The forecast for Alliance had improved slightly, but only slightly. Looking at the model data on spotwx.com, I thought the forecasts were slightly pessimistic. Still, I didn't want to risk it.
I got up and showered and obsessed a bit more about the weather on my computer instead of my phone - because that could make a difference. I decided I should make the effort to go another hour to the west as the forecasts there looked much better and the current satellite data supported that.
I went back to my very first idea for a spot to look at the eclipse, but ultimately decided to go a bit farther to the Agate Fossil Beds National Monument. Given that it didn't look like Alliance was overrun, I was hoping Agate wouldn't be too crowded.
But the drive to get there would either be really long and take me out of totality, or require a fairly significant gravel road. Holding my breath, I asked SO to ask her sister if we could take my niece's car to view the eclipse.
My sister-in-law - being the generous soul that she is - said that wasn't a problem. So we packed up the car and headed out along with a supply of cameras, eclipse glasses, food and drinks.
The drive there was not too bad, traffic was surprisingly light and most drivers were being well-behaved. Most...
As we went along, I was surprised by two things - many of the impromptu campgrounds and parking areas were basically empty. And many of the farm pull-outs had a car or three on them - some even had tents set up. I felt a little bad for the businesses. But it is hard to cash in on day trippers I guess.
We got to the gravel road which was also where I originally thought would be a good location to view the eclipse. It was a large parking and staging area that looked like it is used by the local road crews. A mini eclipse village had sprung up there with many cars, motorcycles and RV's. People were milling around everywhere.
Given that this was how nuts it was there, I assumed Agate Fossil Beds would be even worse. We decided to join the suburbs of the eclipse village. We drove down the road to where there were very few people and parked behind a Prius.
I spent a few minutes getting my camera set up. The wind had really picked up, so I weighted down my tripod with rocks in a bag.
It took a few minutes to get my camera set up. As the sunlight changed, it was a bit of a challenge to keep it in focus and metered well. Even with the tripod and rocks, the wind was also affecting some of the picture.
With well over an hour to kill before first contact, I wanted some pictures of the event. I headed down to the eclipse village, but stopped to talk to many people who were also parked on the gravel road. The woman in the Prius next to us was an older woman that decided that this was something she had to do. Janice was very nice. She dutifully brought her meat thermometer to record the temperature as the sun was eclipsed.
The vast majority of people were from Colorado - I wasn't sure that half of Colorado wasn't on that gravel road, but apparently Casper, with better weather forecast, had even more.
A few more people came down the road. Some were probably headed to Agate Fossil Beds, other stopped there as well.
With a quiet spot with no lights of any kind, it was an absolutely ideal place to view the total eclipse. We were within a few hundred yards of the centerline of totality. Bright, clear skies were perfect.
We could see first contact somewhere around 10:25
I spent some time watching the partial eclipse and taking pictures through partiality. We had lots of time for excitement to build watching the sun slip away.
As it got close to totality, the weather started to noticeably cool. The wind died down a little bit. It got dark, not like at night, but more like right before a thunderstorm. Near the end of the partial phase, it was downright cold with the stiff Nebraska wind.
And just like that, totality hit. It was amazing. The sun slunk behind the moon and I took off my eclipse glasses. I initially forgot to take the solar filter off of the camera, but as soon as I did I alternated between getting a few pictures and just experiencing the eclipse.
All too soon, it was over. I know totality was over two minutes and thirty seconds, but it felt like it lasted a fraction of that.
Still in awe, we spent some time watching partiality again. People began to filter down the gravel road almost immediately. We weren't the last to leave, but most were gone by the time we packed up and left. I guess we closed the bar for the first time in a long time.
Back on the road we drove back towards Alliance. There were more cars on the road than usual, but it really wasn't that bad. We stayed near the speed limit most of the way. En route, we filled the car with fuel - it was the least we could do. While eclipse-ageddon may have occurred elsewhere, we avoided it.
As we got to Alliance, traffic was backing up, but a quick jaunt down a side street and we were back at the house.
I spent some time going through the pictures. I was glad I had some, wished I had more. But more than anything, I was glad to have lived the total eclipse.
As it turned out, Alliance had fair weather, with some clouds but enough breaks to allow good viewing of the eclipse. The staging areas in the city had people, but they were far from packed. Still, part of the reason I wanted to see the eclipse in the west was for the big sky. And I definitely had big sky for the eclipse in the wide open Nebraska Sand Hills.
Dinner was some of the biggest thickest rib eye steaks I've ever seen. They were fantastic - followed by a Flurry from Dairy Queen.
The eclipse was awe inspiring and awesome. What an amazing day!
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