I'm trying to catch up. AT&T informed me that I was using a lot of my hotspot data, plus there have been long days of driving, so I need to catch up now that I have wifi and a sofa!
But first, a few more notes about the eclipse.
This 2024 eclipse was definitely different than 2017 in Wyoming. That one, which we experienced out on the plains, was incredibly amazing. This one, with the clouds and extra humidity in the air, we did not have the Purkinje effect that was so striking and other-worldly that we experienced so magically in 2017. With the landscape around us, we did not see as much of the sunrise/sunset colors, nor the moon's shadow approaching. But totality was sill amazing and very moving.
One thing I don’t remember last time: The sun's plasma clouds, which appeared as little red dots around the edge. It was stunning!
I was able to visualize Venus, but did not see any other planets, and there were too many clouds to see the comet. It would’ve taken away from the experience to try to find the comet anyway. Maybe there are photos out there?
The 4 1/2 minutes of totality went by in a flash.
Last time I audio recorded and Trish video recorded our experience, which I edited into a movie. This time, I did turn on the audio but really only captured 4 1/2 minutes of "Wow!" and "Oh my God!"
Here are just a few photos to share. I'm sure my readers have seen (or captured!) plenty of excellent photographs.
This one was from one of the fellow Travatoans at the meet-up:
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| Photo by Tom, a Travato owner |
I saw this one on Facebook, taken by an amateur photographer. What a shot! See the Facebook post here, with links to her media coverage as well as her store.
We came from all over!
And here is one that my friend Sue, a high school chum captured. You can find more of her work here.
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| Photo by Susanna Gross |
Here's NASA's coverage of this amazing total solar eclipse.
Winnebago was kind enough to chip in for the meetup, and we had a catered BBQ dinner. Since there weren't many veggies, I helped vegetarians Christine, Tom, and Amanda make a "cowboy caviar" for our catered dinner. We chopped and chopped and made a nice salad, which was a big hit for the crowd!
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| Christine, Little Sister Adventurer, and Amanda |
It was a kick meeting other Travatoans – there were about 40 Travatos and 70+ people at the meetup! Big shout-out to Marilyn for organizing the event. She made it great!
Here we all are:
A drone shot of a portion of our venue, shot by Duke, another member of our Travato group:
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| I don't think Poppy is visible in this pic. |
The venue was expansive. It hosts weddings, so it had all we needed, from a kitchen to a restroom, covered and uncovered gathering spaces, and friends such as these:
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| Mama was protective of her baby (the black guy behind her) |
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| "I moooooved so you can get my cute face!" |
Coming up: we move on down the road. More time in Texas, then we head east. Stay tuned.
