April 8th 2024 Solar Eclipse Chase

Original Planning

Planning for the solar eclipse trip has been ongoing since I saw my last Solar Eclipse in 2017 in Idaho. This time Grace also wanted to attend. She had only seen a total solar eclipse in 1979. This would be my 3rd total solar eclipse and very likely my last one. The path of totality for the next Solar eclipse in 2044 passes right over Calgary, but I will be 88 years old. This solar eclipse would be twice as long as the one in 2017, and longer than the one I saw in 1979, and longer than the one in 2044.

I had also discussed this one with friends and family and I made a promise that for this one I would see it with my cousin from Alabama, as she missed out in 2017 by the unfortunate appearance of clouds at the time of the solar eclipse that covered the solar eclipse for her. This must not be repeated this time!

Solar Eclipse Planets we might expect to see:

All long-range forecasts for weather and cloud suggested that the best place for success was in South Texas or Mexico. So, I focused my planning on Texas. In 2019, Grace and I had purchased a travel trailer, so we thought to use that to drive to the viewing site, and that would bring additional flexibility to drive to a location that was predicted to be free of clouds and bad weather.

We knew weather would be a big factor due to the April date when weather is often unpredictable.

With that in mind, we made plans and made sure we were prepared for the trip. Maintenance to the Vehicle and Travel Trailer are arranged before the date of departure. Including new tires for the trailer and the summer season tires for the Jeep (as we would primarily be travelling on Roads that did not require snow tires.) This also meant that were committed to driving to a location outside of Canada. On March 20th before we left, we were reminded that it was still winter in Calgary,

Weather forecasts

As the date approached, I did some research about the weather for the Solar Eclipse on the best web sites to watch and checked with friends and family. On locations, initially focused on Texas, but near the end also Arkansas.

When we were preparing to leave, the outlook for Texas did not appear to be hopeful, and we had to give some serious consideration to other locations.

To be honest, on March 28th, I was skeptical that we would find clear sky anywhere with reasonable driving distance. The graphic to the right shows predicted could cover for the day made on March 30th, was little comfort. That being said, we thought that we had to start driving in the direction of the Solar Eclipse path and see how the weather develops at the date approached.

We would have a pretty good chance we could find a hole in the clouds to see the solar Solar Eclipse. It should be noted that by the 30th, we were already in Wyoming!

Our original plan was to head south in Colorado towards Texas. Based on the 10-day cloud forecast we changed plans and headed east on I70 after the 1st of April. The following graphic shows the path we travelled.

Part 1: First 4 days to just get closer

Day 1: March 28th – Calgary Alberta to Teton River-Dutton Rest area in Montana

We left Calgary around noon on the 28th. Our plan was to make it south, through Customs and into Montana for stopping for the night somewhere near Great Falls. We stopped mid-afternoon at a park in Lethbridge for a break and made it to the International Border around sunset.

It took us about 30 minutes to clear customs. An hour and a half later we made it to the rest area where we stopped and parked in the south bound parking lot around 10 pm.  It was very quiet, and we had the parking lot to ourselves for most of the night.  Turned on the heat/gas and went to sleep.  The temperature dropped to -8C overnight, but we stayed warm with the gas propane heater.

Day 2: March 29th – On to Grandview Campground Hardin MT

We left the Rest area around 9 am after a short breakfast. Our plan was to head to Great Falls, eat a meal at Denny’s, gas up and head for Hardin, by way of the Belt Mountains and Judith Gap.  We stopped at Eddie’s Corner for snacks and Lavinia for Gas. At Billings we caught the Interstate and headed south towards Wyoming and Colorado.

Arriving at the Grandview Campground around 7pm. That night we drained the antifreeze out of the plumbing, and we had water, sewer, and power for the rest of the trip, and I had a hot shower.

Here we are moments before we headed on our way on the morning of the 30th. Had a problem with the drain tap on the fresh water holding tank. We had to stop and obtain a preplacement part at an RV place along the way.

