We were graciously invited to watch the eclipse with the Blacks and my Father-in-law. We went early Sunday to watch the first session of General Conference at their house before heading to our campsite at Sheppard Mountain Lake. We heard most of the second session on the way. It was a beautiful day. We set up camp and got cooking.
Camping is always better with a fire.
It was a late night for most of us. But an early start the next morning. I think camping always helps me reset. It's the only time I get up early without complaint. I love starting the first fire and sipping cocoa. It is so peaceful. I read my scriptures while everyone woke up. Daniel was up of course. He never sleeps in. He got things going for breakfast.
After cleaning up camp, we headed to
Elephant Rock State Park. It's a unique formation of giant rocks. The kids loved playing on all the rocks. The park was filling up fast, but we were not there to see the eclipse.
Hi!
There is a quarry and a place they used to fix trains.
Charles and I were a little slower than the rest of the group, but he was quite dapper.
We left for Popular Bluff, MO to the Blacks Cemetary to view the actual eclipse. We set up lunch. and got ready. It was neat watching the shape change and the shadow bands. (Thin wavy lines of alternating light and dark that can be seen moving and undulating in parallel on plain-colored surfaces immediately before and after a total solar eclipse.)
This pic was taken by Denise using my nephew's telescope. It really got so dark. My photos don't do it justice.
It was an incredible 6 minutes. The funny thing was my FoE friend was in the same town. They had driven up from Arkansas since their viewing spot was cloudy. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to meet up since we both had a 5-hour drive home. It was a whirl wind trip, but very exciting.
I'm so glad we got to go and enjoy this experience with family.
