Follow the adventures of storm chaser Rebekah Lo.
I didn’t get to posting photos from yesterday’s drive, but I will do that some time this weekend, I expect.
I can’t believe I’m actually here, at Kennedy…it’s fantastic! Better photos will come later!
Here are a couple quick photos to whet your appetite!
Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB)
Myself in front of the countdown clock, with the shuttle to the right of me (looks small in this photo)
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Another high risk for severe weather today, where I traveled through yesterday. Yikes!
It’s 67 over 65 here in Macon, so I’m already sweating and the sun isn’t even up yet. Ugh!
Ok, I’m off now. I’m headed to Savannah to see Tybee Island Lighthouse on the Atlantic (my first time at the Atlantic Coast of the US!)…and then down to St. Augustine and finally to DeLand, where I’ll stay with some friends during the launch.
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Today turned out to be a high risk for severe weather, but thankfully I remained ahead of any storms, and only had a bit of rain in Mississippi. Skies were fairly clear when I got to Atlanta.
Here was today’s route (click to enlarge):
I was quite taken with the beauty of the forests and hills (or “mountains”? I think this is still considered part of the southern Appalachians) of northern Alabama into Georgia. The number of pine trees steadily increased from northwest Mississippi all the way into Georgia.
In northwest Alabama, I saw a sign for something called Natural Bridge, so stopped to have a look. A little bit off the beaten path, I found that Natural Bridge is the largest natural bridge east of the Rockies, at 148 feet long and 60 feet tall. It was quite pretty. Next to Natural Bridge was a rock face that was supposed to look like the silhouette of an Indian. It was called Indian Face.
Indian Face
Natural Bridge
Alabama forest, near Natural Bridge
Talladega Superspeedway, in eastern Alabama
Turner Field, home of the Atlanta Braves. Atlanta is the only part of the Southeast I’ve been to before, but I didn’t get to see Turner Field the last time I was there. I quite liked the ballpark, at least from what I could see of it. The baseball poster on the left was bordered with the years the Braves made it to the playoffs, won the NLCS, or won the World Series.
Atlanta skyline, from Turner Field. Note the Olympic Rings on the right…this hung over the road to the ballpark. Atlanta was the site of the 1996 Summer Olympics.
This is also something I wanted to see near Atlanta. Stone Mountain is a granite hill on the east side of Atlanta. It is a large dome that seems to stick up out of nowhere. Carved into the side of the mountain (similar to Mount Rushmore) are three figures of the Confederacy: Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Jefferson Davis (from left to right). Stone Mountain is 1,673 feet above sea level.
I took the “skyride” (a cable car) to the top, and then hiked down (it’s about a mile).
The view from the top!
Looking towards Atlanta…it’s an amazing view!
Hiking down…
A beautiful Red-spotted Purple butterfly that sat and waited for me to change to my zoom lens.
A deer that also waited for me to change to my zoom lens!
I had a great day today. I’m in Macon, Georgia for the night, and then tomorrow I’ll arrive at my final destination! 🙂
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I’m about to leave Tupelo. It looks like we caught a break here, as there is a gap in the storms right about where I am. There must have been some storm that passed through, though, as it’s wet outside. I didn’t wake up at all, which is good, as I was pretty tired!
Here’s the Day 1 Moderate by SPC:
Today I’ll be driving from Tupelo (northeast Mississippi) through Birmingham, Alabama (first time to Alabama!), through Atlanta, Georgia, and down to Macon, Georgia.
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My route today, from Norman, Oklahoma to Tupelo, Mississippi (click to enlarge):
Storm reports from today, as of the time I write this:
As of the time I write this, there have been 33 tornado reports today. At least a couple tornadoes occurred near Little Rock, a few hours after I passed through. At least two more tornadoes occurred in southeast Memphis, just minutes before I arrived in the city.
With storms behind and ahead of me, I was blessed to miss all heavy rain and severe weather. Normally I’d be eager to chase tornadic storms, but for this trip I wish to avoid them!
Tomorrow I’ll be in another moderate risk area, but again the storms should primarily remain behind me.
Today was my first time stepping foot on Tennessee ground, aside from connecting in the Memphis airport once.
Today was also my first time stepping foot in Mississippi. My first impression was good, as I enjoyed driving through the forest and noting more and more pine trees.
Here are a few of my photos from the day, all from Memphis with the exception of the last one (from Tupelo).
The Pyramid Arena, formerly used as a sports arena and concert venue…now it sits empty.
Note the statue of Pharaoh Ramesses the Great out front.
The Mississippi River! I’m looking towards the I-40 bridge, towards Arkansas. I touched the river for the first time…I put my hand in, and then promptly washed it, as the river was rather muddy. 😛
Another view of the Mississippi, looking upstream (it was flowing pretty fast!).
Looking up the bank of the Mississippi River, towards some nice houses in “Harbor Town”. Note also the Purple Martin house, with a couple of the birds hanging around!
A tugboat, pushing a container ship down the river.
Elvis Presley’s Heartbreak Hotel, across the street from Graceland.
Graceland Mansion, Elvis’ beloved home.
A parlor / living room area with piano inside the mansion.
Dining room.
A recreation room! Check out that decoration scheme!
Part of the “Jungle Room”. There is a waterfall on that wall on the left (hard to see).
Can you believe anyone would actually wear a costume like that?
Burial site for Elvis and family.
Elvis’ birthplace in Tupelo, Mississippi.
Ok, that’s all for tonight…time to get some sleep before traveling again tomorrow! It does look like I’m going to get a big bow echo here in Tupelo overnight, but that’s fine with me as long as it’s not tornadic, doesn’t keep me from sleep too much, and it’s out of the way by the time I leave! I’ll give a short update in the morning when I’m about to head out.
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