Watching the Solar Eclipse at Boysen State Park, 2017

I didn’t need to set the alarm as I was too excited to sleep. Awake at 2:48 am, I returning to bed and tossed and turned until six when I got up. Waking Renita, we loaded up the truck and were on the road at 6:48. Pulling into Jackson we stopped at the grocery store for some last-minute supplies. It was a little after seven am and most people were still asleep.

Leaving Jackson, we headed north to Moran Junction and then headed over Togeete Pass. Descending the pass, we drove past our spring mushroom hunting location and arrived in Dubois. Talking it over we decided to drive further. There was a temporary campsite but it didn’t look inviting and after topping off our tank we pressed on to Riverton.

We did stop at Crow Heart Butte, a spot we had considered for the eclipse, but the lot was too small and we stuck to our original plan. The traffic at Riverton was ok and there was a festival with native dancing going on in the city park. However, we couldn’t find an easy spot to park and continued on to Boysen State Park.

A park ranger told us that there were still dispersed parking spots along Bass Lake Road, (Lake Camewhaet), and after a while we located a good spot just off the road. Setting up, we had a panoramic view of the surrounding desert. To the north we could see the Owl Creek and Copper Mountains, east was the town of Shoshone, and south toward Riverton was a butte. The Wind River Mountains, normally visible, were hidden by the smoke from fires in Idaho, Montana, and Oregon.

That night I again couldn’t sleep and got up at three am. The skies were beautiful with the Milky Way splashed across the zenith of the nighttime sky. Going back to bed I awoke to find that clouds had moved in, oh no!

Getting on the internet I found the eclipse cloud forecast from NOAA, and it said that the sun would burn off the alto cirrus clouds and that a meso-cloud layer would not pass through until after the eclipse was over. As the morning progressed the high-level clouds passed to the east and the meso-cumulus clouds arrived early. Luckily, they had just moved past the sun when we noticed the eclipse had started.

We both had phone problems and so our attempts to take images with the solar glasses failed. I suggested to Renita that she not take any images as this was her first total eclipse and she should simply enjoy it.

Time seemed to stop as the moon slowly coved the sun’s photosphere. As it neared totality the air became still, it got noticeably colder, and some dogs started to bark. Molly decided it was time to take a nap and she laid down and fell asleep.

As the diamond ring formed I told Renita she could take off her solar glasses. We both stood side by side in awe of the event. First the diamond ring effect, captured our hearts and then the chromosphere, and corona appeared.

The sky had gotten dark and several bright planets appeared. All along the horizon we could see the colors of a sunset, as we were sitting in the middle of the shadow of the moon, (I never noticed this in 1979, when I saw my first solar eclipse). I tried to take a few images with our good camera but the haze from the forest fires diffused the sun’s corona and my images were rough. Renita ‘s camera clicked and I knew she had taken a few eclipse images herself.

The two plus minutes of totality passed quickly and the diamond ring signaled the end of our brief time in the umbra. I turned to Renita and saw she was wiping a tear from her eyes and I told her that I had also teared up with the joyful sight. Around us everything was silent as the other campers were still moved from a sight of a lifetime.

Cars started to drive by as people left but we stayed until fourth contact, which s when the last limb of the cleared the sun’s surface. After lunch, we decided to return home. Perhaps we would get caught in a traffic jam in Jackson!

Now traffic jams are rare here in Wyoming and usually signify that a herd of cows or a flock of sheep are being moved to a new pasture. The traffic was light until we drove past the Jackson Airport, (where a car turned in front of us and Renita had to step on the brakes. A car from California passed us in a no passing zone and then had to break as we had found the traffic jam.

My phones google earth map lit and the traffic jam appeared in red. It took us an hour to reach Jackson and make the turn on Broadway Street. City police were directing traffic and the traffic thinned as we left town. Google map also showed a traffic jam at South Park and Alpine but as we drove they both turned from red to green.

Reaching Alpine, we turned south and another car from California passed us in a no passing zone, but the fool survived his stupidity and the rest of our drive was uneventful. It had taken us five hours to return home, not bad when you factor in the traffic jam.

We are now both awaiting the next solar eclipse in 2024! Hmmm, we have neighbors here in our park, who live in Cape Giradeau Missouri, right on the center path. Do you suppose it’s too early to ask them if we can park in their front yard? Clear skies