Total Eclipse of the Sun

Unbelievable

A couple of years ago, we heard that there was going to be a total eclipse of the sun that would be visible from Grand Teton National Park and I decided I wanted to go. At the time, both my daughter, Caty, and my brother, Mark, were interested.

I know how difficult it is to get lodging in the parks, so I decided to book something as soon as I could. Yellowstone became available first, so I booked a cabin there with the plan to switch over to Teton as soon as it was available. Somehow, I missed that window and never got Teton reservations, but I thought Yellowstone was fine.

Time passed and my daughters and I began planning out trip to Africa (which I will eventually blog about). We decided that the best time frame was a late August departure, very close to the eclipse date. Then, my brother decided not to come out for the eclipse. Then, Caty thought she wouldn’t be able to make it. I contemplated either going by myself or cancelling, having forgotten by now that Yellowstone was too far north for the Totality.

Teton peak

Then, the hype began. Caty decided she wanted to go, so I had to change dates so she could be back at work the day after the eclipse. Since my accommodations were for a prime August date, instead of cancelling, I offered them up via Facebook and a friend agreed to take over. 

Then, we got a room in Thermopolis on Friday and one outside Yellowstone on Saturday. 

Our plan was to stay in Yellowstone on Sunday, drive down to Grand Teton on Monday, watch the eclipse and drive home.

We started to prepare. We ordered eclipse glasses and eclipse filters for our cameras ($75 each, which was later refunded by Amazon because they couldn’t certify that the filters would protect your eyes if you looked through the camera – more on that later). 

We took a fabulous eclipse photography class through Front Range Wildlife Photographers. It provided all the information we needed. But it also made us question whether we wanted to be in Grand Teton or if we wanted to shoot the eclipse from west of the mountains. The thought was that we could have the Tetons in the foreground.

Then, the publicity started to describe this event as potentially Woodstock-like: traffic jams, gas and food shortages, inability to park. I panicked and started looking for options. We found a horse farm in Driggs, Idaho, that was renting camping spots for $100 a night (with a two-night minimum). 

Chart: Teton Valley Eclipse

We decided that Driggs – smack on the Totality line – was perfect and that it would be worth $200 for a guaranteed spot. That’s a lot, but we would know that we would have a place to take pictures AND the fee was actually tax-deductible donation to a horse rescue facility. So, all was good.

We got cash, food, eclipse supplies and camping supplies and our adventure was set.

Plus, we had the added excitement of going to Grand Teton and Yellowstone in search of animals.

On the day we left, we had to go to Denver International Airport first so that Caty could have her Global Entry interview. Then, we left for Thermopolis and got there in the late afternoon. I have driven through Thermopolis multiple times and eaten a few meals there, we never really explored the area. So, we spent the afternoon visiting Thermopolis Hot Springs. 

Thermopolis Hot Springs

Not a lot of wildlife, but some very pretty views. We didn’t have time to swim (plus late in the day the mosquitos were plentiful), but it would be a fun place to go on a summer’s day.

An interesting place

The next day, we headed on up to Grand Teton. We got there and drove and drove and drove, seeing very little in the way of animals. 

My best shot of the trip

We did see this gorgeous Hairy Caterpillar, but besides that, very little. In fact, it was the least animals we had ever seen in Grand Teton.

Well, maybe we’d have better luck in Yellowstone. Nope.

We did exploring in all the usual places, only to discover there had been two recent carcass sites with Grizzlies that had cleaned the carcasses out a day or two earlier. We found that the Wolves had left their dens by the river and moved further back country. We saw one of the carcasses (a Bull Elk), but no Bears. 

We did see a small assortment of birds and, of course, some Bison and Pronghorn, but, once again our poorest animal trip to date.

OK, so the small assortment of birds was pretty good. Still ....

Barrow's Goldeneyes

As we were exploring, we were getting more and more concerned about making it to the eclipse site in time. So, we decided to forego the room and go ahead and drive to Driggs and camp Sunday night. 

The road there

It was a lovely drive. We went out West Yellowstone and down the back side of the Tetons. 

We saw some spectacular views of farms and the west side of the Tetons that were, unfortunately, shrouded in thick smoke from distant wildfires. 

As we approached Driggs, a ridge obscured all but a tiny triangle of the top of Grand Teton. Just a smidge was visible and it was way to the left of where the sun would be. Well, we wouldn’t have the mountains in the foreground, which was why we went there in the first place!

Turns out, the sun was so high during the eclipse, it didn’t matter anyway.

The projected heavy traffic did not materialize, so maybe we could have spent the night in the cabin. 

But, it was a pretty long drive and we were spared the anxiety of trying to make it there the next morning.

Bad photo of a good bird

We didn't take many photos because we knew the smoke would obscure them. But, we stopped for a Merlin!

The campsite was part of a very rocky/weedy field. But, fortunately, our slot also contained a lush grassy section behind the entrance sign to a nice neighborhood. 

Makeshift campsite

We put our tent there and the owner made sure the sprinklers were turned off, which had been a problem the night before. It wasn’t too bad. We had minimal camping supplies, so we had a cold dinner and then a chilly night sleeping on a rapidly deflating air mattresses. 

There were portolets (very clean portolets), but no shower facilities. Still, it wasn’t too bad. And, we didn’t have to stress the next morning.

Eclipse day dawned with some high clouds that shortly burned off. We found that the wide grass strip we had camped on made a perfect spot for our tripods. It wasn’t crowded, so we could spread out. I suspect that would not have been possible a Grand Teton.

Set up and ready to go

We both had two cameras. One had a filter to capture the progression. That is the part of the eclipse where the moon starts to slowly obscure the sun. That requires eclipse glasses and an eclipse filter on the camera. 

