Jkacz Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 Totally anticlimactic. We're in New Hampshire and it was only about 60-65% and I wasn't expecting fireworks, but if I didn't know it was happening, I would have missed it. The kids were bored of the whole pinhole viewer in about 30 seconds and the chickens continued hunting bugs instead of roosting. Disappointing. Luckily, we are pretty close to totality for 2024 and the boys will still be school age, so we've promised them a road trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 We're in an area with about 76% totality. It was a great day for viewing and we were lucky to get a pair of glasses, as they were sold out everywhere. I hope everyone who was interested got to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happi duck Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 Btw, thanks for this "bust" thread! I'm admittedly too jealous for the awesome stories thread. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 Barb, I didn't know you are in Phoenix, too! What part? We're in North Phoenix, not far from North Canyon High School. I just had my kids (who are 13 and 18) come outside, look WEST (opposite the sun), and look at the lighting, observing how different it is than on other days at the same time. I think we would have made much more of an effort (maybe) to be part of events had we been in an area of totality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 We had 83% here but the clouds took over before totality and it's been raining all afternoon. Sigh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momacacia Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 In 100% zone and will be again in 7 years. 8 year old was totally amazed. So fun to see her so taken with it. Both big kids were really in awe. So grateful to experience it! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 We were in 99% area (Pigeon Forge TN). Perfect viewing. My ds is in Cape Girardeau MO. he gat a cool picture of totality. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilaclady Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 We had about 95% totality. Pretty cool. Had fun with it on our yard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historically accurate Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 My youngest two and I ran errands. We'd look up (with our glasses) every time we got in and out of the car. It was super cloudy - we caught it a couple of times though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 (edited) That pic through the colander is so pretty! We went with three friends to the natural history museum for the lecture... but due to a series of misunderstandings the kids ended up outside the museum before the lecture, and getting back in was not happening. So we missed that part, and we also didn't see any of the exhibits after the peak point here (about 70%), so we might as well have stayed home. Well, we did get the glasses (the kids sold theirs so they had to share mine) and they had a lot of fun writing their names on index cards using pins and then looking at the shadows. (And out of curiosity I took a small peek near "not-even-close-to-totality" with my bare eyes! Don't tell the kids - I reasoned that a glimpse was no more dangerous than when you happen to glance up and see the sun, so long as I didn't stare and stare at it, but I didn't want to encourage them.) Tragically, although it was sunny before and after the peak period, we had some heavy heavy cloud cover right then. Boo. Edited August 21, 2017 by Tanaqui Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 (edited) edited for gibberish-- We travelled 2 hrs to hit pretty close to the middle of totality- total time at 100% was 2 min 19 sec. It was amazing. Really not so much the parts leading up to and after totality but when it was 100% covered, that was a pretty amazing 2 minutes +, worth the drive. Edited August 22, 2017 by soror 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zinnia Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 We drove to totality, with shuttled parking. We waited 3 hours for a shuttle bus, and we will probaby be at our car at about 1.5 hours (still on the bus). And we have a normal 2 hour drive home, so maybe 3 or 4? Still worth it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amira Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 (edited) We're stuck in traffic outside Denver after seeing totality in the middle of nowhere Wyoming. It was AMAZING. We had light clouds so we couldn't see any stars, but we could still see the corona. Absolutely no regrets. I've seen several partial eclipses and they're neat, but NOTHING like a total eclipse. I've been waiting for this all my life. Edited August 21, 2017 by Amira 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquirrellyMama Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 95% and thunderstorms. Kelly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroe1 Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 That was totally amazing! We just happened to be driving north today to take DD17 to college. Without any planning on our part, we hit a city of totality at the exact point of the eclipse. I had no idea it went from bright and sunny to pitch black within a few seconds. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara in AZ Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 That's too bad! Over in Tempe we had a little cloud cover, but we were able to see most of it. One of the dads in our little homeschool group brought an awesome telescope with a solar filter in it that really enhanced our viewing. It was great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 Adding on. Did anyone notice a drop in Tempe attire. There was an obvious drop in temp at peak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 (edited) We were at 95% and chose not to drive closer for totality. My 9 year old was so disappointed. After seeing the pictures from people online I actually think he would have enjoyed it but I'm not telling him. We will be closer to the 2024 eclipse so if the kids are still interested we will make a point to go. We didn't hear crickets or frogs. The birds didn't get quiet and our dog acted completely normal. It also didn't get very dark. The light changed but it just felt like a big cloud was blocking the sun. ETA there was not a noticeable temperature drop either. Edited August 22, 2017 by Rach 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 We were at 97% totality. We had great viewing. The darkness was so weird -- a different shade than when storm clouds are rolling in. The darkness on the ground, yet still completely bright & sunny in other areas reminded me of Magritte's painting Empire of Light. Kind of makes me wonder if it was less a surrealist painting & perhaps just a rendering of an eclipse? Very cool. We watched through different parts of it & are glad we were in a good location with clear views. My dd was in a different area of town & said when it got dark where she was, she heard crickets & frogs starting up as if dusk had arrived. My sister & dad were in a totality area today & said it was completely awesome. