On the Edge of the Eclipse

My friend Inger and I drove up to Fort Robinson in Northwest Nebraska on Friday morning to see the  full solar eclipse.  A friend in the Longmont Astronomical Society bought up rooms and campsites at the Fort way back in the fall so the members could gather for the eclipse in the Crawford, NE area, which is on the very edge of the totality band, meaning that the members would be see a 100% total eclipse.  When we had lunch in the spring he mentioned that there was an unclaimed room and I said I'd take it and bingo, I was set to see this big event.  My science-loving friend, Inger, was excited about going with me and before we knew it we were on the road heading up through Colorado and Wyoming and into Nebraska.   

Fort Robinson was used as an Army fort during the Indian wars of the 1870's and 80's and is now a Nebraska State Park with 22,000 acres of recreational space and offering a variety of activities such as jeep tours and hiking.   Many of the buildings are original and there is lots of history.  What impressed me the most were the beautiful buttes on the north and south of the Fort and the reminder that horses were once such an integral part of our culture.

We explored the nearby town of Crawford and were impressed with it's large city park and artistic efforts.

Crawford was clearly excited to be in the band of totality and was making the most of it.

(We were also impressed by the total lack of fresh vegetables in this area of the country.  The only fresh veggies I've had in three days was a wonderful cucumber salad I had at a dude ranch where we stopped for lunch.  The specialty was large rib eyed steak grilled over an open fire but I was captivated by the cucumbers and placed two orders!)

We've entertained ourselves by taking an exciting jeep tour up to the top of a butte, exploring the wonderful historical museum, and visiting the area's two geological sites.  One is the site of a large bison kill from about 10,000 years ago, and the other is an area of fossilized animal tracks from about 25 million years ago.   Although we managed to hit "Toadstool Park" at in the 95 degree heat of the afternoon, we enjoyed the mile long hike through the moon-like landscape.

 Oh, and I got thrown in jail for a while.

On Saturday night we attended and Astronomy Society's BBQ and Star Party where we heard a lecture about what to expect while viewing the eclipse, looked through telescopes at the stars, and admired the view of the Milky Way in the dark skies of the area.  It was very cool to be around these scientifically minded people.  

As I said, Fort Robinson was on the very edge of the band of totality.  We considered driving south into the middle of the band but were wary of crowds, traffic and the prediction of cloud cover so we decided to stay in place at the Fort.  This morning we were thrilled to wake to bright blue skies without a cloud in sight.

We had picked out the perfect site to see the eclipse, a hill below the buttes which offered a 360 degree view of the area. 

As we waited for the eclipse to begin we texted with our friends and family.  Ben was busy doing Meals on Wheels in Boulder, Paul was at on the Boulder High grounds with his school-provided eclipse glasses at the ready, my brother-in-law John had driven up from Colorado to Wyoming with his sons, and Inger's husband was working from home following the big event from his balcony high up above Boulder.  Through Facebook we could see that friends were in Charleston, S. C., where it rained (boo!), and Washington, D.C. (with 80% totality), and northern Colorado.  Oh, the magic of the Internet!

We watched as the moon slowly blocked out the sun and then there was an amazing view of the sun totally blocked.  First we saw the "diamond ring" of light and then it went out for a perfect view of the corona with Venus popping out to the right. 

It was astounding.  And brief!   The 90 seconds of totality that was predicated for our spot turned out to be only about 15 seconds.  And then the sun began to peak from behind the moon and it was all over.  

This photo shows that bright peak of sun.  But it also shows Venus in the upper right. That was the only planet or star that we had the chance to see, since our seconds of totality were so short.   

But what a glorious few seconds it was!  The day did turn to darkness.  Amazing.  And we did see Venus.  Amazing.  And we did see the sun's corona.  Amazing.  All amazing.

Our little glimpse of scientific wonder has made me eager to be in the middle of the band of totality for the next solar eclipse in the US in 2024!