Total Solar Eclipse

Total Eclipse 

off the Sun

If there ever was a day to take off of work, and let the kids play hooky from school, today was the day. We headed out to a friend's farm in Walsh, IL to get a full two minutes of total solar eclipse. With my mom in town and all of the kids in tow we drove out early in hopes to avoid any traffic heading out of the city to view it. All in all it was a beautiful, but at times hot August afternoon. Thanks to some solar glasses, and some rigged binoculars by another family invited out, we slowly watched the moon eat up the sun. Remarkable as it was, I was amazed how much of the sun could be covered before we saw any noticeable change to the atmosphere. We knew we were getting close as the crickets began to chirp and the roosters began to crow, then with the 360 degree sunset we moved into darkness. Best advice I can share - if you are in a place to watch the eclipse - FIND A FARM!!!

There is nothing that could have prepared us for the event itself. Stories of how ancient humans reacted to similar events throughout history totally came into focus. From instilling fear or awe, to being able to end a six year long war (lookup:  Medes vs. Lydians), historic reactions to the astronomical event all made sense. As the sun came back into view we all went from darkness to light and began cheering and laughing, happy that we took time to sit and enjoy the day.  

Listening to the kids and the reaction from our viewing party will never be forgotten. Without a doubt, I will be scheduling time off, and intend to keep the kids home from school in April of 2024 so we can drive to a spot deep in the totality zone so we can take in the next total solar eclipse bypassing the USA. . . you should too!!!

Happy Trails