I’m An Official Eclipse Chaser!

Whelp, I guess once you go chasing two different eclipses seven years apart you could be considered an eclipse chaser. A person who chases eclipses is known as a umbraphile, meaning shadow lover. Umbraphiles often travel for eclipses and use various tools to help view the sun including solar viewers also known as eclipse glasses, as well as telescopes.

I was totally oblivious to chasing an eclipse and what the zone of totality was until 2017. After I started reading about the stories people were having at totality I figured it would be a great adventure to experience myself.

With very little planning Todd and I hopped in my car and drove to Fairmont, Nebraska to sleep in the SUV, in a park. We were in awe of everything because we had no idea of what to expect. It was a very outdoorsy one-with-nature feeling.

I started planning the 2024 eclipse chase at least a year before it happened. The main objective was to drive to Grapevine, Texas and stay with my best friend and all watch it together. His house was in the zone of totality but not near the center. My original thought was to be as near to center as we could get.

I kept reminding everyone to plan for April 8, 2024 and ask off of work months ahead. The plan was for my wife and other best friend to all drive down to Grapevine. From there my plan was to drive east towards the center of totality.

Up until a couple of weeks I wasn’t sure where we’d be watching the eclipse from. As I researched cities in Texas I started to lean towards Terrell, TX. They seemed to be close to the center line on a highway with lots of activities happening.

The one thing I wanted for sure was to be around a decent sized group of people so we could all experience the eclipse together. One of the highlights of totality is the moment the sunlight completely disappears the crowd begins to cheer, clap, cry, whistle hug and kiss.

Two weeks out the eclipse chasing plan was looking like Terrell, TX would be my first choice as the final destination. I figured we’d just drive back to Oklahoma on the back roads after the momentous event.

The first kink that popped up was the long range weather forecast. It started to look like a front would move into the Dallas area with lots of clouds on eclipse day. At that point I started monitoring the weather every day.

About one week before the eclipse there were dozens of articles and interviews with local authorities about stores running out of supplies and traffic jamming up around the cities in the zone of totality. The possible influx of tens of thousands of viewers from the Dallas/Ft. Worth area into Terrell started making me nervous.

I did not want to get stuck in traffic trying while trying to get to our destination and then have to worry about gas, supplies and really large crowds. I came to the realization that it wouldn’t be that big of a deal to lose two minutes of totality in exchange for not having to fight traffic and possibly not make our destination.

I decided we would just drive to Grapevine the day before the eclipse to miss the morning rush and then we would just stay in Grapevine and go to a local park. We would get to experience totality with all of our best friends.

About four days before the eclipse the weather was not looking good for Texas. The forecast called for thick clouds and possible rain. At that point I started to look for an alternative plan in case Texas was a wash. The next easiest place to get to in a short drive was Arkansas. The weather forecast there called for some high clouds but they also had sunshine throughout the day.

Unfortunately waiting until the last minute to book a room in totality is almost futile. I actually was finding a limited number of rooms available in cities like Clarksville, AR but the prices were outrageous. One hotel had rooms for a $1,000 a night.

Due to possible clouds in Arkansas just three days before the eclipse I was looking all over the map for places to go. I narrowed my choices to Jasper, Clarksville and Ozark, all towns in Arkansas. Jasper was further north with clearer skies forecasted but the road to get there was a narrow two lane that wound through the mountains.

Ozark and Clarksville were on I-40 and easy to get to in Arkansas. I also looked at rooms in Fayetteville and they actually had lots of rooms at regular prices. Since our daughter attends U of A in Fayetteville we are very familiar with the town and I thought we could stay there if needed.

The eclipse was on Monday, April 8. On Saturday, April 6 the weather seemed to be getting worse for most of Texas. I talked to my buddy in Grapevine and he suggested we go where the weather might be better. So on Saturday I pulled the plug on going to Texas and booked rooms in Fayetteville. Way more planning and decisions on this chase as opposed to the 2017 chase.

Late Saturday I had to try and make a decision on where we would go after Fayetteville. Todd and Denise had no preference so there still was no solid plan even on Sunday, April 7.

The original plan was to wake up early Sunday morning to get to Texas to spend the day with friends. Since the plan changed to Arkansas we decided to leave later in the day and just get there in time for dinner.

We loaded up and left Enid at 2pm on Sunday for our second eclipse chase. While driving I told my cohorts to look at the towns and help decided where we should go on Monday morning. Denise pulled up some info Russellville and they seem to be having lots of activities.

All of this time I had been texting and messaging with lots of people telling them where we were going. Many of them had to go to Texas because they already had reservations. Others cancelled plans and headed to Arkansas.

