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This week’s contribution is from my cousin Lynn. Her experience merits sharing.

Finding Totality – Written by Lynn Hagstrom Haldy

This past June, I gave my husband, Rusty, a Celestron set containing a booklet and four pairs of eclipse viewing glasses. The booklet extolled the wonder and magic in store for America when the sun and moon danced together for hundreds of miles creating a view of totality not seen across so much of our country in many long years. We were hooked and committed to chasing down totality so when August 21 rolled around we’d be positioned to view the glory of it all.

On August 17 we packed up the RV and our dog, Scout, and headed West. We’d determined that the western edge of Nebraska had one of the better outlooks for clear skies, and it also provided decent roads heading both east and west if the need to move quickly arose. We spent Friday night in Nebraska at a campground near the town of Valentine, known for great night sky viewing with little interference from man made lights. Gazing up at that clear night sky was our first taste of the magic – the Milky Way spilled like a river across the star strewn sky heading toward the infinity of deep space. Saturday night found us camped in the tiny town of Hay Springs on the northwestern edge of Nebraska just 46 miles north of totality. However, on Sunday the forecast stated that Nebraska could experience 45% cloud cover on Monday, whereas Wyoming was predicted to have clear skies. We hit the road west, and Sunday night found us camped at the Pony Soldier RV Park in Lingle, Wyoming with 2 minutes and 14 seconds of totality heading our way.

When we awoke that Monday morning the sky was a beautiful blue with nary a cloud in sight – jubilation! We set out the lawn chairs, got our glasses and a puny camera in place and when the moon begin to bite into the sun at 10:24, we were gazing skyward with our eyes protected. Around 11:46 totality began. The morning had been breezy, but at that moment a calm descended as the sky became dusky and the air cooled while the crickets began to sing even as the birds were hushed. A pink light enfolded us with 360 degrees of sunset and when we removed our glasses to look with delight at the sun, words don’t do justice to the emotions we felt. A beautiful light pulsed around the circle of the sun, and I remember laughing out loud in amazement. The final glory is when the moon begins its retreat and the “diamond ring” of totality appears. The sun at that moment looks exactly like a ring with a most glorious diamond flashing out; and even as we were gasping in awe, the flare of light got larger and then….whoosh the light expands more and one must look away. The definition of the word totality is, “the whole of something, fullness, completeness”. Thinking back on my experience of the eclipse, maybe that explains how I could feel both tiny and immense even as I felt laughter and tears all mixed together. For those few moments I was reminded of how precious is this journey of ours riding on our little blue planet as it circles the life giving sun. Eclipse 2024 here we come!

“At the moment of commitment, the Universe conspires to assist you.” Goethe

This week APHC show is a rebroadcast of a show recorded in February from the Fitzgerald Theater in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Lucius perform “My Heart Got Caught on Your Sleeve” and “Dusty Trails,” Brad Mehldau joins Chris Thile for “Scarlet Town” and a little piano and mandolin improvisation, and comic Tom Papa shares a few thoughts on life as an adult. Plus: Gaby Moreno sings “O, Me,” Chris Eldridge leads John Hartford’s “Living in the Mississippi Valley,” and a visit to the Angle Township in Minnesota’s Lake of the Woods County. Enjoy the show.
Have a safe Labor Day weekend.