August
21, 2017. Total Eclipse of the Sun. Just uttering those five words conjures up eerie
images of day turning to night, stars popping out in the sky, dramatic drops in
temperature, and unexplainable changes in the atmosphere. For a brief moment, birds
start to roost and insects begin to chirp as they sense this odd temporal shift.
The possibility of actually witnessing
this once in a lifetime occurrence was beyond thrilling! And the possibility
was certainly there. Parts of the western United States were situated in the
path of totality, and in the summer when skies were more likely to be clear. My
sisters and I started plans to gather for this remarkable event several years
in advance, and finally settled on Silverton, Oregon for our viewing location. Located
70 miles east of the coast, we were banking on no fog or overcast, and keeping
our fingers crossed for no clouds or rain. We made our reservations at the
Silver Spur RV Park nine months in advance, and started counting down the days.
In
preparation for the gathering, I sent each of my sisters a Total Eclipse
preparation kit consisting of a pair of star glasses (not to be confused with
protective glasses to be worn when sun gazing), a pair of celestial themed
socks, and a packet of sunflower seeds to plant in the Spring. Hopefully the seeds
would sprout, grow to maturity, and produce sunflowers to bring to the event. With
all the preparations made, all we could do now was wait for the time to come,
and monitor the weather.
The
morning of August 21st dawned clear and bright, with only a few wispy
early morning clouds that were gone shortly after sunrise. The eclipse timeline
began at 9:05 a.m., with totality at 10:18, and completion by 11:37. By 8:30
a.m. me, my sisters, our husbands, and kids set ourselves up outside and
awaited the Big Event. We drank mimosas, put on the theme music from The Cosmos,
and dawned both our protective glasses and our fun glittery star glasses. We
began gazing at the sky, first with curiosity, then with fascination, and
finally, at totality, with emotions ranging from delight, to elation, to euphoria.
The
totality lasted 1 minute, 54 seconds. When the sun started to emerge from totality,
and the tiniest sliver of the sun emerged, there was a burst of light in my
field of vision, and for a moment I couldn’t figure out what happened, or where
the light was coming from. While staring at the sun in all it’s blacked out
magnificence, time seemed to stand still, and I couldn’t believe almost two
minutes had passed in what felt like the blink of an eye.
Dan took
several pictures during the totality, and of the festivities leading up to it. This
was truly a magical event, and I feel so fortunate I was able to witness this
incredible celestial show. We are already talking about the next Total Eclipse
of the Sun in the U.S., April 8, 2024, cutting a path from Texas to Maine.
I’ll let
these pictures tell the rest of the story.