One of the listeners to our 70’s Buzz podcast lived near Fayetteville and told me he would be in Clarksville. We thought it would be fun to meet him so we started leaning in that direction which was also the way to Russellville.

Once we got to Fayetteville we filled up with gas so we would start our adventure with a full tank. We then stopped to eat dinner at Feed and Folly near the hotel and had a long talk with the local bartender there. When we started discussing the eclipse we asked her if she knew of any good places to go or if she had heard of any events happening. She asked what our choices were at the time.

I told her Jasper, Clarksville and Russellville. She quickly said not to go to Russellville because it was a small town and they were excepting large crowds and thick traffic. She said the roads to Jasper were two lane filled with lots of curves. Getting stuck on one of those roads could delay us for hours.

After the dinner discussion we had pretty much made up our minds to go to Clarksville where we could meet up with our listener. One of our classmates names Joe texted me to ask where we were headed. I told him we made the decision to go to Clarksville. He said he was heading that way and was going to spend the night in his Suburban.

We stayed at The Graduate Hotel in Fayetteville and had a few drinks at the bar before heading to bed. Our final plan at that point was to get up early, go eat at 7am and then hit the road by 8am. I checked weather that night and it was actually improving for Grapevine and had a mix of sunshine and clouds for Arkansas.

Monday, April 8 was eclipse day! We got up early and had breakfast at First Watch. Around 8am we headed south on highway 49 toward I-40. The traffic, to our surprise, was normal and flowing smoothly. The skies were blue with a very thin layer go high white clouds.

We made a very quick trip to Clarksville and I pulled in thinking we’d easily see where anything was happening. I thought the town would be thick with cars and people walking around all over. What we found was not much. We couldn’t tell if they had anything going on. We decided to stop in a parking lot and look online for any posted events.

Denise found one event in the downtown area. About that time our classmate from Enid called and asked where we were. I told him and he drove to the parking lot to meet us. While talking there Denise found info on some bigger events in Russellville. The local paper had said there was an event going on with near a stage.

All of us decided to drive to the downtown area to check it out. There were a few vendors on the small square with about a half a dozen people looking. There just wasn’t any crowd there. I texted our listener where he was going to watch the eclipse but he didn’t answer right away. We drove around little more and ended up at the airport where there were a few people camping and also several skydivers.

Since there didn’t seem to be any activity in Clarksville we decided to drive the twenty minutes to Russellville to check it out. We drove the back way to avoid any traffic on I-40. Denise found a big events going on downtown so we decided to start there.

Our vehicles pulled into the downtown area at 10:15am and could tell this was an eclipse watching hot spot. The city had roads blocked with a big stage set up and vendors scattered around their square. NASA was there as well as other national and regional media.

After parking and entered the Russellville downtown area. There was a NASA person on stage taking questions from the audience. There was a big crowd but not huge at that point. The four of us spent time walking around the downtown area looking at t-shirts and other eclipse memorabilia. The sky at this point was blue with just a thin layer of high white clouds.

NASA had several tents set up providing eclipse information and they were giving out free glasses. Astronaut Mike Massimino, a veteran of two space flights was there signing autographs. There was also music being played up on the stage.

I had been texting with Stayton, who was in Grapevine, about what was happening in his area. His crew had gone to a local park and there were lots of clouds but intermittent sunshine as well. He was hopeful they’d get to see the sun during totality.

The temperature in Russellville was nearing 80 degrees so we stopped at an old bank that had been converted into a bar. I don’t usually day drink but this was a very special occasion so I grabbed a beer. After having a pre-eclipse toast we gathered up our supplies and went to find a spot to experience totality.

There was a very crowded area on a section of grass that was filled with media and eclipse watchers with cameras. We found a spot with enough room to sit down in the grass and made that our home for the day. At this point it was noon making it two hours until totality which was around 1:50pm. The dynamic at this eclipse was different than in 2017 because there was a group of four of us rather than just Todd and I.

Our area was filled with media people doing interviews while filming live. A local Arkansas TV station had created a big set with our area in the background. Ariel Rodriguez with Telemundo was next to us. He was a meteorologist out of Miami that kept us updated on the weather.

By 12:30pm the sky was a clear, bright blue with no sign of major clouds moving in. There were a few wispy clouds but they moved by quickly. It was hot enough for me to break a sweat and get the beginnings of a sunburn. But as soon as the moon began to cover the sun at 12:33pm you could almost feel the temperature start to change.

Every ten minutes or so the temperature felt better and better. By 1:00pm you could start to sense a change in the sharpness of light. People started to get excited and were using items with holes in them to project the sun onto something to show the first bite out of the sun. Most people were looking up with their eclipse glasses on. Things were starting to buzz all around our area.

