Leslie Karst

Eclipsed by Warmth

It’s now been several weeks, but my trip to Texas to see the eclipse is still burned brightly into my eyes (not literally, thank goodness, as I wore the special glasses as required).

Because seeing the eclipse of the sun at totality truly is an awesome experience. Up until that point, the sun as it’s being covered slowly by the moon is also pretty darn cool. Like a real-life PacMan eating its way into our local star. Here’s a photo I took through the (filtered) lens of a telescope an amateur astronomer had set up at the park we were at.

We’d been in Texas for several days, enjoying BBQ and the TexMex cuisine.

We also took in the sights, including Dealey Plaza in Dallas, so Robin—who has read widely about the Kennedy assassination and yes, has strong opinions about it—could visit Ground Zero of the event.

Robin demonstrating where at least one of the real shooters likely was

And we were lucky enough to visit with Chicks emerita, Marla Cooper (aka Mariella Krause) and her delightful husband Tim, who live in Austin. Not only did we get to feast on some of Austin’s famous breakfast tacos, but they also took us to Honk! TX, “a free festival of community street bands,” which was good fun—and very Austin.

Mariella and Leslie in Austin

We also got to have lunch with the marvelous author, Deborah Crombie, who showed us the darling town of McKinney (north of Dallas).

At Deborah’s beautiful craftsman home

The night before the eclipse, we stayed in Junction, TX, which is pretty much right smack in the middle of the state. But the weather app showed cloud cover there for the next afternoon, so we hightailed it north, chasing clear skies, eventually ending up in Goldthwaite for the Big Event.

we bought some treats at a gas station along the way and chatted with this friendly couple, who own the place

We headed for a county park we’d spied on the map, and sure enough, there were about a hundred other folks there with the same idea, including a handful of people with telescopes. (See photo above.)

It was a glorious, warm day, and although there were clouds in the distance, it looked like they’d hold off for at least an hour. Here are Robin and I gawking at the partial eclipse leading up to totality. (Mariella gave me the Longhorns T-shirt.)

And then it happened. Amid raucous cheers from everyone present, the moon completely covered the sun. (Think about how amazing it is that right now in history, with a moon that is moving away from the earth a rate of 3.78 cm a year, it’s at the perfect distance to be the exact same size as the sun, as viewed from earth. Astronomers have predicted that the last time earth will witness a total solar eclipse will be in 1.2 billion years, after which time the moon will be too small to completely block out the sun.)

At this point, you can remove your eclipse glasses. The world grows darker during totality, as if it were dusk. And one thing that was super cool—but you never read about, or at least I never did—is that you’re treated to a 360 degree sunset!

But the most amazing sight is that of the sun’s corona spiking out from behind the moon. Not only that, but we were also treated to a bright red solar flare shooting out from behind the moon. Totality lasted for three and a half minutes, during which time we all stood there dumbstruck. Simply amazing.

This is the best I could do with the camera on my phone. You can’t see it here, but that white glow around the moon was a bunch of sharp spikes, like the Statue of Liberty’s crown, poking out from behind the moon. And yes, there were a few clouds, but they didn’t effect our view.

And then the sun began to peek out again and within less than a second it was far too bright to look at without the glasses. We stayed for a while longer, than headed for our car.

Postscript: As we were walking along the road—which was lined with parked vehicles—a male voice yelled out from their car as they drove past us, “Faggots!”

Robin and I exchanged shrugs and then laughed out loud. “They really need to do some research on their vocabulary,” we agreed. And I was about to follow this up with a snide crack about it being Texas, after all, when another car pulled up next to me and stopped. Uh, oh….

Turning, I saw to my relief that it was two older women, probably in their late seventies or early eighties. Not only that, but my gaydar went off loud and clear. “Did you two enjoy the eclipse?” the driver asked in a warm, cheerful voice.

“We did, indeed. Are you from around here?”

“Yes, we live just up the road. I’ve lived here all my life.”

We chatted a little longer, and then after wishing us a good rest of our trip, the two women drove on.

Texas, indeed.

Readers: What’s the most amazing natural phenomenon you’ve ever witnessed?

30 thoughts on “Eclipsed by Warmth”

  1. LESLIE: i so enjoyed your extended trek to that part of the US. I am envious that you spent time with both Marla and DEBS (as I call her on the Jungle Red Writers blog).

    The most amazing natural phenomenon i saw was the Northern Lights just outside of Reykjavik’s Harbour. I was in Iceland on a solo 4-day Icelandair vacation package in February/March 2017. The package included a Golden Circle day tour, which was great. I saw geysers, epic waterfalls, Icelandic horses and stunningly bleak scenery.

