Eclipse Viewing in the Tetons
Is everyone still tired of hearing about the Great American Eclipse? Don't care. Still going to talk about it.
I admit, the hype leading up to the eclipse was a little ridiculous. It seems anything can be commercialized these days. I tried to avoid as much of that as I could and just focused on the event itself. I didn't need any cheesy souvenirs to mark the occasion. I was just interested in witnessing firsthand an event that I have never seen before and, most likely, will never see again. At least not so close to home. Having had a front row seat to a total lunar eclipse a could of years ago and being in awe of that I knew that I just had to see the solar eclipse from the path of totality. Even if it meant the possibility of dealing with large crowds and horrible traffic to do so.
So I set off with a rough plan, trying to make the most of an expectedly hectic trip. After an early departure Saturday morning I arrived in the Teton valley with one task in mind – find a campsite. In the weeks leading up to the event the local newspaper had been reporting that the crowds had arrived earlier than expected and were taking a toll on the city's resources. Grocery stores running out of food, gas stations planning extra fuel deliveries to keep up with demand, hotels sold out months in advance. My hopes of finding a quiet secluded campsite were fading fast. I had a plan, a back up plan and a back up back up plan for the trip so I was trying to be openminded. Never dreamed that I'd end up getting to camp within a quarter mile of my ideal spot. Especially since, upon my arrival, it seemed that every campsite had already been claimed. I just happened to time it right and came upon a campsite just as the current occupants were packing up and leaving. I quickly moved in (they didn't mind, they understood that campsites were in high demand) and rejoiced at my good luck. At this point my stress level about the trip dropped dramatically and stayed pretty calm for the duration. While Grand Teton Park and the town of Jackson were a bit busier than normal everything seemed to be going well. The park service, forest service and local first responders had been planning for months how to handle the crowds and I must compliment them all. I have to think that their heightened presence in the area kept the chaos to a minimum. While the park was busy and parking spots were in short supply I did manage to get out for a hike, do a little moose hunting and even managed to snag dinner reservations at one of my favorite restaurants in Jackson.
The day of the eclipse was a little rushed as I had to do a little last minute DIY work to make a filter for my camera. I had purchased a filter over a year ago in preparation of the eclipse and found out a week before that it wasn't the correct filter. Since every local camera shop and every website was sold out at this point I had to get creative. I channeled my inner “MacGyver” and fashioned a solar filter out of a pair of eclipse glasses, a heavyweight paper shopping bag and some duct tape. I cut the bag up to make a face plate and centered half of the pair of glasses into that then taped a paper sleeve to the backside that then slipped over the end of the lens. I was pretty proud of my little homemade filter. And while I'm sure I could have gotten better pictures with a proper lens filter I don't think I did too bad all things considered.
After cooking breakfast and packing up most of my campsite I walked across the road to an open meadow with a view of the Tetons to watch the eclipse. There were several groups of campers in the area and the excited chatter from them grew and grew as the moon's shadow progressed. I was happily snapping pictures, trying not to forget to take it all in and observe not only the sun but the surrounding area. The changes on land were just as amazing as the changes in the sky. When totality started everyone in the area started cheering and yelling. I, on the other hand, was speechless. It was so amazing. I wished that it would have lasted longer – being just north of the center of totality I had about ninety seconds to enjoy it. When the sun started to reappear I couldn't help but think “I can't wait to see this again!” So I suppose a little road trip may be in order for April 2024.
Once the eclipse was over it was time to head home. I had warned my coworkers that I wasn't sure when I'd return to work as I was expecting traffic to be horrible. Again, even with all the hype, the crowds were nowhere near what I was expecting. I sailed north through Yellowstone with only a small delay getting through the south entrance gate. There weren't even any buffalo jams to hold me back. I made it home in record time. All in all the trip was a success – no major traffic, no problems finding a campsite, and I got a decent amount of pictures to remind me of the day. Can't ask for much more than that.