Day 3: March 30th – On to A.B. Camping in Cheyenne, WY.

This day was a day of driving, down along the Big Horn mountains of Wyoming. We crossed the path of totality from 2017 and when we reached Casper, WY. We stopped at Sunny’s RV for parts to repair the Trailer. A new drain plug, for the storage tank and other parts, which we found were much cheaper to purchase in the US.

We did learn at the next stop that for some undetermined reason, the pump for the from the freshwater tank did not seem to be working.  Rather than trying to fix it after several attempts, we decided to try to just camp at spots that had town water hook-ups for the rest of the trip.  We did find that most campgrounds had this, which is different that at many campgrounds in Canada.   This remains an outstanding thing to be repaired.

We ended the day in SE Wyoming in Cheyenne at the AB Camping RV Campground.  Located well off the Interstate away from noise with passable showers. We were actively debating turning around and heading for home, due to the bleak weather outlook, along the US Path, but agreed that we would look at our choices after one more day.

Day 4: March 31st – On to Trailing Edge RV Park Limon, CO.

On this day we went past Denver and headed east on I70 towards Kansas City.  Rather than going through the city, we went around on the ring road, I await an invoice for the toll. Grace and I mostly argued about each other’s driving.   Instead of harsh criticism we decided to use softer words like: “Your such a good driver!” (From a recent A&W commercial.)  When you hear it, you know you are doing something that makes the other driver nervous, and out of consideration to the others in the Car, you need to correct it.

The Campground was a big gravel pad with RV Hookups for Sewer, Water and Power.

Part 2: East to the Path of totality

Day 5: April 1st – On to Triple-J Camper Park in Russell, KS

The weather forecast for the Solar Eclipse looked more promising, that we might find clear sky, but we decided to head east before fully committing ourselves to Texas.  We continued driving East on I70 but prepared to head either south (Texas or Arkansas) at Wichita, or east (Missouri, Illinois, or Indiana) for one or two more days.

Today was the day that Grace received the phone call about an appointment to see a doctor about knee replacement surgery in Calgary.  Our choice was April 16th in Calgary or a similar date and May.  We had been waiting for months for this.  Now we had a deadline to get back after the Solar Eclipse on the 8th.   We would have 7 days to get back!

It was very windy. Kansas is a windy place.  The windfarms on each side of the interstate attest to this.  We had a cross wind from the north, and it blew a cover of the propane tank off, which flew under the trailer and severed two of the connecting wires to the trailer brakes. I learned that by crawling under the trailer while stopped at a roadside stop and checking the wires that connect to the axels.

So, we could not rely on the trailer brakes if he had to descend any big hills.   Fortunately, this is not a problem in Kansas. Here I am, driving on I70 in Kansas in the wind Looking for the Clear Sky in the path of Totality for the Solar Eclipse.

We had to arrange to stop and get this repaired at a RV place near Abilene, KS. But could not get there before they closed on that day. So, we stopped short at Russell, KS for the night.

Day 6: April 2nd – On to Walt’s Four Seasons Campground Abilene, Kansas

This is where we had the trailer brakes repaired and of course purchased more parts for the RV. And we had a nice private spot, just was a little too close to the Interstate. 

Sasquatch Guardians	Grace Feeding the Ducks
(above) Ducks comming to see me as I had snacks in my hand (right) And we had a nice fire, that was lit for us by the park manager.  That was nice of him.  And they made us a good meal in their restaurant.

On around this time we could look to see on the Clear Sky Clock what the expected cloud cover would be for prospective sites on the day of the Solar Eclipse. And southern Illinois or SW Indiana, looked very promising. I should have grabbed a screen shot, but I did not.

We decided to head east towards Missouri, and possibly head south or east to the path of totality from Missouri.  This would suggest that we would find a spot with clear sky somewhere in Arkansas, Illinois, or Indiana. We discussed this with my cousin Nicole Richard who understood what we were looking for and she started to search for good sites to view the Solar Eclipse from in these states.

