What a roller coaster ride!
When I got up this morning it was mostly cloudy, with low clouds and fog, but the Sun occasionally popping out for a second or two.
We stuck with our plan and stayed in Kerrville, going down to the local park where there was a huge eclipse program planned, open for free to the public. The skies continued to improve.
Up until about thirty minutes before totality, well over halfway through the partial phases, it was plenty clear enough to see the Sun.
Excitement levels were high. We got a talk by NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, who is the commander of the Artemis II mission to the Moon.
At about T-0:30, a band of low level, thick clouds moved in. We couldn’t see squat. Excitement had turned into despair.
Less than thirty seconds before totality, a brilliant sliver of sunlight appeared almost directly overhead, a crescent 🌙 of light that announced the end of the partial phase.
The crescent shrank over the next 30 seconds, then vanished as the “diamond ring” effect was visible. Our surroundings became completely dark, the temperature had dropped 10°F or more,
The corona appeared in all of its glory. The crowd went berserk.
It was spectacular!
We had 4:32 of totality, but the fortuitous hole in the clouds closed up tight. We saw nothing more of totality. Our surroundings stayed dark, the frogs started croaking, the ducks flew back home, and we could watch “sunrise” rush at us at Mach Two from the south.
After totality ended, it continued to be cloudy and cool. We stayed and enjoyed the festival for another couple of hours before walking the two miles back to my hotel.
We needed a break and got it.
We Love The Stars Too Fondly 