Total Eclipse of the Sun (08-21-17)

Originally  we  had no idea where we would be for the eclipse, and we weren’t that keen on it anyway. Once we realized we might be able to see the total eclipse, however, our plan was to head to Idaho, which is in the “Path of Totality”. We hadn’t booked an RV park because we weren’t even sure what state we would be in, a week ago.

We had heard rumors that things were going crazy.  Gas stations were predicted to run out of gas, food stores were not going to have any food left. It sounded nuts.  We thought we’d “wing” having a place to stay and we were comfortable just parking on the side of the road, if need be.

People were charging $100 a night, with a 3 night minimum, to park in a field, with no amenities. Others were blocking off their road frontage or charging to park there.

We were getting a little squeamish about “winging it”.

The friends we had just visited in Wyoming, Dianne and Tom, host a small campground in the path of totality.  I casually sent her a text, asking if they were totally booked for the eclipse. I assumed the answer would be yes and I would hear about all the craziness.


When the answer came back as “no”, Paul and I made a split second decision to head BACK to Warren Bridge.

Lucky us, instead of paying $100 a night- we paid $10- and got to hang out with friends!

So, it was crazy at the campground, its just that we were the ones creating the craziness!

The campground was actually on the edge of Totality, which meant there would be about 11 seconds of the total eclipse. 

Paul and I decided to drive down the dirt road a bit, on federal property, so we would have over a minute of totality.

It wasn’t too crowded and we had plenty of room to set up our own spot.

Once the eclipse started we donned our special glasses so we could look at it.

Actually, there are numerous ways to watch the eclipse.  Using the binoculars to project onto a plate was one of them, as was the “poke a pin hole in the plate and watch it” method.

I had read about picture taking and how it could ruin camera lenses, so I didn’t even bring my good camera.  This was taken using one pair of glasses for me, and another for my iPhone.
Not exactly impressive.

I did a tad bit better using the glasses to protect my small camera, while still protecting my eyes.

The lighting got a little strange and we started goofing around, waiting for it to get even darker.

Finally it started getting much darker…and much colder! The temperature dropped about 20 degrees in just a few minutes.

and just a few seconds later…

looking across the way, it looked like sunset- at 11:37 AM!

And then, all of a sudden, we had Totality!

As I mentioned, I had not brought my good camera, because I didn’t want to be tempted to use it.  I also didn’t bring my tripod, so my pictures are all handheld.

I did bring, and use, my small point and shoot Panasonic. I was willing to risk the camera because it has developed a spot on the lens anyway and I see a new one in my future. 

As soon as Paul said totality was over, I stopped taking pictures with the camera, just in case.  I have no idea what may or may not have happened to the lens but I didn’t want to find out.

So, where will we be in 2024?  Hmmmmmm….