What a Show

It was worth all the hype and preparation. Without a doubt, it was one of the most memorable days in our lives. The weather was perfect, the view was perfect and the only downside was that I should have had better camera equipment to take advantage of the fabulous views. Even with my Samsung Galaxy S7 smartphone and the use of the solar glasses over the lens, I got some pretty good shots.

We closed the Visitor Center from 11:15 AM until 11:45 AM which bracketed the total eclipse period. All of us went outside at the edge of the Elk Refuge to view the event. Our parking lot a the Visitor Center began filling up at 7 AM in the morning with folks setting up chairs and laying out blankets for the occasion:

It eventually became a very large crowd, but this was a terrific place to watch the event. I took these shots of the eclipse as it got closer to totality:

This one at normal zoom:

and this one at full zoom a little later:

While waiting for the total eclipse, we spotted this visitor just outside of our back door at the center, probably stirred by all the activity:

Hmm. This is the first snake we have seen anywhere in this area.

It was now getting close to 11:34 AM when the total phase of the eclipse began. These shots are taken of the total eclipse, from different angles and with different zoom on the camera. I wasn't sure how any of them would look on paper, but we got some great looks:

During the totality phase, the temperature dropped about 15 degrees and it became almost totally night time. The horizon looked like sunset and all the street lights came on. These are the best shots of the area during totality:

The total eclipse phase lasted only about 2.5 minutes, but it was a spectacle that we will never forget.

The eclipse then began to lessen and I took this final shot before going back the Visitor Center to begin working again:

I left work at around noon to nurse a bad cold that I got sometime in the last few days that was totally bad timing for this activity. Josie stayed until quitting time at 3:30 PM.

This was an event that we prepared for over the last year and right up to the actual eclipse. There are a lot of side stories to this occasion that will come out over time. Let it be said that everybody did what he or she was suppose to do to make it a spectacular and memorable event...