Failing to use either of those tools can result in blindness or a blown camera sensor. Even with a filter, you still should use Live View and not the viewfinder to focus. 

The other camera, which did not have a filter, was to be used only during the Totality, where the moon completely blocks the sun and all you can see is the corona. That is safe to look at with your eyes.

Since Caty and I both wear glasses, we had been concerned about keeping those eclipse glasses on with our glasses. So, we used multiple pairs of eclipse glasses, electrical tape and our spare glasses to build prescription eclipse masks. 

Testing my funky glasses

That was a good plan – they stayed on, they blocked side- and top-light and they were easy to take off for reading camera settings and switching to regular glasses for the Totality. Oh, and they looked ridiculous.

Clever idea!

So, in Driggs, the progression started at 10:16 a.m. – at which time the sky was absolutely clear. We set our cameras to take bracketed shots every couple of minutes until Totality. 

This is not easy

The biggest problem is focusing, which I tried to do the night before on stars. I did lose some, so my shots were not as sharp as I would like. The problem with an eclipse is that it is hard to see what you are doing while it is in progress and you only get one chance. Still, I got some nice shots.

The progression lasted from 10:16 a.m. until 11:34 a.m., at which time the sun would be completely obscured by the moon. 

During the progression, a couple of things happened.

This is real!

First, the sun’s position in the sky constantly changed – as it always does. I guess we just don’t realize how much it moves until we are taking pictures every few minutes. I had to keep swinging the tripod to the right and, when it was time to get the corona, I had to completely re-aim that camera.

This was so cool

Second, the sky gradually darkened – a kind of slowly growing twilight. But, an oddly non-directional twilight. 

As it approached full darkness, it had a very strange feel to it; almost like being in a large indoor arena lit by artificial light with a soft yellow glow. 

It wasn’t like sunset. It was like something else completely. 

Eerie.

Third, shadows coming through trees all assume the crescent shape of the eclipse. We didn’t have a nice plain surface to observe this, but we did catch some on an electrical box.

Lots of crescents

Shortly before Totality, there was something that I wouldn’t have looked for unless our camping neighbors had mentioned it – a full 360-degree sunset. If you spun around, there was a pink glow around the entire horizon. I wasn’t prepared to photograph it, but it is in my memory.

Speaking of our camping neighbors, we were fortunate that the people next to us really knew what to expect. They had a large telescope attached to cameras and seemed to have a great deal of knowledge about the process. So, as things happened, they started calling it out. That way, we were ready to get the cameras switched so we didn’t miss much of the corona. Plus, they constantly reminded us that we needed to take time during the Totality to look. To just look.

So, when they yelled to get ready for the Totality, we got our other cameras going and we looked. 

It was amazing. At the last moment before Totality, you get an effect that looks like a diamond ring. 

Diamond ring

Then, you get this black disk surrounded by a radiating corona. 

Corona

It looks like the pictures, yes. But, I cannot even describe how amazing it is to see with you own eyes. We had been warned to have flashlights ready because Totality is as dark as night. It is. But, the corona acts as a full moon would, so it was never dark enough to need a flashlight. We could see planets and a few stars, but it wasn’t really dark enough – and our eyes didn’t have enough time to adjust – to see many stars. I have heard you can sometimes see the Milky Way, but our corona was too bright for that.

I had no idea!

Our totality lasted two minutes and 18 seconds. That was the shortest 2:18 in my life. Between taking pictures and watching, it was over in the blink of an eye. Then, another diamond ring ....

Not often that you get two diamond rings in one day

.... and the beginning of the other side of the progression.

Now, the sun was getting bigger

I was even more disappointed in my pictures of the corona because the focus was really off. I have such difficulty using Live View to focus (especially at a severe angle, which was necessary because the sun was high in the sky), that I just didn’t get it right.

See the sunflares?

Caty did get some spectacular shots. We both captured some sun flares, but, Caty’s were really clear. I should have taped the lens, but I didn’t.

Caty's photo was the best

Interestingly, during the after-eclipse progression, almost everyone left. We stayed, packing up, eating lunch and snapping pictures as the sun steadily re-revealed itself. Then, at just about 1:00 p.m., it was over.

So, we hit the road. We decided to take the Teton Pass Highway back to Grand Teton and then head home. We encountered a bit of traffic in Victor, Idaho, but otherwise it was surprisingly light. 

I was interested in the Teton Pass Highway because Scott’s dad drove us over it years ago when we had a family vacation with them in Rexburg, Idaho. I remember him being terrified and the steep grades are still family legend. Yes, it is steep, but, quite frankly, on a bright sunny day it was not very scary. 

It’s amazing how living in Colorado changes your perspective on what constitutes a scary road.

We stopped at the Visitor Center to get a special eclipse stamp in our passports and then we headed south. We decided to not head straight to the Interstate because we were hearing stories of big traffic jams on I-25 as people headed back home.

At first, traffic was fine and, just as we were feeling relieved, we hit a wall of cars. 

Ugh!

From there, we crept home. In all, it took us about two and half hours longer than planned to get home. We arrived at Caty’s at about 1:00 a.m. I felt bad for her because she had to go to work in the morning. But, later, we heard stories of folks whose drive down I-25 from Wyoming had taken 12 hours instead of four! I think our route was much better. And, I am so glad we were able to stop at Caty’s in Fort Collins. Had I had to continue south to Colorado Springs, it could have been really rough because a lot of people were headed to Denver.

We were leaving in just three days for Africa, but it was well worth it to take the trip to see the eclipse. 

If you ever get a chance to see a TOTAL eclipse, do it!

I am looking forward to the eclipse in Texas in 2024. I’ll work on my focusing skills.

Trip date: August 18-21, 2017