8 Hours of the Comet

March 15 & 16, 1997

Lake Lucerne
We got all our weekend shores done by Saturday afternoon and then rushed up to the lake to get more pictures of Comet Hale-Bopp. By the time we arrived, the tapping crew was fast asleep. After a brief amount of sack time in our unheated bedroom on the cabin's porch, we got out in the -10°F air to see the comet-y sky.
Lake Lucerne
We marveled and took pictures for over an hour. As the dawn approached, the camera battery died.
Lake Lucerne
Despite the cold, short duration of the trip, and getting briefly stuck on Knott Lane while leaving, it was worth it. The comet was great. Sleeping on a -10°F porch, not so much. We left the lake area just before sunrise. The tapping crew never even knew we were there, but it was a close thing. I was going to let them know of our displeasure at the temperature of our bedroom by drawing mustaches on a few of their sleeping faces. Nothing says, "We must have had visitors" like waking up with a Salvador Dali face, but we didn't have the time or a sharpie.


-Nemo prefers to sleep in rooms heated above -10°F