The thought of traveling to the other side of the Earth, enduring countless hours of overland travel into the heat of the Outback (which was gratefully, and unexpectedly much milder than our fears), and (more importantly) of being clouded out of the eclipse was unbearable.  Thus, from day one, our logistics plan had included having two "escape planes" at a nearby airstrip at the ready to head for clear(er) skies if needed.  The two 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 the pilots and drove them to the Ogilvy's homestead.  By then it was patently obvious that we would have "sever clear" skies for the eclipse - the last of the cloud had cleared away and NOTHING was behind it.  The "umbrella theory" worked - bring the brolly along and it won't rain, leave it behind and it will.  We were very happy to have paid for these aircraft and NOT have used them on eclipse day!

Since we had paid for the aircraft, on 5 December 2002 (in celebration of our good fortune with TSE 2002) we used them for a scenic flight - to see some of the terrain we had been scouting remotely for a year, and in situ 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 of the outback.

After five days on the road, scouting remote observing locations, setting up a field site, and sleeping in vehicles, the thought of "freshening up" in this dusty arid environment was paramount.  Half-way through our scenic flight we landed to refuel (above, left).  We declared that our condition warranted the use of the "emergency shower" at the fuel stop at 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's ire.  (Well, OK, that's not what really happened, but everything ELSE on this site is the unvarnished truth).