It’s been 530 days since my first brush with totality and finally the day of the Great American Eclipse was here.
See Also: My First Solar Eclipse in Palu, Indonesia
Morning dawned and I eagerly pulled back the motel drapes to check on the weather. I was worried a bit earlier as various news agencies predicted a high chance of moderate cloud cover. Thankfully, there was nary a cloud to be in sight and instead I was greeted by a bright blue sky.
To say accommodation prices were not cheap would have been an understatement. In this small rural town, hotel prices were astronomical, with the average price of a hotel room on the eve of the eclipse going for over $1000.
Thankfully, through the use of points, I managed to book a room at the Days Inn Scottsdale for a mere 3000 Wyndham points and $67.
The retail cost would have been $1650 after taxes, which meant I was getting a value of 55 cents per point, a new personal record!
Since Scottsbluff was already in the path of totality, this meant we could avoid the traffic snarls engulfing the interstates, and enjoy some freshly made waffles before heading out.
The plan was to drive up north on state highway 71 until we could find a place to safely pull over and watch the eclipse.
Contrary to popular opinion, Nebraska is not just a state with rolling farmlands filled with corn, with the western part of Nebraska filled with numerous bluffs made of limestone.
After passing a few promising, but crowded locations, I spotted a perfect bluff adjacent to the highway, where a few eclipse spotters were already situated.
After a rather steep climb, we made it up the small bluff and I knew instantly this would be the perfect place to watch the eclipse.
Around an hour before totality, the moon began covering the sun and everyone took out their eclipse glasses to enjoy the spectacle.
Unfortunately, the solar filter I bought for my camera seemed to have washed out my pictures, but here are a couple photos from last year’s solar eclipse.
Around 15 minutes before totality, the temperature began to rapidly dip, and a sense of eeriness began to set in. The crickets began to sing and it was noticeably dimmer.
In the distance, the eclipse shadow raced towards us over twice the speed of sound, and the valley below began to significantly darken.
All of a sudden, the sky went completely dark as the moon completed covered the sun and for the first time you could see the sun’s corona wisping on all sides.
Nearby the covered sun were Mercury and Venus, both small but unmistakable in an otherwise barren open sky.
The crowd was oohing and aahing, and quite a few eclipse watchers went a bit crazy during the brief two minutes of totality.
One thing that surprised me was the many phases of totality as the shadow raced across. This meant the horizon was constantly getting lighter or darker, with the sky becoming a chameleon displaying various shades.
Soon the sky began to get brighter as the moon slowly pulled away from the sun and the famous diamond ring effect signaled the end of totality.
Diamond Ring in Palu, Indonesia
The crowd burst into applause and both my dad and brother looked completely shell shocked on what they just first experienced.
The skies were clear, the panoramic view was breathtaking, and being able to watch a total solar eclipse with my family made it even more special.
Next Stop: Chile in 2019!
