Solar Eclipse!

View from the park~

Like everyone else, we were excited to see the solar eclipse!  At our house, we were in the path of about 98% of total.  Butch took the day off & since the Grand-kids were visiting we decided to go south.  We wouldn't have to travel far to find a spot where it would be total & decided to go to Indian Caves State Park, NE

A busy place!

At the Park's suggestion, we purchased our day passes on-line.  On the drive down, there was probably the most traffic we'd ever seen on I-29.  At the park entrance, we were surprised to see all the volunteers, very well organized & just a short line of cars.  We handed over our pass & were looking for that perfect spot within minutes!

Cassidy, Courtney & Mason

With the most people I've ever seen at the park, everyone was courteous, friendly & the atmosphere was one of subdued excitement.  The cloud cover was heavy, but the clouds parted off & on while we watched.  Each time, the crowd would cheer & we could see a larger & larger chunk being taken out of the sun!  The photo above was just a few seconds before total - which lasted just under 2.5 minutes. 

"Sunset"

I think we all expected it to get darker earlier in the eclipse, but once it started - it came on Fast!  Seeing the Sunset - was the most beautiful part for me!  It never did rain & was the coolest day of our Summer!

At the Cave~

We packed up & headed over to show the kids the caves & have a tail-gate picnic lunch.  By then, the sun had burned through most of the cloud cover & once we'd parked, we again got out our glasses to watch as the Moon's shadow left the Sun.

Petroglyphs

Here too - there were many visitors from as far away as Canada, Texas etc. all enjoying the unusual day.

Portion of the cliff face above the caves~

A little too crowded for us, we went on down to the river - so the kids could say they'd been on the banks of the Missouri!

Mighty Missouri River~

Soon, we were on the road for home & that's where we sat in a very long line of traffic.  There had been a big fender bender at the intersection before Brownsville.  We took a gravel cut-off & once back on I-29 traffic was about normal for the area - i.e. none!  :-)

It was great to have the opportunity to see the eclipse with the kids & experience a couple minutes of total darkness!