McMurray Family
Solar Eclipse 2017
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The eclipse photos themselves were generously sent to us by one of the fellow viewers of the eclipse - also named Martin.(Our) Martin had set up his camera and a homemade filter, but nothing really turned out. This gentleman had years of photography under his belt and gave a lot of pointers for next time.
He and his family's patience with our 'tribe' was another highlight of the day!
2017 was the year that southern Illinois, and a swathe of locations from Oregon to North Carolina, got to see a total solar eclipse. History making, and a great opportunity for a family road trip!
Early on the morning of August 21st, we all bundled up and drove down to the lower ends of Illinois - a roadside stop just north of the border town of Chester, along County Route 4. The kids missed school for the day as we considered this much more of a learning experience! It was hot and humid (95˚F), which added to the general mood.
We managed to get to our location early enough to get a good viewing spot, but that also made for a lot of waiting. When the eclipse finally started - around 12:50pm - the progression to full eclipse was impressive (~1:19pm-1:21:30pm). I went into the event with a ho-hum attitude, but left with a 'wow'.
One cannot appreciate the full effect without witnessing it first hand: the shadows change; the light becomes muted (the last 10˚ to full eclipse go by really fast in comparison to the previous 90˚; the insects just go crazy with noise; and the 360˚ sunset at full eclipse has to be seen to be believed. Totally amazing! The next one is in 7 years and, God willing, I plan to see it again in just about the same place!