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granny_Weatherwax Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 I'm in a 94% area and woke up to rain and cloudy skies. :( We were able to see some of the eclipse but nothing like what it could have been. The skies cleared about an hour after it was over. I was totally bummed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartlikealion Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 Supposedly our area was 85%. I didn't go outside with the kids. It never looked dark out the window that I could tell. Dh said he peeked through someone's welding mask but it was really cloudy. Sounds like he didn't see much at all. Then I got onto him asking what shade welding mask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bensonduck Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 99%+ here...and the sky was covered with clouds. Could not see the sun, but it did get darker and lighter again. Pretty bummed out. We are not in range for the 2024 one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tohru Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 We were at 95% and really, it wasn't very impressive at all. Everything was normal, except for a cooler breeze and at maximum it seemed like a cloud was covering the sun even though there wasn't any. I don't think anyone would've even noticed if it it wasn't a known thing. We had our glasses and that was cool to see the "orange crescent moon" sun, but other than that, nothing very striking or exciting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 I feel for those of you with clouds... that would be an extreme frustration to me. For those of you who said it was better than you ever imagined (totality), we're in your camp. We're already planning to see the one in 2024 and I'll be looking around the world for others that might be feasible. I 100% understand why folks travel long distances to see these now. That first one was addictive, but only because we saw totality. The parts before and after were neat (with glasses), only partially noticeable with the cooling and lower light, but totality, wow. I'm glad we opted for the max we could reasonably get, 2 minutes 35 seconds. We'll be doing the same in the future. We did see a bat... We wonder what it thought when "night" ended so quickly! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garga Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 Adding on. Did anyone notice a drop in Tempe attire. There was an obvious drop in temp at peak. We were in about 80% coverage, and we did notice the temperature going down. Or maybe it was just that the rays of the sun didn't hit on our skin so hard? It was still hot, but not as burning-intense as it had been. We went from drippy sweaty, to just hot without the drippy sweaty. It looked like it was evening and close to sunset, but it was only 2 in the afternoon: still sun in the sky, but like it was about to dip down and set. Or, it looked like the sun was behind a thin cloud, but it wasn't--it was clear in our skies. We did hear the cicadas come out. We were at a park during our biggest coverage and we headed home before the eclipse was done. We walked in the house and the house was so dark inside. It was still before 3 in the afternoon, but it was so dark in the house, like we needed to put on lamps...yet not cloudy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaybee Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 About 90% here. There was a strange light--similar to tornado light, actually. It wasn't nearly as cool as totality, but for the first time, I made a pinhole viewer, and that was interesting. I had also seen someone post a photo with a colander, so I took one outside, and the designs were so pretty! The insects were singing as well, and the outside lights came on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 We went to totality and it was amazing. We all burst into spontaneous cheering. Partial eclipses are not that exciting. We found our partial Very exciting. Maybe if we had experienced a total already, we'd be jaded and feel the partial not exciting enough. But it was really neat to see that first bite disappear and the light outside get darker and we did not feel we needed any more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amyrobynne Posted August 24, 2017 Share Posted August 24, 2017 We drove 500 miles each way to see totality. First road trip with 4 kids! As a bunch of science junkies, I'm glad we went and extra glad the weather in central Nebraska behaved relatively well for us.Driving back east across Nebraska was painful. I'm so glad we stayed overnight in Omaha before heading back to Minneapolis. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted August 24, 2017 Author Share Posted August 24, 2017 Barb, I didn't know you are in Phoenix, too! What part? We're in North Phoenix, not far from North Canyon High School. I just had my kids (who are 13 and 18) come outside, look WEST (opposite the sun), and look at the lighting, observing how different it is than on other days at the same time. I think we would have made much more of an effort (maybe) to be part of events had we been in an area of totality. Hey!! Just saw this. I'll PM you :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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