I wanted so badly to see the eclipse, but to do so I should have reserved a room more than a year ago. I checked out the hotels in all the towns - large & small - in the path of the Total Eclipse (TE). I was horrified to discover that in ensy town after ensy town, ALL the rooms were booked. Rats. I did get an astoundingly generous invitation from my new Denver cousin David. They were to view the eclipse at their country house and had a small group gathered there for the event. That was uber kind for him to invite me, but I couldn't work up much enthusiasm for either driving that far or for flying there. If that's not total proof I'm aging, I truly don't know what is.
That brings me to today. I pondered where I might view a partial bit of the TE and decided to visit Michigan Bar Road. MB Road is fairly empty most of the time and today as no exception. I got out there. Parked. Waited.
This time of year, particularly during the ongoing drought, you'd be hard pressed to find any greenery without irrigation.
The car radio was tuned to Capital Radio/NPR. They reported on the path of the TE as it progressed eastward. Then a little after 10:10AM or so, the miracle began... only I couldn't really see it. Yes, the entirety of the sky looked queer, feeling almost as if I were wearing ill fitting glasses - but the sun never disappeared. HOWEVER! I did take photos and although the sun seems untouched, there was a bizarre reflecting of the true shape of the sun that took place in my iPhone. It created a tiny crescent (the true outline of the sun) revealing there really was a TE underway!
Although the sun looks as round as ever it is an illusion. The ensy blue crescent above, reflecting in my iPhone, shows what the full eclipse at my location. Just a tiny bit left that is not blocked at my location.
I was elated to see the little tell-tale crescent and posted about it immediately on FaceBook. One of my FB friends commented that I'd likely fried my iPhone's inner sensors. Thank heavens, for whatever reason, that did not happen!
One of the things I looked for during the eclipse was something I remembered the last time I experienced a partial eclipse. I remember the shadows beneath the trees were shaped like tiny crescents. I still do not understand how that could be, but it was fascinating.. I could sort of see such crescents under the oak during the eclipse but not any where as clear.
I nicked this photo of crescent shadows under a tree during today's eclipse. Interesting.
The next total eclipse of the sun will be on April 8th 2024. I need to get cracking on finding a hotel room for that date.