Day 7: April 3rd – On to Lazy Day Campground in Danville, MO

A decision to go to southern Illinois/Indiana was confirmed today by a Facebook post by Stephen W. Ramsden.	Now, we were prepared to be fully committed to a site near Vincennes, Indiana. My cousin Nichole from Alabama, who we planned to meet at what ever site we decided to go to, did some investigation and found that the Red Hills State Park, in Sumner Illinois, had a small number of first come first serve sites at the regular camping rate. We now had the Kansas wind at our back, and a place to go to see the solar eclipse!
Passed by the KC Chiefs stadium.	Next was Kansas City. Later in the day we also crossed the Missouri River, this would be the second time we did this on the trip.
I took this picture of a farm along side the road. It reminded me of the typical roadside farm/acreage one might see around Winnipeg, Manitoba in the Red River Valley. Of course we were geographically south of Manitoba/Ontario border.
We were in good spirits when we stopped for the night at Lazy Day Campground in Danville Missouri, just east of St. Louis. And trying to stretch out the day we had arrived after dark. This would be the last stop before we arrived at our spot at Sumner, Illinois. Here we are all packed up the next morning and ready for the final day of Travel, the next morning. We were in a hurray as we wanted to get to that park before someone else took the available spots.

Day 8: April 4th – on to Red Hills State Park, Sumner IL

This was the last day of driving before we reached the path of Totality. The forecast was looking more promising each day. On the last day we had to complete the journey across Mississippi in St. Louis. When we arrived at St. Louis, we took the ring road around to the north before continuing I70 (towards Indianapolis.)

As has often happened, we had to get off the Interstate somewhere right in the middle of the city. Which for some can be a scary proposition. I was reminded of the first time I experienced this with my mom and dad in 1972 in Chicago on a similar trip I took to Alabama from Manitoba. Keep calm, be respectful of locals, do your business and carry on. Grace and I found a gas station in Berkley to the NE of the Airport.

Also crossed the Missouri River again for the 3rd time, and then the Mississippi for the first time. Without too much trouble we managed to get on the other side of the city and continued into Illinois. We followed the Interstate I70 to Effingham. It was at this time that we entered the path of Totality. We purchased fuel before we went further and filled up the reserve fuel tank we brought along.

Then we proceeded to the Southeast to Olney and then Sumner. On the east side of Sumner was the Red Hills State Park. When we arrived at the park it was almost deserted. We arrived early! With no clear directions on where to go, it took us a while to figure out where the RV campground was. Had to stop and ask directions.

Of the last spots available, was a number sites set-aside for people arriving without reservations that were fully serviced camping spots. We took the last one of these available! We also saved a space for my cousin (and her husband) next to us. We reserved for 5 nights. Once we arrived, since we had been moving now for 8 straight days, we did not want to go anywhere for a while, except to explore the area.

SOLAR ECLIPSE DAYS!

Day 9-12: April 5^th to the morning of April 9^th

The Solar Eclipse at Red Hills State Park Sumner Illinois.

At this location we had about 4 min and 1 second of totality.

The Solar Eclipse forecast was for high cirrus cloud (Canadian weather model promised clear sky.)

We stayed at this location from Thursday to Tuesday April 9th, for 5 nights for $110. We had the senior’s rates for two nights and the rest was for $25 a night for a deluxe site with sewer, power, and water.

Day 9: April 5^th: Visit to Vincennes

We were on site 4 days before the solar eclipse. We also were very tired of travel. But we took the time to visit Vincennes, Indiana which was on the actual centre line.

We stopped at the Denny’s for a meal.  We stopped about 4 times for a meal, and ordered takeout 2 more times, otherwise we ate out of the supplies we brought with us or purchased along the way.  We drove around the town. They had only begun, the process if setting up for the solar eclipse on the Monday.  

