When Emily and Evan invited us to join them on a trip to see the total solar eclipse, we hesitated to respond. Their initial research revealed two possible locations in the path of totality that were estimated to be close to an eight hour drive from our home in southeastern Minnesota. One was south of St. Louis, MO. The second was near Indianapolis Indiana.
The problem was the weather was looking iffy in both locations and hotel rooms in the band of totality were filling up quickly. What to do? The plan that they came up with was to not have a plan. Sort of.
We traveled before with Emily and Evan who do a lot of traveling for business and pleasure. If they ran a travel agency, I'm sure it would be a huge success. After kicking ideas around, we decided that it made strategic sense to leave on Saturday morning and spend the night in the “Chicago area” so that we could postpone our decision on the final destination. We still were not sure about going on this trip.
Did we really want to:
Drive six hours to the Chicago area on Saturday.
Stay Saturday night in a hotel to be booked en route.
On Saturday evening or Sunday morning, chose the viewing area and book a hotel “near” it.
On Sunday morning, pack up, eat breakfast and drive five hours to “somewhere” near St. Louis or three hours to “somewhere” near Indianapolis.
On Monday, pack up, eat breakfast, drive several hours, find a good place en route to park and view the eclipse.
Leave right after the eclipse for the long drive back home so Evan could go to work on Tuesday morning. Traffic would likely be a problem as most people will leave to travel back home right after the eclipse.
Oh, and did I mention that the weather was iffy? After giving it some more thought, we decided to go. There was no guarantee of seeing anything but clouds. We had zero expectations. We decided to enjoy the time spent together and enjoy the adventure. That’s it.
One more check of the weather forecasts on Friday evening did not provide us with any "clarity" on which way to go. The weather was still a toss up, so we decided to stick to the “plan” and head off to the Chicago area booking a hotel en route.
After doing some research, we were able to book a hotel a short drive south of Indiana Dunes National Park. Lynette and I were excited to have the opportunity to visit another national park. Of course, Evan and Emily had already been there.
Saturday night, we decided that our next stop would be St. Louis MO. The weather forecast looked better there. To my surprise, Evan had never visited the St. Louis Arch before. All the nice hotels on the east side of St. Louis were already full so we decided to stay at a nice Hilton Hotel we found on the west side near Washington University.
Sunday morning, we had a nice breakfast at our hotel, checked out and headed over to the National Park where we enjoyed a nice hike in in the dunes and along the lakeshore. The view of Chicago was pretty cool to the west. It looks like the “Do Not Enter” signs in the photo below near the parking area are no longer needed. It’s interesting to see the trees getting buried in the sand as it shifts further from the south eastern shore of Lake Michigan. After our hike we took a scenic drive through the park and by some of the cool historic vacation "homes" along the shore.
The drive to St. Louis was pleasant and uneventful. So far, our flexibly planned trip was going quite well. We arrived early enough to enjoy a pleasant afternoon in Gateway Arch National Park. It’s a large urban park on the river. You can take a helicopter tour, a river boat ride, or travel up to the top of the arch for some impressive views of the area. Evan got a nice picture of the arch reflecting in the lake.
That’s two national parks in twenty four hours! After checking in to our hotel we discovered what seemed like a fitting destination for our evening meal. The Eclipse Restaurant has rooftop dining and local brews to enjoy. We couldn’t have planned it any better.
The Hilton had a delicious full service breakfast with a buffet option which we decided to enjoy before heading out to view the eclipse. Evan, being six feet six inches tall, enjoyed the all you can eat buffet. The weather was looking good so we were getting excited about the possibility of a good viewing experience. After some research we decided to go to Lake Wappapello State Park near Poplar Bluff.
We left right after breakfast which wasn’t too soon. As we got closer to the state park, I started to worry as we saw quite a few groups along the roadways who staked out their positions hours ahead of time. Some of them had camped out overnight.
As we got closer to the park entrance I really got worried. There was a long line of vehicles waiting to pay and to gain entry to the park and the line was hardly moving. Did we want to take up an indeterminable amount of the remaining time before the eclipse waiting in line and competing with the crowds to find a place to park? As luck would have it, we saw a sign for a parking area just ahead on the left. We decided to give that a try.
We were able to secure one of the few remaining parking spots. The lake was a half mile hike through the woods up and down hills. Evan and I volunteered to take the hike to see if it was worth our hauling our stuff (food, water, shade and camping chairs) to the lake. While Evan and I were away, Lynette and Emily decided to move our vehicle to a parking spot at the bottom of a hill that points right at the afternoon sun.
Lynette and Emily set up “camp” with a blanket, chairs and umbrellas for shade. We enjoyed snacks and chatted with our fellow adventurers in anticipation of the big event. We were not going to be disappointed.
In the time leading up to the eclipse, we met people from all over the country, even one person from Australia. We had a common bond and a pleasant demeanor that is hard to describe. We were a diverse group of 50 or 60 people gathered to experience nature and the celestial event unfolding around us.
On the hike to the lake and during the wait in the parking area we met and chatted with a good handful of our fellow adventurers. We shared stories of where we came from, how we got there and other small talk. Some of us shared the use of our equipment, offered to take photos of each others groups and offered advice on how to safely view the big event.
Seeing a 360 degree sunset, followed by a total eclipse of the sun, followed by a 360 degree sunrise, was truly spectacular. At the moment of totality, people stopped talking. All you could hear was a collective wow, cool, oohs and aahs.
You could safely remove your protective glasses during totality which lasted for about 4 minutes in Poplar Bluff, MO. Seeing the moon surrounded by the corona of the sun with the naked eye during totality was amazing. Many of us were saying that this was probably the most memorable event in our lives.
After the eclipse, people did not seem to be in a hurry to leave. We left immediately after to get Evan back home so he could go to work on Tuesday morning. Travel was pretty slow initially with plenty of delays. Traffic was bumper to bumper at times and generally pretty slow moving till later in the evening.
Gas stations were busy. Bathrooms were running out of supplies. We got back to Rochester at about 2:30 AM Tuesday. Evan probably didn't get home (Woodbury, MN) till 4:00 AM. Emily told us that he made it to work on time. I'm retired so I slept in.
I’m inspired by how we all treated each other as we gathered to view the eclipse. There was no judging or arguing. No one attempting to get the best viewing spot. People treated each other with respect and kindness. We had something in common that defined the moment.
There was a time not so long ago in this country where most of us treated each other that way. This experience is another reason that I’m optimistic that we are getting close to rediscovering that again.
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