Eclipse-5 & 6

Day 5 - 8/20/17

Well, much to my surprise, both side by side (unrelated) campers across from me packed up and took off mid morning. After they left, I surmised that  it being Sunday, these young folks may have that "W" thing to contend with tomorrow AND the youngsters down in these parts are already back in school. Oh, the horror of it all.  Work and school--Ugh! Shame.

In their place, three groups of tent-ers took up the two sites opposite me. They all knew one another and it looked like an Eclipse Party in the making. Mom and dad in their 50's and all the "youngsters" in their late 20's. The weather looks like it'll be perfect for tomorrow's event. The solar eclipse starts shortly after 1:30 p.m. tomorrow with totality at 2:37 pm lasting anywhere from 90 seconds to 2 minutes and 30 seconds in South Carolina for areas in the “path of totality." The rest of Sunday was very, very quiet. All the kiddies in the neighboring sites went somewhere with the folks and didn't return till late afternoon. 'Twas a very quiet day. I'll combine today and tomorrow in the next blog.

Day 6 - 8/21/17

It would be an interesting exercise for the readers of this blog to click on the comment link below and indicate where you were for the eclipse and describe your experience. You may have to sign in as "Anonymous" to get published, so sign you name at the end of your comment. Some of you have it already down pat.

Friends, Tim and Marsha from Travelers Rest, arrived just after 9 am. We worried that because of the anticipated crowds, the Park planned on closing the gates as soon as parking facilities were full. As it turned out, there were no problems in their arriving at my site at the appointed time. Then the wait and the countdown began.

One by one all the neighboring campsites packed their knapsacks, folding chairs and protective glasses and hiked down the road to their chosen viewing area...one with no obstructions like....trees. For us, the middle of the road in front of my site was perfect and it was there that we set up our chairs.

Tim & Marsha ready for the event.

The folks down the street were also set for the spectacle.

As you can see, glasses did little to improve anything.

For us the event began at about 1:15 pm with totality at 2:37 pm. I tried taking practice pictures prior to totality but it was too cumbersome to try and place a filter in front of the lens while aiming and shooting; and that was with both iPhone and regular camera. So, although the photo below isn't my photograph, I can attest to the fact that this is exactly what we saw. The size of the eclipsed sun was about the size of a dime.

This was taken during totality when you were able
to safely look directly at the sun. Doesn't come close
to seeing the real thing.

Viewing with the unaided eye...during totality...
for the few seconds was the treat of a lifetime.

We were worried most of the time as clouds continued to drift in to totally obscure the sight then moved on to give a glimpse as the moon slowly made its journey across the surface of the sun; the journey began in the upper right corner (about 1:00 on a clock's face) to totality at 2:37 pm. The sun eventually resembled a crescent moon when the clouds once again intervened and blocked our view. Finally, just before totality, the clouds broke as if on cue to reveal the disappearing sliver of sunlight. You could count down the seconds until totality. And when it occurred, just as you see it above, you could hear the crowds in the distance cheering at the wondrous, once-in-a-lifetime sight. It was truly awesome. Just before totality and thanks to the canopy of leaves above us, I captured the following sights on the pavement in front of our viewing site.

Can you make out the crescent shape of the sun as the light
filtered through the canopy of leaves.

And so, in less than two minutes of viewing a most magical sight, the moon and sun continued their independent journeys as they have millions of years in the past with no regard to the millions of organisms on this planet who were lucky enough to view their rendezvous. I witnessed no changes in animal behavior (before or after), didn't see any stars as a result of the blocked sunlight and the temperature dropped from 91° to 86°

Winnie at the moment of totality (with a flash). It did get dark.

Future solar eclipses. Which one will you witness?

As I conclude today's blog, a brief shower arrived and the tent folks are probably wishing they were in a motel. Fortunately, it was short lived. Tomorrow I take off for Travelers Rest, SC, twenty minutes away for a couple of days as I begin my journey back to CPP; 9 days, 16 hours and 17 minutes from the posting of this blog. Thanks for joining me and hope you too had a special eclipse day. Don't forget to comment below. Thanks.