Thursday, August 24, 2017

An Eclipse Odyssey

When I first look up at the sun through those funky glasses, it appears as if someone had taken just a nibble out of a cookie.

A door in Springvile
We’re in Springfield, South Carolina, a small town south of Columbia.  Savannah is only going to experience a partial (97% of the sun covered) eclipse.  The path of totality was passing by just 70 miles north of here, so it’s time for a road trip.  Since the weather forecast is calling for clouds and rain along the coast, and Interstate 95 is flooded with folks further south trying to make it north, we decide to forgo the interstate and take the backroads.  Leaving Savannah on Georgia 21, we follow the river northwest, driving among the tractors pulling containers in and out of the port.  At Springville (Georgia, not South Carolina), we turn north on Highway 119 and cross the Savannah River.  A few miles north of the river, 119 merges into US 321 and we head north.  Attempting to work our way both far enough north to be in the path of totality and far enough west to avoid the coastal clouds, we take US 278, driving through pine forest and the occasional field of beans, corn or cotton.  We stop in Barnwell, the gateway to the Savannah River Site (a Department of Energy Nuclear operation) and pick up a quick lunch at Burger King.  Then we continue heading north, taking State Road 37.  After Elko, which is in the path of totality, we look for a good place to watch the eclipse.  There are clouds, but also large clear areas in the sky.  We pull into the small town of Springfield. 

Southern Railroad used to run through Springfield, but the tracks were no longer there.  Somehow, a caboose had been left behind and the swath of land that once were tracks is now a long park.  The rail beds have been paved over as a walking and bike path and a pavilion was built next to the caboose. We find a shady spot to park, get out of the car and after putting on the solar glasses, take a peak and see that the moon was slowly doing its magic.  Totality is a little over an hour away.  A few others also stop and we all gather in the park in the center of town. 

An African American man is there with his wife and children.  We get to talking and I learn he’s from Springfield.  He tells me the train stopped running around fifteen years ago.  Then he points to another park and said we should come back the Saturday before Easter as the town holds a bull frog jumping contest.  I mention Mark Twain’s story, but I’m not sure he even knows whom I’m talking about as he goes on about how far some of the frogs can jump.  He then points west and tells me about a town with a Chitin festival and how the whole town stinks during the festival.  “I think I’ll skip that festival,” I confide. Then he starts telling about another town where there was a poetry festival.  “Really,” I say. “I might be interested in that,” while thinking that this doesn't look like a hotbed for literary activities.  He continues, describing how folks walk around gnawing on large drumsticks.  I realize he was saying “poultry” and not “poetry.”  “You got to come back,” the guy says.  “All these little towns have festivals.”  The man is proud of his place in the world!

I take another look at the sun and the bite into the cookie is larger.  The cookie monster is busy; or the moon is doing its magic. 

We decide to walk around the town, all three blocks, with a desire to see the sights and hopefully find relief from the gnats flying around us under the trees. They are annoying but thankfully are not the biting type.  Most of the businesses are closed.  The diner is only open Thursdays through Saturday.  The pharmacy closed for the eclipse and, in front of the store, had sat a skeleton in a lounge chair.  The bank is open but doesn’t look very busy.  Just off Main Street is a convenient store that seems to be doing a fair amount of business.


When we got back to where everyone is congregating, we join the group on the pavilion.  Looking back at the sun, it appears as if the cookie is half eaten.  The pavilion provides little relief from the gnats and even though the sun was slowly disappearing and it’s noticeably cooker, it’s still warm and when not looking at the sun, the shade helps.   A large cloud begins to make its way toward the sun and we wonder if we should relocate further west, but the cloud seems to vaporize as it got closer to the sun.  We meet some folks from Savannah, a guy who’d driven a motorcycle up this morning from Gainsville, Florida, another couple from Jacksonville.   
Just before totality 
The next time I look, the sun is about three quarter’s gone.  The family from Savannah’s dog is noticeable agitated and we discuss if it’s because of the eclipse or because he thinks it’s almost night and he hasn’t yet been fed.  Looking away from the sun, the sky is a darker blue.  The clouds are only seen on the horizon.  I walk down to where there are trees and see hundreds of crescents reflecting through the leaves on the ground.
reflections on the ground

Slowly, more and more of the sun disappears.  The cookie metaphor no longer applies.  Looking at it through the glasses, it no longer appears as a cookie about eaten for the rim is so thin it would crumble.  Folks begin to claim space on the ramp leading up to the pavilion.  Insects begin to sing.  Streetlights turn on.  Cars driving through town have their lights on. 

Then it happens.  Very quickly the rim of the sun seen through the glasses disappears.  A few specks appear for a moment and then it’s gone.  You can see nothing in the glasses, so I remove them and WOW.  The corona is visible, flashing out from behind the moon, in a metallic bluish color.  We hold our breath for it is incredibly beautiful.  I don’t even bother trying to take a photo. Looking around, a few stars and planets are visible, but there is not enough time to orient myself as to which is which.  I keep looking back at the dark block crowned with the corona.  Then, way too soon, the sun begins to reappear with just flecks at first.  We put back on our glasses and watch as the rim appears on the opposite side.  We began to clamp and cheer in acknowledgement that we did it, we witnessed the eclipse and it was incredible.

