My interest in this year's total solar eclipse started in the spring of last year, when I joined a local astronomy group that meets monthly. At each meeting someone would usually say something about the upcoming eclipse. So that put it on my radar.
Also, for years I've read an astronomy magazine called StarDate:
One of the issues last year mentioned a soon-to-be-published book called Sun Moon Earth: The History of Solar Eclipses from Omens of Doom to Einstein and Exoplanets. I put the book on my birthday wish list that year, and Wendy got it for me. The book was great, and ultimately it was the thing that convinced me I should try to go see this year's eclipse.
Fortunately I read the book about a year in advance, so I was still able to find available hotel rooms. Based on historical models of cloud cover, western Nebraska looked like an ideal spot, with typically sunny days in late August. I aimed for a hotel in the North Platte area, but didn't find any reasonably priced rooms, so I wound up reserving a room in Kearney, which is in central Nebraska. We reserved a room for 2 nights, planning to arrive the day before the eclipse and leave the day after. With that done, I just had to wait an entire year.
A few months before the eclipse, we made our flight reservations. We decided to fly to Wichita so we could spend a few days visiting Wendy's parents. Then we could drive north 4.5 hours to Kearney for the eclipse. Afterwards, we'd drive back to Wichita for another quick visit, and then catch a flight home.
In the weeks leading up to our trip, I made lots of lists, trying to plan for any eventuality:
- What if there was no cell phone service? No problem, I downloaded offline maps on both of our phones.
- What if I lost the paper maps that showed the exact time and path of totality? No problem, I took photos of the maps as a backup.
- What if it was cloudy? I collected links to weather forecasts of cities in the path of totality all across Nebraska, even into Wyoming and Kansas.
- What if the airline somehow managed to lose our suitcase on a direct flight? No problem, I packed half of our eclipse glasses in our carry-on.
I had a list of things to pack before we left our house, a list of things to pack before we left Wichita to head to Kearney, and a list of things to do once we arrived in Kearney. I was determined to be PREPARED!
Finally, the day of our trip arrived. We packed everything up and got ready to drive to O'Hare. When we turned on the car, the song Total Eclipse of the Heart was playing on the radio! What an auspicious sign, we said!
Our drive to O'Hare and flight to Wichita was remarkably stress free. We picked up our rental car (a Toyota Camry), and headed to Bill and Beth's house, with a quick stop at a grocery store to buy some supplies we'd need for our trip north (I had a list of what we needed, naturally). Finally, we got to their house. I'd forgotten how peaceful and quiet it is there, and how beautiful the night sky is! I went outside to star gaze each night we were there.
The next day was Saturday, and we decided to visit the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, KS. Somehow, despite visiting the Wichita area dozens of times, I'd never been there before. It's a fantastic space museum, with all kinds of space artifacts. According to its Wikipedia page, it "houses the largest collection of Russian space artifacts outside of Moscow, and a collection of US space artifacts second only to the National Air and Space Museum." It was really a fantastic museum. A few notable things:
- There's a beautiful SR-71 Blackbird hanging from the ceiling in the lobby. At first I thought it was a life-size replica, but later learned that no, it's a real plane that's been flown.
- There was a plaque towards the beginning that said there were 65 years between the Wright brother's first flight and humans landing on the moon. I was amazed by that! How did we make so much progress in such a short time, I wondered.
- The next exhibit answered my question. War is how we made so much progress. The museum had a German V-1 and V-2 rocket on display, with lots of fascinating and sobering stories about them. It said the V-2 rocket was one of mankind's greatest technological leaps, and we wouldn't have gotten to the moon without it.
We were at the museum for probably 3 hours, and there was more information than I could process in that time. I started to run out of steam by the end. It was a very cool place, and I'll have to go back at some point.
The whole time we were visiting Wendy's parents, I kept a close eye on the weather forecasts for the eclipse. And I was heartbroken with what I found. It was not looking good. The forecast called for cloudy skies over the entire state of Nebraska. I found an online forum of amateur astronomers, some of whom were also storm chasers, and I read their comments and followed the weather links they posted. I learned that the local branches of the National Weather Service publish not just the weather forecast, but a meteorological discussion of the forecast. Hastings, NE was the closest branch to Kearney. I read their weather discussions, and my hopes hung on their every word. At one point, the meteorologist wrote:
Aargh! I was not happy.Although all hope is not lost, to be quite honest, I'm becoming concerned about the possibility of seeing the eclipse in central Nebraska.