NASA had someone on stage talking about their tracking of the eclipse and giving everyone updates on the timing of totality. I set up a monopod with two iPhones and a GoPro on it. I was also holding my newest iPhone and my Canon 70D 35mm camera with a zoom lens. I was ready to capture the moment!

As we got closer to totality the temperature really dropped and the sun was too longer beating down on us. It was the perfect day as far as weather. About ten minutes before the full eclipse I turned on my three cameras to film the gradual transition from light to dark. I was also filming with my iPhone and taking photos with my camera.

You could feel the anticipation from the crowd as the light began to fade. People started whistling and cheering even before totality. The person on the stage said something which caused the crowd to cheer. A few seconds later everything went dark and the entire crowd began to cheer and yell.

I immediately had that same feeling I had experienced in 2017. I was in awe of the darkness and the calmness of the atmosphere even though the crowd was loud and very active. Unfortunately the TV crew near our location decided to keep their set lights on during the eclipse which spoiled a bit of the overall darkness.

One of the big differences at this eclipse versus the 2017 was our location. In Fairmont we were in a park with no lights or buildings and see could see a full 360 degree sunset all the way around us. In Russellville there were lots more people, buildings and extra lights which blocked some of our view. None the less it was another cosmic experience.

In 2017 we had about 2 minutes and 30 seconds while in Russellville we had around 4 minutes and 30 seconds. As soon as totality started I looked up at the sun and was surprised at how many of the sun’s solar prominences we could see. There were not that many visible in 2017. I filmed the surroundings with my iPhone to capture the darkness and then took several shots of the actual eclipse. I got some really great pics with the camera and lens that I had.

Joe was also taking pics while Todd and Denise were just soaking it in. I took a selfie with Denise in totality. Then I spent a short moment to enjoy the feeling and feel the presence of the people around me. I could see the street lights had come on and everything seemed very still other than the crowd. I couldn’t believe how much time I had to shoot another round of photographs.

I started filming again with my iPhone when Denise said I had better get my camera ready to snap the diamond ring effect which was one of the most iconic photos. At that exact moment a tine spot of light popped out from behind the sun. I snapped a quick photo and then my camera went out of focus just as I took the money shot. Luckily I just kept shooting and the camera focused again for one more shot and then the sunshine came screaming back to earth.

It only took seconds for things to light right back up and you could feel the warmth returning. That was it. It was over again. I wasn’t going to most likely experience that phenomenon for another 21 years. Although different than 2017, it was a one of a kind event that I wouldn’t have missed for anything. All of the decisions we made lead to the perfect location, the perfect weather and an overall awesome memory I will never forget.

After gathering our gear we headed back to the cars with a renewed sense of awe. Denise, Todd and I left Joe so we could drive back to Fayetteville to pick up our dog from our daughter. One of the things I feared about getting closer to the center of totality was the increased traffic. I was not disappointed when we got on I-40. Traffic was bumper to bumper for at least 90 miles.

Our average travel speed was around 25 mph and it took us an hour longer to travel the other direction towards highway 49. We did finally make it back to Fayetteville where we had dinner, grabbed the dog and drove to Enid. Our eclipse adventure ended after 10:00pm that evening. So much had happened and I had driven so many mile that I was not able to soak it all in until the next morning.

On my morning trek the next day I was able to process the entire event and my mind started racing. When I got back to my studio that day after I didn’t want the experience to fade away and I got a crazy idea. The next huge cross country eclipse will happen on August 12, 2045 and totality goes right over my house with a full five and a half minutes of totality! Even though Enid is not on the center line we are close enough for the longest amount of totality I have ever experienced.

I immediately got the idea to start promoting the 2045 eclipse in Enid with a website, t-shirt and possible podcast. There are two things I wholeheartedly believe and they both deal with next eclipse. I believe everyone should experience totality at least once in their life which gives everyone 21 years to plan and save money to make it to Enid. The second thing is that I believe you should always have something to look forward to especially some big event.

A huge eclipse in Enid, Oklahoma in 21 years is the perfect motivation for people to get excited about. I’m going to create some t-shirts for eclipse chasers to wear letting everyone know they are already planning the next big cosmic event. I plan on selling t-shirts and updating the website to keep the buzz going.

I’ll do another blog post and podcast episode as soon as I get all of my Shaggy Ducks in a row on this new adventure. I know this sounds a little crazy but it will be fun to see how this evolves over the next 21 years. I have several of ideas for the website already as well.

The website is EnidEclipse.com and there is also a Facebook page created. Bookmark the website and go like the Facebook Page. I’ll have the t-shirts available soon! See ya!