We stayed an extra day down at the fairgrounds in order to be in good position to view the total solar eclipse on Monday, August 21, 2017. It worked out just perfectly! Although there was a threat of rain earlier in the day, it cleared out and provided us with perfect viewing conditions for the eclipse. How very cool!
Matt, Matthew and crew had planned to view the eclipse from a location north of us, but called late morning saying it was cloudy and storms were approaching. We told them to come on down and join us! Kerry and family, plus Robin and Karen, had driven up from Oklahoma to view the eclipse with us, too. (I was so sad that it was a total rain-out up at home. Jackson had to work that day yet had hoped to at least see the eclipse - but no go.)
I fixed a big pot of mexican beef rice in the Instant Pot, we set out all kinds of leftovers, fruits, veggies; plus Matt brought some yummy food. We had a true feast!
Kerry and Matthew talked us all through the eclipse - making sure we understood the science of what we were experiencing. We started watching up by the camper, but then closer to the time of totality we all moved down to the far west end of the campground.
thankful for Robin and Karen and their camera - it was the only one that
ended up being able to use the special eclipse lenses I had ordered.
you can see the little crescents
heading over to the tree area
The light coming through the trees/leaves reflects the eclipse on the sheet.
you can see the little crescents showing on the sheet
eclipse glasses up!
One of the things we noticed quickly was the temperature dropping considerably as totality approached. The crickets were very loud, then suddenly silent. Birds all came in all at once to roost on the power lines. We saw an absolutely lovely 'sunset'. And we saw the diamond ring around the full eclipse. Such a memorable experience!
all the birds came in to roost at once
Thanks to Robin for this great photo!!
after the full eclipse
Karen and Robin
Karen and Robin did a great job of getting photos.
They are the ones who got all our sun/eclipse photos!
Folks left at their own pace with several staying through the full return phase. Dear Zack got on the road to Arkansas in good time. We were all so sad to see him go, since he was moving away to Arkansas this time around. We sure do get used to having him around. :)
Jonathan, Mama, Zack, and Daddy
duplex cookies...
...or as they are now known, Eclipse cookies. :)
Mama and Daddy
We decided, in looking at the forecast for flooding rains overnight, that perhaps we should go ahead and try to head for home that afternoon. We knew, however, that travel conditions weren't predicted to be very good - with so many millions of people on the road after the eclipse (and we were right in totality.) But we kept an eye on the MODOT travel map and decided we could get home via the back roads. And when we saw this radar, we figured we had better try!
Yikes!
We left the campground at 5:30 pm and about 7 miles south of I-70 we saw a monster storm approaching. Jonathan looked at the radar and we were heading right into it. We had him check the MODOT map super quickly and lo and behold, I-70 was clear at that moment! So we made a last minute decision and took I-70 instead of the back roads. It turned out to be the easiest time we have ever had on that route pulling the campers!
packed up and ready to head for home
our campers in the restaurant parking lot
We had been monitoring a red line on the MODOT map between Jacksonville and Macon (traffic at a standstill) so stopped for supper in Moberly to give it a chance to clear. Sure enough, it worked. After supper, we drove straight on up the highway with no trouble whatsoever. It stormed at home, too, but we left the slides IN on the campers and we were all snug in our beds in the house. Happy to be home. :)
You can see an entire album of photos from the day at this link...
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