Birthday Eclipse

When I found out that the Solar Eclipse was happening on my birthday I wanted nothing else but to go where we could see it in totality. 

With all the hype about more people on the water in Wyoming, Mark was pretty involved with plans for extra check stations and man power for the weekend. He was scheduled to work at one of the AIS stations the Sunday prior to the event. That along with having returned from Glacier on Friday, we knew we would just be traveling north for the day.  The plan was to go to smalltown Lingle WY in hopes of avoiding the crowds of people infiltrating other parts of the state. 

Mark had the route all planned using highway/back roads and avoiding the interstate. So did a few others and we spent over 2 1/2 hours in bumper to bumper traffic getting no further than about 80 miles.  I think the interstate was worse, but at least they were lined with Porta-potties. Due to an emergency bathroom break, we were in search of a little privacy. When we attempted to turn left on a county road, a truck from behind passed us on the left. 

So .... after sitting in traffic for hours, we spent nearly another hour dealing with this! 

 He got us pretty good. Thankfully no one was injured. The real bummer is we've barely had the car a month! 

The delay made a slight change in plans necessary so we didn't have to watch the eclipse while driving. Instead of moving at a snails pace on the highway toward Lingle, we pulled off onto a dirt road and set out the chairs.

We were basically in the middle of nowhere with a few other cars lined up on the road. 

It was actually a pretty awesome setting.

We snacked, watched the light begin to dim and felt the temperature drop. 

 

We didn't get far enough north to see totality like we had planned. But we probably saw close to 98%

The sky had this sort of eerie tint. It all happened so gradually and yet almost instantaneously went back to normal.

Regardless of our plans being foiled, how cool is it that we were in 1 of only 14 states in the path of totality. The first time in 99 years that anywhere in the U.S. could witness at least a partial eclipse. And the fact that it happened on my birthday .... once in a lifetime for sure!!

 Once it had passed, everyone was heading south. So we decided instead of sitting in hours of traffic again, we would continue on north to Lingle and have our BBQ at the community park.

We also swam at the public pool for a few hours {part of the original plan}

Mark thought it was funny to see the different styles as the girls jumped from the diving board.

 By the time we finished at the pool it was approaching dinner. We headed into Torrington WY to find something to eat. We grabbed a bite at at a little eatery called the Bread Doctor. I didn't get a photo but I thought this old Post Office was pretty cool.

We spent way too much time on the road not going very far at all. Everyone was exhausted when we made it home, but Mark made shakes with Huckleberries from Montana ... so so yummy!

 And I enjoyed reading some of the sweetest messages from some of my favorite humans.

I so appreciate the effort Mark put into making this happen. Even if it didn't go perfectly. 

It was a memorable birthday for sure!!