Day 3: See Life-Changing Astronomical Event, Then Sit in Traffic

Evansville, IN: Population 118,414, situated in the southern part of the state, is the third largest city in Indiana and, ultimately our chosen destination for viewing the Great American Eclipse of 2024. Although known for its commercial, medical, and cultural activity, our Evansville experience was limited to a view of the parking lot: Best Buy, Arby’s, and Dick’s. Not the most scenic surroundings, but the real show was in the sky, so no one complained. No hard feelings, Evansville. We appreciated your ample parking spaces with plenty of room to extend Kevin’s slides, put out the awning, and set up chairs and tables for the main event.

We chose a spot along the edge of the parking lot where we were sure not to block any traffic. Within a few hours, we had around a dozen or so vehicles stake their claim in the parking lot too, some with specialized camera equipment, and some who had merely pulled over to catch a glimpse of this rare astronomical event within their regularly-scheduled Monday programming. We could not have asked for a better viewing spot.

After a quick sprint to Walmart for garbage bags and juice box reinforcements, we tested our eclipse glasses. It really is incredible to be able to look directly at the sun with these glasses. Every few minutes we put them on, took a glance towards the heavens, and resumed reading, resting, and snacking. I found some Moon Pies on my Walmart excursion and enjoyed one as we waited – if you know me, I love a good theme, so this was a really exciting find for me, even though they are dry like the desert.

It’s a pretty bizarre scene to stand in an empty parking lot with a bunch of strangers staring up at the sky for three hours. What an odd sight. People of all ages milling around, periodically putting on their futuristic looking glasses and looking directly at the sun – the one thing we were told never, ever to look at directly is now the one thing we are all looking at directly.

At 12:51 CDT, we noticed the first slice of the moon creeping up over the bottom of the sun. Just a tiny sliver of black over the glowing orb. Then a bit more and a bit more. With about 30 minutes before totality, the sky took on a yellowish glow. It wasn’t noticeably darker, just a sort of eerie tone washed over the sky. Even with just five minutes before totality, it was still bright, albeit a ghastly, hazy hue. What was noticeable was the sudden drop in temperature. Since we were not in a rural area, we didn’t see any uncharacteristic behaviors from animals; however, Finn refused to leave the front seat of the camper and come outdoors. I have always thought that he senses the tiniest shifts in noise and weather, so maybe he had a feeling that kept him indoors. Who knows? He’s an “interesting” creature, for sure.

Is it weird that I got a little nervous in the minutes leading up to totality? Not that I felt it was “the end of days” or “the apocalypse,” it was just this whole-body sensation of experiencing something so awe-inspiring and sharing it with millions of people across the continent. With about a minute left before totality, the parking lot and street lights came on. Plaza employees emptied out of their stores and a hush came over the whole parking lot. Rob counted down the seconds to totality as we watched through our eclipse glasses, and then it was time. As we removed our glasses, there was a collective gasp from the parking lot spectators and we stood with our mouths agape for the three minutes of totality.

Totality was simply breathtaking. The moon was so very black over the sun and the thinnest ring of pure, shimmery white surrounded it. I’ve heard that it has been called a “wedding band” since ancient alchemists referred to eclipses as the “marriage between the sun and the moon.” How beautiful.

Looking round at Rob and the kids, I saw the awe in their faces. We were giddy. I forgot to look for sharpening shadows and a deepening blue sky, but was focused on the dark and the chill in the air. Alyssa pointed out the shimmery, scale effect reflecting on the asphalt. and we watched the tiny blotches bounce across the parking lot. Rob counted us down to the end of totality. We watched the sun creep out from behind the moon and within two minutes, the daylight had snuck back it. And just like that, The Great American Eclipse was over.

In just a few minutes we had Kevin all packed up and our destination in Pigeon Forge entered into the GPS: Camp Margaritaville RV Resort. While this leg of the journey should have taken around five hours of driving time, we were able to make it in just over nine hours. Why the delay, you ask? We doubled dipped with two kinds of traffic: eclipse traffic (expected) and accident traffic (unexpected). At one point two hours were immediately added to our delay time.

So what do we do when we find ourselves with such an unexpected amount of travel time? We make the best of it, lean into the adventure, and get creative!

• finished listening to our eclipse playlist
• game and watch movies
• started a new audiobook (The Last Mile by David Baldacci)
• made a full meal while in slow-moving traffic (grinders, fruit and yogurt, frozen pizza)
• streamed the UCONN game (OK, I watched on the iPad and yelled out the score to Rob periodically)

• stopped at Buccee’s (if you thought Sheetz sounded cool, wait until you see Buccees!)

Since Rob had his stroke, he gets tired more easily. I can tell he’s getting fatigued when he starts rubbing the back of his head. By the time we rolled into Pigeon Forge, it was 12:45 AM EDT and I was worried since he drove the entire day. As tired as we were (Alyssa and Marlie fell asleep), Rob, Kai and I perked right up at the bright lights on Pigeon Forge. Having absolutely no idea of what to expect, I was unprepared for the assault on the eyes at this late hour. Bright lights, flashing billboards, arcades, souvenir shops, go-carts, mountain coasters, dinner shows and more! I didn’t know where to look first – it was so much. In our delirium, the three of us began reading out the names of the signs, excitedly making a chaotic list of places we wanted to return to later this week. If we had a month, we couldn’t hit all the places we listed! I think we mentioned at least six different pancake houses (I saw no problem with this.), four different escape rooms, and ten different stores (knives, boots, t-shirts, moonshine). The entire strip was like a family-friendly Vegas – just a huge strip of entertainment wrapped in neon. Unbelievable that this oasis of entertainment is nestled right in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains, which we hope to catch a glimpse of tomorrow.

The Camp Margaritaville RV Resort was a beautiful sight (and sound – who wouldn’t like to pull into their accommodations to the tune of Cheeseburger in Paradise?). Perhaps the most beautiful thing about the campground was that it was practically empty and that all the sites had spacious and level concrete pads (This means minimal dirt entering the camper and less time spent leveling the camper so you’re not listing to one side during your stay – WIN!). We pulled in, disconnected the Jeep, fed and walked the dogs, connected sewer, water, and electricity, and now we are ready to drop like logs into our beds. I’ll look for the mountains tomorrow.