This year was a once in a life time chance to view a total solar eclipse in Rexburg, Idaho. My cousins live in Pocatello and they graciously invited us to spend the night at their house on Sunday and then drive up with them and use their reserved spot near the Rexburg temple.
We all came equipped with solar eclipse glasses, blankets, and food. Everyone around us had a sort of bohemian thing going on. People were singing with guitars, people were making giant bubbles, and someone was jumping on a tiny trampoline.
Miles immediately made best friends with a random kid and colored with him. Ellie took a long walk with Matt to search for animals. Liam slept in the car like an unruly teenager until a few minutes before the eclipse when I forcibly removed him. Ian ate lots of snacks and watched the sun slowly disappear.
With the glasses you could see the sun slowly get eaten away by the moon. I took the picture below using my solar eclipse glasses as a filter. It turned out fairly awesome.
From a distance you could hardly tell anything had changed. It was still light out although a bit dimmer. Eventually the temperature began to plunge to the point that all of my kids were wrapped up in a blanket with me shivering.
There was light up until the exact moment that totality occurred. When The sun disappeared in a fiery halo around the moon the cheering began. The stars appeared in the sky and the temple lit up.
The cheering only got louder as the moon slipped away and the city filled with light again. It was magical and amazing. I guess it was even worth the fact that the trip home took twelve hours instead of three due to tiny roads and the over half a million people who traveled up to Rexburg.
I love that you recorded this for posterity.
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