Payette County

The big day - weather reports looked very kind. The plan was to base ourselves just outside the hotel as it seems most of the local astronomy buffs were doing. A good sign. A quick swim before checking out & finding a spec. Initial plans of the patches of grass outside were dashed by some selfish dog owners. We perched ourselves on the kerb and awaited first contact - 45 minutes away. Things were pretty warm - tried out the glasses & even that was wild - being able to look at the sun directly. The excitement mounted when the moon took a first little bite out of the sun. The first of many whoops - we're in the states so what can you expect. Only 75 minutes to wait. That said it never got boring watching the eclipse progessing. With 20 mins to go you could sense that the light was beginning to change & things were cooler - we no longer felt like we were burning. The sunbeams in the tree shadows were casting crescent shadows. 10 mins and the thin remnants of the sun were minimal. With a few minutes to go we were anticipating the things we would see but nothing could prepare for the enormity and majesty of what would transpire. The darkness suddenly came upon us and the sun was gone - just the corona spewing out from behind the moon. It was like there was a hole in the sky from where the sun should have been. You could see stars, the street lights came on and there was a whoop frenzy. It was the most amazing thing & I can completely understand how ancient peoples thought it was the end of the world. Then there was the diamond ring and totality was over. Most started to pack up but we were getting our moneys worth. We were seeing it through to the final contact. It was amazing how the light and heat came back so quickly. We weren't for moving though. Cadged wifi from the hotel to see when the next eclipse was 2026 & 27 in Spain. Bring it on.Les mer