Daily Archives: August 21, 2017

Holstein, NE August 21, 2017

About a month or so ago we decided to change our travel route slightly so we could view the total eclipse of the sun Monday.   We settled in at Milford Lake State Park in Kansas for eight days until the big day arrived.  Our plan was to drive an hour and a half into Fairbury, Nebraska to a total eclipse location.  We had chosen a location within driving distance of our campground  and in an area that wasn’t  super crowded so we wouldn’t have to fight huge crowds and traffic jams.  We began to watch the weather forecast several days out and grew concerned as Mother Nature was working against us with cloudy weather predicted.  How potentially disappointing!  We had our solar sunglasses and solar eclipse tee shirts all ready to go.  But it looked like Mother Nature was going to have the last laugh.

On Sunday the forecast indicated mostly cloudy skies and I, ever the pessimist, suggested we just watch it from home.  Bill, ever the optimist, said, “Let’s just give it a try.”

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Let’s Go

Monday morning we awoke to cloudy skies in Milford, but Bill had spent a lot of time looking at weather forecasts in Nebraska and had a plan.  We jumped in the car and headed north and west towards Nebraska.  The further we traveled northwest, the clearer the skies became.  Our hopes would rise with the sun and then be dashed by big clouds obscuring the sun.  But we drove on, singing “please don’t take my sunshine away”.

After three hours of driving, we stopped in tiny Holstein, Nebraska, population 242.20170821_122455  The skies were fairly clear with some clouds, but they did not block our view.  We pulled over on a side street, aptly named “Sundown Rd”, set up our chairs and had a picnic lunch while we watched the progression to total eclipse.  It was amazing and beautiful.  It was hard to get a picture with a camera phone, but Bill did a fantastic job!  And just as the song by Bruce Springsteen suggested, we were “Dancing in the Dark”.20170821_123251

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This was taken with smartphone camera and Eclipse Glasses

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High Clouds Tried to Get In the Way

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More High Clouds

IMG_20170821_125805IMG_20170821_125810IMG_20170821_125818IMG_20170821_125827IMG_20170821_125834IMG_20170821_125841Far, far too soon it was over.  We continued watching the sun reappear for awhile, but it was anticlimactic after the total eclipse.  So we climbed back into the car for the three hour drive back home.  It was totally worth the long drive.  What an experience!  Thank you Bill for your persistence and optimism!!

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We hope you enjoyed Eclipse Day 2017