As I prepare to pack gear for the eclipse of 2024, on Monday, I reflect on the experience of August 21, 2017. I took a couple days off work and journeyed north to Beatrice, Nebraska that was on the totality line. I researched about a month or two ahead of time. Because hotels, lodging, RV parks, etc, were booked the year prior, I chose to stay in Marysville, KS about 30 miles south of Beatrice. Beatrice never had so much business and excitement in their town and I could feel the energy.
I left the house about 8 pm Friday night. Maybe it was Saturday evening. I drove to Gainesville and dipped down to California Ave to pick up a double espresso or two. I planned on driving all night. And I did. There are dark distances on the 77 north of Wichita. It is easy to lose track of the direction you are driving. As I neared the northern part of Kansas, lightning flashed across the north sky. I was getting low on gas and stopped in Riley at about 2 am. I was still wide awake from the Starbuck’s energy drink. I arrived in Marysville about 3 am, unloaded my car, checked in and was still wide awake. My room was comfortable enough. It was a Day’s Inn. Clean, nothing fancy. I just needed a place to sleep. Left a message for my husband that I was safe and sound and still awake. I Love Lucy reruns were on about this time and halfway through an episode of the antics of Lucy and Ethel, I managed to dose off.
Awake at 9:30 I missed the continental waffle and orange juice breakfast. It didn’t matter. I had exploring to do. After getting dressed, I drove up the 77 turning here and there until I got to Beatrice, opened maps, and began looking for places to watch the eclipse. I’ve worked in Nebraska a time or two but was unfamiliar with this area. Hungry, I stopped by a busy cafe for a basic breakfast of eggs, hashbrowns and toast. A blue and white tour bus was parked in the driveway across the street and after I left the cafe, I noticed people were getting on and off. I asked a woman about the bus and she states it is a bus tour of Beatrice. I got on! From there, I learned where most points of interest were and a bit of history of this city of about 12,000. There was excitement everywhere. Vendors were found selling t-shirts and memorabilia, solar glasses. People from anywhere and everywhere were here. I met a couple from California, a family from Austin, TX, and others from North TX and Oklahoma. Once back at my car, I drove out to the fairgrounds to see how I could set up for the eclipse the following day. There wasn’t much there. I expected a full course of food trucks, inflatable slides, vendors, etc. The big attraction was out west at Homestead National Historic Park. Parking was getting full at midday. Bill Nye The Science Guy was there, NASA speakers, NPS rangers with many activities and programs. There was plenty of room to set up however, I did not know how many people would be there tomorrow. Furthermore, there were big puffy clouds floating around in the sky. I had to have plan B.
I drove East and found Filley, a town of about a 100 people. A postcard was mailed from their post office the next morning because that’s what I do. And Filley is where I photographed the 2017 eclipse. Prior to this event, no solar eclipse had been visible across the entirety of the United States since June 8, 1918; and not since the February 1979 eclipse had a total eclipse been visible from anywhere in the mainland United States.[2
We now expect a cloudy sky for the Eclipse of 2024 and a bunch of ridiculous conspiracy theories. I’ll drive East and see what becomes of the 1 o’clock hour.
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