The Road to Totality
That time it was more than an eclipse
Once Upon a Time, a peek through the lens of my brother’s backyard telescope carried me to the rings of Saturn. When I returned to Earth, our planet seemed different.
Awe can do that to a child.
Since then, I’ve marveled at the Hale-Bopp comet, gone star-gazing during the Perseids more than once, and have found that a lunar eclipse is always a treat.
As the Apollo 11 crew first stepped foot onto the moon, I was just old enough to watch the historical event on a tiny black and white T.V. That was special.
To witness a total solar eclipse was something I thought was out of reach, until the day I learned that on August 21st, 2017, The Great American Eclipse would be visible in Oregon. That changed everything.
Viewing an eclipse was suddenly within reach, as getting to Oregon was an easy drive from home. I was determined to make this so.
Before I could fret too much about finding lodging, a good friend called…she lived in the path of totality. She invited my husband and me to stay with them for the eclipse.
We were in.
Apparently, everyone was planning on being there.
The entire west coast was gearing up for this, and advisories warned travelers to prepare for gridlock on all routes leading into Oregon.
We loaded our truck with sleeping bags, a generator, food, and things we could use if we got stranded in a traffic jam en route. What if we had to spend the night on the side of the road?
The media took the hype to the limit, and I figured it better to be over-prepared than under.
There was gridlock on roads leading to the town of Madras, the epicenter of totality. But not on the one we followed into Sisters where our friends lived, about thirty miles away. Let’s call that a good thing, as it was. We didn’t need to fire up that generator in the back of our truck.
Wildfires were rampant in the west that summer, and we arrived in Sisters to smoke from a fire so close that many in town had been evacuated. Our friends were on standby orders in case they had to flee.
We arrived the day before the eclipse and the smoke was thick, down to the ground. Couldn’t see two doors down, much less the sky.
Ever the optimists, we knew that the closer we were to the epicenter of the path of totality, the longer the period of total darkness would be. We scouted for a good location closer to the town of Madras.
After several hours of driving the backroads, we found the perfect place. A scenic country road alongside an alpaca farm, with cows grazing in a field across the way. We took note of where we were on the map and returned early the next day to snag a spot for the viewing.
The morning was gorgeous and the air was pristine. Others of a like mind had also found and gathered in this place. It was incredible, a positive energy hummed in the air as the group ticked off the minutes to the big event.
Finally, it began.
The sky and landscape took on a weird, otherworldly quality as the moon’s umbra gradually captured the sun. The alpacas and cows took notice and gathered as they turned to head back to their barns.
A muffled silence fell over the crowd as we held our breath, our thoughts, and our expectations.
My husband had his camera ready as totality enveloped us. The crowd became one and let out a collective “ooooooooooooo” as the corona shone upon us, and the fields around us went dark as night. I felt the temperature dip.
It was beautiful, mesmerizing.
What was measured in minutes felt like an eternity.
I found myself dancing as I took in every detail. The spectacular corona was the highlight, yet trust me, when you find yourself lucky enough to witness a full solar eclipse, take it all in. Move yourself to see the distance bathed in eerie darkness, take note of the faces of those around you, and share in the experience. Listen to the sounds.
You will feel the magic.
The moon moved on, and bit by bit the sun reappeared. People began to wake as if from a dream. As we gradually came back down to Earth, I turned my attention to a four-year-old boy who had been next to us with his family all morning. He was awestruck.
He bounced with glee as he exclaimed at the top of his lungs, “Do it again!”.
And there it was, the best part of the day. This little boy’s “Once Upon a Time” had just begun.
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