I didn’t think our inner-continental travels were all that special; certainly not on the same level as sailing or hiking the Te Araroa. There was no preconceived notion of accomplishment with Operation Land Grab it was mostly meant to be a break through the in-between. Sure, it’d be great if we found land that fit our ideals, but thats asking a lot. It took 3 months for me to begin to realize that maybe this tale is also worth sharing?

One other interesting tidbit is something I never really thought about before. Our country has an incredibly diverse culture. Every region has its own accent, lifestyle hobbies, art and music, food, and even religion to an extent. It is all so varied and has so many enriching qualities. The big question on my mind is, where do Jake and Jill fit in all of it?

I pondered this as we departed Potomac, heading east down I-90. We are heading to Butte, Montana for a night to plan and scheme this next phase. Its kind of amazing how we’ve managed to do this; live in Old Blue for the summer and travel over 9,000 miles. We found a rhythm:

1. Spend a handful of days scouting for land.
2. Find some reason that it doesn’t work (fail)
3. Take a National Park or B&B break

I guess its not THAT black and white. There have been tons of successes, lots of new friends and new experiences to add to our individual repertoire. Yet, here we are again, wrapping up #1 & 2, ready for #3 again. Today is August 18, 2017. Why is that special? I’ll tell you why: It is 4 days until the Total Solar Eclipse [of the heart]. haha. 🙂

I have to confess that neither Jake nor I realized the significance of this solar eclipse. The only reason it was on the radar was by random coincidence. We stopped in Utah for a short visit with Jake’s family and needed a break so we visited the local planetarium. Its always fun to learn more about space and most of all to watch a movie in the dome-shaped theater. The one that happened to play for us was all about the history of eclipses.

In the early days, people thought the sun god was at war and that the world would end when the eclipse came. Others thought that a dragon ate the sun and that too, would bring the end of life. In time it was learned how planets orbit in space and at times they would line up perfectly to create shadows perceived on earth. Lunar eclipses occur with relative frequency as do partial solar eclipses. Total solar eclipses are more elusive.

The end of the film made a brief, low-key mention that the next total solar eclipse is August 21 of this year. As we left the theater, they were selling eclipse glasses for $1/ea and since we are here we got those (I also picked up a solar filter for my little camera too, just in case). I mentioned it to Jake and before we left, we purchased 2 sets of solar glasses (for $1/ea) and I got a solar filter for my travel camera, just in case. Who knows where we will be on that date, its months away from now…

We didn’t know where we would be at this point on our travels so we didn’t plan ahead. Jake thought camping in Yellowstone or Tetons would be great, however it was totally full. Just like every other campsite around it seemed. I guess we will just have to wing it? So here we are, going to Butte, MT. I needed some internet so that I could scout for bootleg campgrounds in and around Wyoming. It took a couple of hours but I found something that looked promising: Bass Lake is a free camping area that is in the path of totality. Its just north and east slightly from Shoshoni, WY, population 700.

3 Days of Desert Sun

The next morning we continued our travels toward’s the open desert of Wyoming. It was a lovely drive for most of the day as we drove through the last of the mountains and then rolling hills. It was only flat and arid for a short time until we turned off the main highway down a scenic road that took us through a long canyon.

Along the way, we passed a few State Parks that had some nice looking campgrounds. One in particular caught my eye so we pulled in to investigate. It wasn’t crowded yet and there were plenty of spaces available. It had shade, bathrooms and access to a river. The only downside is that it was $20/day and cash only. We didn’t have that much cash on us and didn’t want to drive the 2 hours back to town to get some.

Oh well, our destination is still an hour away, so we hit the road again. The byway dissolved into a single road that meandered into a tiny little country town. I can’t imagine they see much action out here and yet it was weirdly crowded. We were nearly to our campground turnoff point when we passed an overcrowded parking area with hundreds of campers and RV’s. The sign said $150/day to park and there NO facilities. Man, what a ripoff, I can’t believe people paid for that.

Bass lake was just a few more miles ahead and I could only imagine that it must be packed if this place is packed. A free camp site by a lake sounds pretty perfect. The road went on until it T’ed off following a rocky muddy dirt path. For 3 miles we drove, literally, in the middle of nowhere. We pulled around a small hill and could see the lake and a single small building, most likely the outhouse.

There was only one other car parked at the other end of the lake (more like a glorified pond) and then us. Thank goodness no one else is here. We scouted for a good, flat parking spot and didn’t have to look too hard because right across from the toilets was a huge open field. I bet you could get 20 cars in here, easily. There were a few sites next to the lake, but it was all on a slant, not ideal for sleeping in the car.

Alright, we made it! It was pretty darn hot at 103 degrees and there was zero shade. We setup our sun shelter, a 10′ x 10′ square of reprieve. Jake put up the side wall to block the setting sun and I pulled out the ghetto bug net that doesn’t fit our shelter, but it will protect us from the swarming wasps and mosquitos.

And now…we wait.

Time goes really slow in the desert. When there is no objective or distraction, it is extraordinarily mind numbing. Mornings were most comfortable because they stayed cool until about 10AM. Then it was brutally hot until bed time at 8 or 9PM.

We really didn’t have much to do other than read our books and talk to each other (as if we don’t do that enough already, haha). There was pretty good cell reception so Jake and I took turns chatting on the phone to various friends and family members. No one could believe the discomfort that we put ourselves in this time. It goes to show truly how far we’ve come. This really isn’t that bad, other than the heat of the sun, which couldn’t be avoided. But we’ve definitely been through worse.

Each day passed more slowly than the last and our campsite was still pretty much empty until the night before totality. 3 cars parked in the field near us and all of them were very quiet and mellow neighbors, which was great.