Vincennes was founded by the French who arrived from Quebec in 1702.  Where a post was opened to trade for Bison hides with the local indigenous people. The area became a British Territory after the 7 years war in 1760’s, and subsequently part of the United States after the American Revolutionary War of 1776.

On they way back to the campsite, we stopped by the neighboring Wal*Mart for supplies, and RV parts.   It was cloudy and wet that day so there was little preparations made for observing the solar eclipse that day. We could see that they were getting ready in Vincennes, but no vendors were open yet.

Day 10: April 6^th

The next day the sun came out, and the Campground began to fill up with other Eclipse chasers.   I set up my 4” refractor to make sure it was working. Also took a walk around the park around 2:00pm to see where the Sun was, as this would be where we needed clear sky to see the Sun. 

We found an excellent spot near the shower building, that was dry, and level.   And afforded a wide area on each side of where the sun would be to get a good look at the sky.   Thought we might set-up there.  Some thought that we might go to the nearby lake, but we thought otherwise.

At the end of the day, I took a picture of the Sun through the trees, with the Solar Filter on the telescope. 

Nicole (Richard) and Mike (my Alabama cousins) arrived that night. Spent the evening getting them situated in the spot next to us. I had not seen Nicole since 2008, when we both attended a funeral for another cousin in Fernie, BC. We have talked often on the phone, but it was good to make the connection face to face.

Day 11: April 7^th

The weather was not impressive, the forecast suggested otherwise for Monday

I did spot a little butterfly perched on the road on a morning walk, I took it as a good omen. We had thunder showers, with clearing towards night. Spent the day planning and preparing. Visiting with fellow solar eclipse chasers and learning what their plans were for observing the event. Still the forecast remained the same for the next day, clear, no rain and some high Cirrus Cloud.

Towards the evening the skies began to clear off and we could see stars before we retired for the night.

Day 12: The Solar Eclipse: April 8th

Before Solar Eclipse totality

The light of day brought clear skies with some high Cirrus Cloud which would not hide the Sun.

Solar Eclipse Day Weather	(Grace) Solar Eclipse Day Breakfast Pancakes
Roger

Then it was time to prepare and setup for the solar eclipse which would happen at around 2:00 pm local time.  We prepared covers for the Cell phones and for the Binoculars (which I do not recall using.) I decided that I had only enough time to set-up the 4-inch refractor with a solar filter. This was the scope I used in 2017, so I knew what to expect and do during the solar eclipse. We set out chairs for us to watch and prepared. 

A solar eclipse slide on cover for a cell phone camera

Aligning the Sun in the eyepiece by projecting its image on the solar filter box! Taking care so that it does not burst into flames	Solar Eclipse Viewing area
Setting up the telescope putting the Camera on the eyepiece end and getting it pointed at the sun. Here I am trying to burn my hand with the intense heat of the sun!	All set up and waiting for the Solar Eclipse to start.
Looking at the sun before the start of the eclipse	I created special alarms for my cell phone to announce the start of the solar eclipse and the other contact times for start and end of totality. 4 minutes might seem like a long time, but it will go by fast.   By the time of first contact, we were all seated. And waiting.
	We had someone broadcasting a live feed too!
Discussing arrangements to get the live video.	Family from setup and prepared to watch

Solar Eclipse – First contact (start of partial phase)

Before totality, I snapped a few photos with the telescope and then took time to sit in my chair and look at the solar eclipse directly with my solar eclipse glasses.   I then also went to look at some of the shadows of the sun projected through foliage.

Images taken before totality
	Watching the Partial phase of the Solar Eclipse
Not enough foliage on the trees to see the shadows showing the partial phases. .	The last bit of sun. Missed the Diamond Ring before totality

As the face of the sun was covered, the shadows, grew weak. The temperature dropped.

Solar Eclipse – Second Contact – Totality

The moment Totality arrived, It was like someone turned out the lights. 

