Monday, going home day but before that ECLIPSE DAY !
I loaded up the truck (I can't get into to Ceili once I leave her at storage so if it goes home it has to go into the truck) and hitched up to the trailer so I would have only a few things to do when we came back from watching the eclipse.
Merrimack State Park was in the 100% totality path and it was a beautiful blue sky day-hot but clear. Everyone's worst nightmare was clouds or rain! We left the campground around 10 and headed to the Parks event site-which was already full so they sent us up on top of the ridge to another site. We unloaded lawn chairs, cooler, camera, etc and found a lovely shady site from which to await the moon. We all tried out our glasses by taking looks at the sun, relaxed, and drank tons of water as we were sweating buckets!
When Lucas declared it was time for the moon to make it's appearance we all ran out into the sunshine to take a look-the moon was late! It took several minutes for the edge of the moon to appear. We would go out into the sun look for a bit, then back into the shade for 5 minutes etc, it was hard leaning back to look up-some folks moved their chairs out into the road and I wish I'd thought of that! As the sun got smaller and smaller in the last minutes before totality you could feel the excitement rise! The parking lot lights came on. The excitement rose some more and when the last bit of the sun disappeared behind the moon shouts, cheers, clapping and exclamations of "Oh my God" were heard all around. Still gives me chills. For 2 1/2 minutes we stood without the glasses and looked at the darkened sun. Seeing only a halo of white light leaking from the edges. It was amazing! Then the moon began to move on and the glasses went back on, it seemed that it took less time for the move to leave than it did to come. I heard someone tell it to come back we weren't done watching it! I think I'm going to have to make a try at another one, just such a magical moment.
The rest of the day seems boring in comparison.
We drove back to the campground, finished all the leave taking at the campground and started for home. Still excited. This time we had studied the map and plotted our path so Google was not allowed to lead anyone astray! The trip home was made without mishaps, traveling together until I turned north to take Ceili to storage.
The further I went north and west the more lightening etc there was and I worried I'd be caught in a torrential downpour but I made it there, unhooked, moved Annie to the truck and made it all the way home and unloaded before the rains started! The only fatality was my leaving my flashlight where I put Annie on the truck. I'll buy another.
The weather while we were gone was apparently quite rainy. We knew that flash flood watches and warnings had been issued but it was very dry where we were. That first night home parts of the metro received 9 1/2 inches of rain-lots of flooding in the area. Took out the bike paths, closed the swimming beaches and the marinas at the county parks for the third time in a month. Crazy weather!
So now that we're home and somewhat rested, I'm trying to finish in the office and studio as well as work on a couple of other projects. One thing about me I always have projects going!
Two days in the sun on the water -no sunburn, not even pink. One eclipse day in the shade-light sunburn!
2 comments:
A wonderful experience.....
I saw a total eclipse at Woomera, South Australia a few years ago and it's quite an interesting experience. Of course, we understand what it is today thanks to Science but you can easily imagine all the mystical connotations that it attracted in ancient times. What a wonderful trip it has been but that's some crazy weather you've been having. We could do with little rain here that's for sure.
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