The Solar Eclipse of 2017 was quite a big deal! Here in Utah we would not have been able to see the full eclipse so we drove 3 hours to just outside of Rexburg Idaho where we would be able to see "totality" - the full sun being blocked. We debated back and forth but a fellow teacher of Luke's invited us to camp in her parent's yard so we decided to take advantage of the free lodging. Hotel rooms and even camping spots were either sold out or asking ridiculous prices because people were coming from all over the world to see the total eclipse. Despite being mid August camping in a tent that night was freezing, but worth it.
Idaho here we come, eclipse or bust!
The morning of the eclipse, glasses on and ready to go!
Luke and his science teacher friends Alesha Schulzke and Jason Carwin.
We watched for about an hour as the sun slowly got smaller and smaller.
I took this cool picture of it by putting my glasses over my camera lens.
Luke being "in awe", hahaha!
Our hosts were so nice they had all their grown children and their families staying with them along with us and the Carwin family and several other friends of the family. It was quite a party.
Livvy playing while we waited. Gabrie and Laura Carwin ( they were so excited to get to be together)
I had seen a tutorial online for masks to attach to the special eclipse glasses to make sure your kids don't accidentally look at the sun with unprotected eyes, which could cause damage, and I thought it was a smart idea! I ended up making my own version with what I had but it worked! Luke thought I was crazy so he wrote on the masks-
Dash's mask says "Property of Dash- My mom doesn't trust me to not look at the sun".
Liam's says "Property of Liam- I'd probably be fine"
I had heard that right before the eclipse and right after you would be able to see crescents in the shadows of the leaves and it was true!
Right before totality...
Totality! It was amazing! It got much darker (the camera doesn't capture it well) and the temperature dropped quite a bit. Luke was disappointed that he couldn't see any stars, but it was still an incredible experience for all of us, we wouldn't have traded it for anything!
I tried to take a picture but again, you can't tell how awesome it was.
As soon as it was done we hopped in the van hoping to make it out before everyone else but it didn't work. It took us 9 hours to get home! It only took 3 to get there because not everyone went up at the same time but the drive home we were in bumper to bumper traffic most of the way. We tried to make the most of it and it actually didn't go too bad! Hopefully this is a fun memory our kids will always remember!
Some of the fun cars we saw.