    But I separately booked an evening Northern Lights boat tour. We boarded the boat after 10 pm, dressed up in fishermen’s thermal overalls & sat on the outdoor boat seats as the tiny boat left Reykjavik harbor. After 1.5 hours of nothing, the Northern lights magically appeared above us, shimmering in eery greens and some pink waves. They were magically eery and beautiful to see. They abruptly vanished 10 minutes later and we returned to Reykjavik. My cell phone camera did a poor job but the tour operator gave us his more professional shots.

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    3. Grace!! I saw the Northern Lights in Reykjavik too! So amazing. I’m going to try to see them in Finland in one of those glass igloo hotels some day too. I’ve also seen a few tornadoes up close and personal, but I prefer the Northern Lights!

      Off to find some bbq now, thanks to Leslie! Looks yummy!

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      2. In recent years, the atmospheric conditions have made seeing the Aurora Borealis possible in large parts of southern Canada, if there’s no cloud cover.

        Back in 2017, Icelandair had bargain vacation packages from Toronto including flight, 3 nights hotel & the Golden Circle Tour for under $750.

        i have not seen prices that cheap in recent years!

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  2. What a fabulous trip, Leslie! With the exception of the dunderheads after the eclipse.

    My wife and I enjoyed the eclipse from the parking lot where she works. We were in the Zone of Totality and, man, what an experience!

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    1. Loved hearing about your eclipse experience, JC Kenney–and so close to home! We live a couple of hours from the latest totality zone. But not many roads up in northern NH (and one main route south), so those hours…lol.

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  3. Leslie, so enjoyed the highlights of your trip! You are such a fabulous photographer, and notice the most interesting things, so this post was the next best thing to being there. (Very jelly you got to hang out with Marla in person.) Those yahoos in the parking lot, well…guess their ignorance was in full display. When is your next trip, so we can tag along vicariously?

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    1. Thank you, Lisa–I do enjoy my photography. No trips lined up for several months, thank goodness, as I’ve been a little too busy of late for my taste. It’s good to be settled in Santa Cruz for a while….

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  4. The Northern Lights AND the solar eclipse?! Leslie, you have the life. I have never seen a natural phenomenon but I did live through the Northridge Earthquake, which was terrifying. It’s more of a physical and aural experience because it does sound like a freight train.

    assassination things: Robin and Jer need to get together and talk Kennedy assassination theories, and 2) I’m infuriated by homophobic a-holes. You’re kinder to those who people and their state than I would be.

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  5. We had a blast hanging out with you and Robin! Sounds like you got the full Texas experience: tons of fun and love, with a hillbilly heckler thrown in to keep things spicy. Come back and see us again soon!

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  6. So sorry that you, indeed, got the full Texas experience, Leslie. But it sounds like meeting friends, eating food (those BBQ pics!), and experiencing the eclipse was amazing! (Robin recreating the shooting pose gives me shivers, though. I’d probably skip that part.)

    For me, the total solar eclipse was definitely wonderful to watch (I saw the previous one). Also, I like ocean animals, so seeing pods of dolphins swimming and a whale (semi-nearby) was also a wonder.

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  9. hestia here,

    this post was fab. Here in the DC area we didn’t see much. But I was at work, so…

    phenomenon? You can’t get much better than Texas. Even with the rude people, they are prone to phenomenons other states can’t fathom. I remember when I lived in San Antonio they actually closed the entire city down on a Sunday because a sliver of ice was on the road. I mean, it was like less than 1/16 of an inch. I laughed and went to work anyway. You can imagine the phone calls I got that day “what do you mean I can’t get my newspaper, I need coupons!”

    another Texas phenomenon? Everyone says the Dallas cowboys are Americas team. I disagree. The Dallas cowboy cheerleaders are americas team. Now that’s a natural (okay, maybe not) phenomenon.

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  10. Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiincredible post, Leslie!! I feel like I was there (and I wish I were!). Glad the sweet couple who asked about your experience were able to provide a nice palate cleanse after those local yokels.

    Bend was juuuuuuuuuuuuuuuust outside the path of totality for the last eclipse, doggone it, but I definitely remember ash raining from the sky after Mount Saint Helens erupted!

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  11. When I was 16, I experienced an earthquake in Mexico City in 1965. My cousin and I had just eaten lunch with our mothers, and we were in Sanborn’s (famous restaurant there) and we experienced it. We were looking at magazines and standing there, and I looked at her and she was swaying backwards while I was swaying frontwards and the street outside was rippling. Awesome! Then the next year, we lived through Hurricane Beulah in Harlingen. That is enough for me. I graduated the University of Texas Leslie, so Hook ’em Horns! You can take the girl out of Texas, but you can’t take Texas out of the girl! In Georgia now when Hubby Dearest got transferred under duress. But all my family, friends and heart are in Texas. Next time that you go and order brisket, make sure you order the point and not the flat. The point is juicy and good. Did you eat yellow cheese enchiladas with Chile con carne on top, chicken fried steak with cream gravy along with your BBQ? Great food. Great state. Great experience. Great vacation. I am a Yellow Rose of Texas and Remember the Alamo!

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