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 The idea of astronomy is much more appealing to me than the reality of it. Gazing at the stars, contemplating the meaning of life and our place in the cosmos, and exploring the time machine that is the night sky, is all fascinating until I have to leave my warm house (or bed) and stand outside in the dark, cold night. So the recent total eclipse – which happened in the middle of a summer day – was perfect for me.
My husband, Dave, started planning for this three years ago, long before anyone was talking about it publically. In fact, most of our friends thought he was a little ridiculous to be making such a big deal about something they all thought they’d witnessed before and that was so far in the future. Thankfully, he persisted.
To reach the path of totality, the 70-mile band where the sun would be 100% obscured by the moon for several minutes, we drove 4.5 hours to a campsite in Alliance, Nebraska. Because of reports of potentially horrific traffic jams and long lines at gas stations we left on Saturday, two days early, just in case. Fortunately, however, those reports (at least where we were) were greatly exaggerated. We had no traffic and no problem getting gas.
We arrived at the campground (read: large hayfield) at 5 p.m. and more or less had our choice of spots. The next day we watched the steady flow of cars, vans, RVs and campers of all shapes and sizes gradually fill the place. People were friendly, asking where we were from and when we arrived, and expressing excitement and anticipation for the big event. Many, like us, came from neighboring Colorado, but we met people (and saw license plates) from all over. Many brought their dogs and one family even traveled with their two lively cockatoos.
Sunday night into Monday morning, Dave woke up to heavy fog and a forecast of “mostly cloudy” for Alliance. We decided to implement our Plan B, which was to pack up and head to Agate, about 70 miles northwest of Alliance. We woke the kids around 5 a.m. and the four of us worked stealthily in the dark (except for a couple of headlamps) to take down the tent and load our belongings into the truck without waking everyone around us. We reached Agate Fossil Beds National Monument at about 9:00, just in time to get a place in the overflow parking lot, a field across from the visitor center. We had come from the east and didn’t see many cars along the way, but a steady stream of traffic from the west quickly filled up the lot, and even the roadside, behind us.
The area has some bluffs and rock outcroppings. Several eclipse watchers hiked up for an elevated view, some even hauling telescopes. Several more had multiple telescopes set up in the parking lot. The scene was like a tailgating event before a football game: chairs and picnic tables, canopies and coolers. It was a big party. A steady breeze blew in some light clouds and we all prayed they would not block our view.
As the eclipse began around 11:30, we sat in our folding chairs and donned our eclipse glasses. The sun was almost directly overhead, and we watched as the moon slowly passed in front of it, making it look a bit like Pac-Man and a bit like the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. Little by little the sun disappeared until it was just a sliver. The temperature dropped noticeably as the light diminished. We made a mental note of how it looked at about 92% -- what we would have seen from home. Then we watched in amazement as the sky darkened and we could take off our glasses to look at the sun completely blocked by the moon with only its glowing corona visible. Venus appeared in the sky, and then a few stars. Most beautiful and otherworldly, however, was the 360-degree sunset. We contemplated what the ancients might have thought witnessing the same things. As the sun began to reappear, its light seemed sharper, brighter and whiter than normal.
What the experts had said was true. The difference between seeing a partial eclipse and a total eclipse is huge. It was only a couple of minutes (plus four and a half hours driving there, two nights of camping, two more hours of driving from Alliance to Agate, and seven hours driving home) but it is something we will never forget. I teared up. Even my teenagers were awed. Dave was overjoyed that all his planning paid off and he got to see this once-in-a-lifetime event.
Well, okay, maybe twice-in-a-lifetime. We’re already talking about going to see the next one in 2024.
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Re: Watching the Totality – 2017 Total Eclipse
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