When I asked my husband what he wanted to do for his birthday this year, he answered immediately and without hesitation: travel to see the total solar eclipse!
For perspective, I typically ask him this question months in advance because he’s usually quite indecisive. Given the certainty in his answer this time, I started planning our trip that very same day.
Unfortunately for us, many people started planning much earlier, and it quickly became apparent that, no matter where we went, this trip was going to be pricey. I had no idea eclipse tourism was such a popular thing. As I looked up flights and hotels and rental cars and began adding up the cost, the trip felt further and further out of reach.
That is, until we looked more closely at the eclipse map and realized that I have some extended family members living in the path of totality. And since we would have a place to stay and wouldn’t have to rent a car, it made swallowing the – frankly, outrageous – price tag for the plane tickets a bit less unpleasant.
We left Colorado bright dark and early Friday morning and landed in Texas a few minutes later than planned after the pilots had to perform a go-around maneuver. It was the first time we’d ever experienced that and, to be honest, it’s not something we’re eager to repeat. There was definitely a massive flood of adrenaline when the engines suddenly revved up to full capacity and the plane abruptly began to climb while the flaps and landing gear were all the way down.
Luckily, it was just an air traffic control issue and we landed safely about ten minutes later.
We spent the next three days hanging out with family, complete with cats, pizza, plenty of coffee and sangria, a backyard bonfire, a hike, and lots of laughter.
We also kept a close eye on the weather forecast, which was vacillating all over the place and giving us plenty of anxiety. About a week out, it had predicted heavy rain all day. Two days later, it was showing sunshine. Then we were back to rain. Then scattered thunderstorms. Then clouds.
About a day before, the forecast seemed stabilize slightly and local weathermen were reporting with a fairly high degree of confidence that it would be partly cloudy. Exactly what type of clouds remained more difficult to predict, though, with a roughly 50/50 chance of high clouds vs. low clouds.
I can’t remember which option was better, but luckily it’s the one we ended up with!
We gathered shortly before noon on Monday, with plenty of time to get settled in and then take our eclipse glasses out to watch as the moon began to obscure the sun. The journey to totality would take just over an hour. The clouds were moving rapidly, and there were a few short periods of time in which the sun was not visible at all. However, the majority of the time we were able to see it through the clouds. In fact, because of the clouds I was able to take photos without using a filter.
(Before the next solar eclipse, though, I will be purchasing a real camera. iPhones are in no way equipped for this kind of photography, and my photos are largely disappointing. But it’s all I have, so I’m going to share them anyway.)
As totality approached, the clouds thickened and I was feeling the disappointment set in. Even with clouds, we’d be able to see and feel it getting darker and cooler. But it wouldn’t be the same.
Luckily, the worst of the clouds cleared away almost as quickly as they’d arrived. With five minutes to go, the sun was once again visible and the shadows began to narrow. The temperature also started to drop noticeably and the sky darkened slightly. It’s pretty amazing that nearly 95% of the sun was covered before there was an appreciable difference in daylight.
Excitedly, we watched the sun slowly disappear until, at last, the moment of totality arrived.
Suddenly, in the middle of the afternoon, it felt like twilight. The temperature dropped another few degrees. We could see a handful of stars and at least one planet – I think it was Venus – overhead. Without the clouds, I’m sure we would have seen dozens more stars.
And despite the lingering clouds, we were able to see the corona for the entire four minutes of totality.
It was amazing!
Honestly, this was such a cool experience that I’m already considering planning trips to see future total solar eclipses. Apparently this makes me an umbraphile, which literally translates to ‘lover of shadows’ but also means ‘chaser of eclipses.’
I wouldn’t fly halfway around the world solely to see an eclipse. However, if there’s one happening in a place I want to visit anyway… well, why not? Even if it’s cloudy and we don’t end up seeing anything, we still have the entire rest of the vacation to enjoy!
Iceland 2026, anyone?
Up next: hiking to Long Lake and Lake Isabelle in Colorado
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