Reflections on the hood
We watch the sun through the glasses for a few minutes, but the excitement is over.  People began packing up and soon everyone is heading home.  As I walk back to the car that’s parked in the shade of trees, I notice the crescents covering the hood and take my last photo of the eclipse.  We decide to take what is quicker way back and head off east toward I-95.  A few minutes after leaving Springfield, clouds have covered the sky.  Twenty minutes later, we’re in a downpour.  When we get to 95, we realize that we made a mistake as the traffic heading south is at a standstill.  We opt for US 17.  We’re back home by 6:30 PM.  

Downpour on the drive home





24 comments:

  1. Thanks for letting us share the eclipse with you! I was in Duluth (since Minnesota) wasn't really going to get much and I had vacation time. On Lake Superior there wasn't even a slight change that we could pick up. My daughter and family (the schools were closed in Madison, Alabama just for the eclipse they saw it got good pictures and some guy with a special camera (or lens or something) captured it and she sent me the video. Maybe the next on in 2024 I'll get it, but really what I like the most about these events are the little stories just like you shared, and some friends of mine who drove to places with their families for a better viewing and hearing about those towns too! It sure beats following the news from Washington right?!

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  2. I only was able to watch about it on TV. we did have partial coverage where I was but the clouds were out.

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  3. As you know, we got rained on during the eclipse where I was but still experiences the total darkness which was neat. Now I'm waiting until April 8, 2024.

    I heard on NPR that they said the traffic too the eclipse wasn't bad because everyone left at different times. However the traffic heading home from the eclipse was horrible because essentially everyone left at the same time. Sounds like you saw that.

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  4. Thanks for filling me in on a part of the country I know little about.

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  5. Great descriptions of your experience! I'll have to make the effort in 2024 since totality will be so close to me.

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  6. Never saw any of the eclipse cuz I was sleeping the day away after a long nite's work, friend Sage ... o, well ... smiles ... Love, cat.

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  7. That guy in the red chair's been looking for too long, I'm thinking.

    Thanks for taking us on this fun eclipse adventure.

    Thanks so much, too, for buying and reading my book. I'm most grateful.

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  8. I think I would have enjoyed the festival conversation as much as the eclipse.

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  9. I had to smile at the skeleton in the red chair!
    Your descriptions are brilliant, I just saw the eclipse on UK TV.

    All the best Jan

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  10. Here in New York, we got an idea of the Eclipse through a device that my daughter made. We could see a sliver taken out of the sun and then it looked like the Sun itself was a slice. Nature is neat.
    Thanks for sharing such details. NBC weather man was narrating the event as it unfolded that day evn up to the Corona (if I heard him right).

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  11. With all of the seemingly endless garbage going on in the world, the eclipse was a wonderful shared human experience.

    I could go for a poultry festival! Great post.

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  12. I am amazed by the lengths some folks went through to watch the eclipse! But it sounds like you had a great day of it, and have a fun story to boot, so it was worth it. :-)

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  13. Haha! I love that skeleton photo. We had 91% of the eclipse here, but it was cloudy, so I didn’t see much of it. It did get weirdly dark for a while, and crickets started chirping, but my dogs didn’t seem to care about the eclipse at all. They just carried on with their normal dog things while the sun was gone.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  14. We had only a partial eclipse here, so I watched the event on TV. I enjoyed reading your account of the experience.

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  15. I think the prettiest bit is watching all the crescent's beneath the trees when the light lances between the leaves. And light you don't normally notice.

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  16. We only had a partial here in Maine, but we're getting a total in 2024!!!

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  17. Hi Sage - it's great you saw what you did and were able to describe it to us ... the things I remember are the lack of sound, the sudden gloominess and dampness, and the silence ... but your capture of the crescents are wonderful. I'm just glad you got home safely by being able to divert off and away from the mass of traffic with the rain ...

    It's great another one is coming in 2024 for you in the States - cheers Hilary

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  18. Nice pictures. We had thunderstorms all that day and when it came time for the eclipse, there were huge dark clouds in the way so most of us here in Las Vegas didn't see a thing.

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  19. We were in Asheville, NC which had about 99.2% of the total eclipse. I kind of wish we had driven south for the 100%, but the traffic would have been murder.

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  20. How wonderful to have witnessed that, my last eclipse was a total moon eclipse watched from the Sossosvlei in Namibia, magic *grin*

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  21. I love the 'poetry' festival misunderstanding. Always wonderful to experience an eclipse. I love the way the light changes and the birds fall quiet

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  22. Hi, Sage! I enjoyed hearing about your trip to view totality. We hit 92% coverage here. We didn't go north into Wyoming, because it was over 250 each way in awful traffic. I really liked the photos of the sun presents through the leaves. I remember that happening in other partial eclipses that I have seen ~ No trees near me this time. I'm glad you outfoxed the weather!

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  23. Thanks for sharing the experience with us! I wish we were going to get to see an eclipse sometime soon in Europe.

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