a bit boring so I turned on an Audible book: Crossing the Heart of Africa
At dusk I start the bug spray routine (non-toxic version). Finally the skies darken and stars pop out. I learn quickly that the chair won’t do–my bent neck ached after a few moments. I grab the sleeping bag from the van and lay it on the ground. Ah, reclined on my comfy memory foam pillow, I look straight up into the sky. I remembered all the times Kerry and I camp outside on the ground. When we lived in California, I took him into the Baja section of Mexico and we slept on the beach. We bought bottle rockets and set them off each night. The scene last night seemed so similar. Nostalgia.
Last night, as the night temps dropped, I wrapped the sleeping bag around my legs. Tango took the opportunity to leap into the van bed, without me around to toss and turn. Around 10:30 PM I saw meteors, perhaps one every 10 minutes.
Exhilarating sight, but I was waiting for the grand midnight show. The experts predicted 100 meteors per hour at that time and I knew it would far exceed that grand finale show of fireworks on a July 4th. It would even exceed the fireworks Kerry and I exploded on that Mexican beach.
As I listened to my audio book I also observed traveling satellites. In fact, I saw more satellites than meteors. They traveled every which way across the night sky. Red eye flights traversed west to east, perhaps cross-country SF to NYC flights. I found new-to-me constellations, including Perseus, which many of the meteors passed through. At midnight, the magic hour, I noticed the sky grew lighter, not darker. Odd. I realized after a few moments that a gauzy layer of clouds moved in. I could see stars peek through and one meteor shone through the haze. Then nothing. The view was completely blocked by cloud cover.
Plan B: Sleep for a few hours in the van, then try again. Instead I tossed and turned, with a sudden craving for white cheddar popcorn. Where? City dwellers, imagine this: the closest gas station/convenience store that might be open would be up on I-94. That would be 60 miles in one direction or 75 miles in another. Only a few towns lie between me and there and one does not even have a gas station. No munchies, although I continued to think about a midnight snack and the lack of any within reach. What was I thinking? I had the stuff to make coffee on a one-burner stove, but who needs coffee at midnight? White. Cheddar. Popcorn. It haunted me.
I peeked out from the van a bit later and discovered that the cloud cover was even thicker. Sigh. No meteors, no sleep, no snacks: surely a sign to head home. Once there, it was time for an early breakfast-eggs and refried beans. As I savored the little feast, I logged onto the computer and hit up the websites that were live streaming. Everyone was just yaking about meteors so I googled Perseid meteor showers and found some reports. I also found this map, which would have been useful earlier. North Dakota is in that red area, where meteors would be masked by cloud cover.
I already have a wildlife jinx. As I mentioned many times, when I seek wildlife, everything leaves the area–bears, moose, rare birds. Everything I want to see. The great thing about living in North Dakota is, with the insanely abundant wildlife, you are going to just stumble upon cool stuff. Can’t help it, even for those with a wretched jinx. Cloud cover sure put the kabosh on the meteors though. Is it possible that I have a meteor jinx too?
I have a Plan C. Viewing should be decent again tonight. The peak time arrives before dawn. This time I will go to bed at a crazy early hour and arise around 4 AM. I will pack up some grub this time and head out to a hill closer to town. Perhaps I will also check out the expected cloud cover before I go out this time.