Totality

The morning of totality is finally here! I was anxious and excited about it. I think my anxiety was more to the fact that I wanted to somehow capture the magic of the experience on film, with a crappy handheld camera and my little Sony travel camera. Neither one is ideal for this type of situation, but its all I’ve got.

We were up pretty early and for the first time since we’ve been here, there were clouds in the sky. Not thick burly clouds but thin streaky ones that created more of a haze. Hopefully the sun will melt them off before totality.

The window for us is 11:40AM to 11:42AM MTN time. That said, the beginning of the eclipse had already commenced when the sun was up, but it was only just barely visible with the solar glasses. We learned that those glasses we purchased for $1 were going for upwards of $50 a pair!? I guess we were lucky to got them ahead of time.

My camera was setup on the tripod with the solar filter ON. It was hard to see anything through the lens, itself, however as the morning grew later, it started to become visible on the camera. The glasses worked perfectly, though and it was so wild to see the beginning of this magical phenomena.

There were several cars that pulled into the area but they didn’t stay long (thank goodness). Some drove down to a different parking area while others just decided they wanted a different spot. So we were lucky that there really weren’t more than those 3 cars and us in this spot. And based on where the sun is in the sky, we should have a completely clear view. The clouds even went away.

Jake and I were totally energized and excited. To the naked eye, it seemed like any other day. I’d estimate the first 80% of totality couldn’t be seen with the naked eye. It just seemed like normal sun rays passing through our atmosphere. The last 20% is where it started to change.

The first sign of this came when the birds stopping flying and chirping and we could start to hear crickets. Even the day bugs stopped buzzing and seemed to have disappeared. The light in the sky still felt bright, but the glasses indicated that there was only a sliver of sun visible. It was so strange as the sky transformed into a soft blue-pink hue, similar to sunset. The clouds in the distance were lit up in the same way, as if we are preparing for nightfall again.

With 10 minutes to spare, things got weird. It felt like night time and the warm radiating glow that comes from the sun’s light shifted to a cold, almost fluorescent light kind of feel. Its as if God turned off the sun and in its place put up a spotlight very different from the moon’s light. I couldn’t decide to look into the camera or just look up at the sun with glasses on, or look at the nature around us with glasses off.

Again, time slowed down and the next bit went by so slow with anticipation. With 2 minutes to go, the sky looked like dusk. The stars began to shine down now. With 1 minute to go our eyes were glued to the spot where the moon was almost directly shadowing the sun. We kept our glasses on right until this last minute and then took them off to bask in the glory.

I swear I heard was a POP as soon as it happened. For 2 minutes we gazed, jaws dropped at this amazing and strange sight. We could see the solar prominences peak out and coronal filaments halo around the silhouette of the moon. I only wish I had a telescope to really zoom in. There was an overwhelming sense of power and energy in the air and it was as if witnessing a miracle. I think I had an out of body experience for those few minutes. There was music in the air, though no music was actually playing. Maybe its just inside?

When our 2 minutes was nearly up, we put the glasses back on so that we don’t burn our retinas. It moved ever so slightly and the bright light pierced us once again. The light came back on exactly the way that it went out. First that cold, harsh blue light gave way to the warmer radiance of the sun we know and love. The crickets grew quiet and the birds started their hustle and bustle as if nothing happened.

Wow. That was crazy awesome! I had a thought that if I didn’t know what that was, I would also be thinking that the world was about to end.

Jake and I both felt strange after it was over. I don’t know if our senses were just on overdrive or the adrenaline was pumping a little too much but it was like we finished a marathon or something and needed a nap after all of that.

We decided to hang around for another hour, to enjoy the partial eclipse on its way out. Neither of us could decide if we should leave now or stay for another night. Traffic will probably be busy right now, but we were also both really antsy to leave. I don’t know if I could handle another 24 hours when the promise of a comfy bed and air conditioning was waiting in the wings.

The plan was to go to Boulder for a few days to accomplish those pesky life chores that get in the way of travel and then head back east to Bosco boat. We decided to hit the road and deal with whatever traffic we might meet. On a normal day, the drive would take about 6 hours but we assumed to add a couple just in case we hit some busy patches of road.

Talk about the understatement of a lifetime! We left easy enough and continued along the interstate for about an hour and change. It really wasn’t too bad and before we turned south, I topped off the car with gas so we don’t have to think about it again until we arrive.

I guess we both should have known better, but the southbound interstate was a mess. It was bumper-to-bumper as far as we could see. We made 10 miles in over an hour and a half and it was so frustrating that we decided to take the first exit and head back the way we came, to a nearby park and rest area. Lets wait another few hours and maybe it will get better. In the meantime we can fix ourselves an early dinner and go for a walk in the park.

The journey commenced a little after 6PM. It didn’t seem so bad when we turned back on the highway but it didn’t last long. Sure enough, we hit the same standstill traffic. I guess its not any better and at this point, it was “SH%# or get off the pot”. We went for it. For the next 8 hours it was 20 mph (average) with every other person on this side of the country.

Accidents were piling up and gas stations were turning people away because there was no more gas. Cars were lined all along the side of the road, some broken down, others deciding to camp for the night. Some people pitched tents to wait it out. It was so bizarre, like we are witnessing the end of the world.

Our 6 hour drive ended up taking 13 hours. After the first few hours, we resigned ourselves to this inevitable fate and managed to stay motivated, finding ways to entertain ourselves. We’re really good at that, having a lot of experience with it and all. 😉

We rolled in at 2:30AM, was it worth it? Heck yes!