Getting to the eclipse was an adventure.
Months ago we made three reservations in southwest Texas. Two were in the path, near the centerline. Because these were AirBnb or Vrbo type accommodations, we made a third reservation, at a commercial motel in Sonora, just in case. For one reason, we got the accommodations pretty cheaply, and we figured that the owners weren't aware that there might a reason for demand for rooms that weekend.
Turns out that was a smart move, as both reservations canceled out on us. The first was six months before the eclipse, and we were told it was because the current tenant decided to stay an extra month. Okay, that's believable, but inconvenient. It was replaced with a second, nicer reservation but at a location where we'd probably have to drive to get a good totality length.
The second one just canceled on us. A little Internet search turned up that we weren't the only clients getting dropped. The booking agency agreed, and told us that we could replace it, and they would reimburse us for the difference and bill the original seller.
A week to ten days before the eclipse we started to get the long term weather forecasts, and they weren't good. All of Texas was going to be overcast, as was much of the Midwest. One had to get to Ohio or farther east before for even the possibility of clear skies.
So we made arrangements and reservations as far east as Buffalo, as we figured we should be able to get that far. Then more forecasts came in, and the northeast started getting worse, while the central area in Illinois and Missouri were the best of a lot of poor choices. More reservations were made, and remade giving us options all along the path.
We left at dawn on Saturday, and as we crossed Colorado, the wind began to increase in strength. By the time we got into Kansas, the truck was bucking along due to a 40+mph wind from the south. Passing the large trucks was sometimes an adventure. On at least one occasion I thought the truck in front of me was listing a bit too far into my lane.
The wind also had the effect of causing a 20% reduction in my gas mileage. Which meant getting into our intended refueling spot with the low-fuel light on for the last 15 miles. Fortunately, that usually means I have about 30-40 miles left. Our policy for the rest of the trip was to refuel at half-tank.
That night in Higginsville, Mo., we made our final decisions on where to go, and a bunch of reservations got canceled. We were left with Mountain View, Ark, Perryville, Mo. and Carbondale, Ill. by then, and based on the forecasts, opted for the eastern one (Carbondale). But, just in case, we decided that, instead of heading there directly, we would investigate the area northeast of Poplar Bluff. There was a reservoir at Wappapello that looked like a good spot, and it was only a two hour drive from Carbondale.
That area was definitely our top choice, especially after looking over the Carbondale options the evening of our arrival on Sunday and finding them less than inspiring. So before dawn on eclipse day, we headed south for the only bridge across the Mississippi that didn't require our going in a wrong direction. It was humid, and it wasn't long before we got to drive in thick fog. Fortunately, there was almost no traffic (although I did have to wait for a train once). We arrived at Wappapello shortly before sunrise and the day use areas were mostly deserted.
That area is fairly hilly, without much in the way of open vistas. One exception would be the shores of a reservoir, which is why we liked the area. At the Peoples Creek Recreation Area there was an open view to the south and west. We should easily be able to see in incoming umbra just fine, especially perched up a bit on a hillside. There were a few streetlights near the restroom buildings, and one was still on as we arrived, but they would not cause a problem when it got dark.
The wait was uneventful. Got set up on the hillside, and ended up being joined by several people we knew. After we arrived, Suzanne sent out messages with both descriptions and pictures of our chosen spot, and based on that, they decided to also drive the two hours to join us.
For awhile around first contact, there was a stream of people arriving, including the geyser gazers, but the area never filled. The parking lot below us for boaters was maybe a third full of cars and the few RV vans. I was pleasantly surprised there weren't any of the big bus RVs there running their generators.
As in 1998 and 2017, I set up a stationary camera to record the experience of the eclipse, rather than trying to record the eclipsed sun. This time I realized early on that it might be nice to capture the changing sky conditions as a time lapse video, too.
The phone camera just isn't good enough and it's just too distracting, so all I did was wave it around for about 30 seconds. Spent about the last two minutes of totality instead looking through binoculars at the corona.
The light immediately after the eclipse seemed whiter than the time approaching totality. Maybe it was an effect of the high clouds and our eyes being adjusted to the darkness.
On my video I see some people launched their boat during totality, and there was traffic over the dam during the first minute. The first car took off about a minute after the end. Most people there left during the next half hour, but we fixed a lunch and waited around until fourth contact. (About 75 minutes.) There were still a number of people hanging around as we left.
Not sure if it's an artifact from the camera recording, but there seems to be a definite edge to the shadow moving toward us at the end which wasn't visible at the start of totality.
It was surprising that we had no trouble driving the two hours back to our room in Carbondale. I was expecting the bridge across the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau to act as a bottleneck, but that wasn't the case. Probably wasn't much different from normal late afternoon traffic. The drive back took longer only because we took a few minor detours along the way, and we still arrived well before dark.