I had to quickly jump up and remove the solar filter from the telescope so I could take some pictures of the totality. I had set the camera exposure time so that I did not have to adjust much. I then turned around to look up from my scope and see the total solar eclipse Sun without filters and tripped and nearly fell into the telescope.

I managed to avoid that but fell flat on my ass. I recovered and sat in my chair and beheld the eclipsed sun in all its majesty. I close my eyes now and I can see the memory of this.

The total eclipsed sun	same image on the right, but adjusted to bring out the Solar storms
About minute into Totality
Cell Phone image of the sun in totality
The planets during totality.	wider view of same can you find the planets?

Third Contact – After Solar Eclipse totality

And the lights come back on time to put the filter on the telescope, and the solar eclipse viewing glasses back on.

Just missed the Solar Eclipse diamond ring	Filter on at the end of the eclipse
The other side of the sun appears

Remembering the Solar Eclipse – day’s events

The people to the right of us in the campground who had arrived a few hours before us. They were from Illinois	Campground hosts
Last photo from Red Hills Park	We spent the evening visiting with all the people we had met.

The Return Trip from the Solar Eclipse

Planning the return trip from Sumner to Calgary

A matter of finding a route home that we could do in 7 days!

We found that most campgrounds were just opening and that further north in Canada, they had not yet opened. Plus, fuel costs less in the US. We plotted a path that would initially go north and then across to North Dakota. In any case we had to be home for Grace’s orthopedic appointment on April 16th.

We debated crossing north to Saskatchewan from Jamestown & Minot and then west on the TransCanada at Moose Jaw. But opted to stick to I94 until we reached Glendive in Montana. And cross back to Canada in Southern Alberta.

In the end we went all the way to Great Falls before heading north. This route followed the Interstate highway system for 80% of the route. And we were able to find an open campground with full services for all of nights we spent on the road for reasonable rates.

We began our trip home about mid-day on the 9th. We left Sumner and the story of how we made it home follows.

Day 13: April 9^th:  Sumner to D&W Dale Camping & RV Park in Champagne, IL

At the end of the first day of travel. The lake was a small man-made reservoir. The park was full service, the showers were excellent.

When we left Red Hills state park, we travelled toward the city of Olney, where we planned to stop and buy a t-shirt.

Olney was where Grace’s phone fell out of the car and onto the highway. We spent several hours looking to recover the phone. Which we did, Grace has written her story about this. And we were able to recover all Grace’s trip and solar eclipse pictures. Some of these images are shown here. Grace has more on to share

	Where we were searching, the white circle represents where we were focusing our search, the White arrow shows where we actually found it, …… we would have driven right past it.
Olney was where Grace’s phone fell out of the car and onto the highway. We spent several hours looking to recover the phone. Which we did, Grace has written her story about this. And we were able to recover all Grace’s trip and solar eclipse pictures. Some of these images are shown here. Grace has more on to share	Grace’s phone

From Olney we headed north towards toward Rockford, Il and Madison, WI. We did not get far that day and stopped in Champagne, IL.

The lake was a small man-made reservoir. The park was full service, the showers were excellent. We would have to make up some time down the road, which we did when we crossed North Dakota, and Montana. I had hoped to see the Crescent Moon, but it was too cloudy.

Our Pull through spot.

Day 14: April 10^th: On to Edge-o-Dells Bar & Restaurant, Wisconsin Dells, WI

We left Champaign and continued to the Northwest to Bloomington, and then North on I39 to skirt around Chicago to Rockford and then into Wisconsin towards Madison, to end the day at Wisconsin Dells. At this point we were straight south of the west end of Lake Superior. A cousin from Roseau, Minnesota messaged me and wondered if I would head up to SE Manitoba through Duluth and Sprague Manitoba. Temping as that was, we passed and stayed south to follow the Interstate.

This was the first night we could see the moon since the Solar Eclipse, it was just past Jupiter.   Looked for Comet 40p Pons-Brooke but could not see it in the twilight and the trees. We took a picture with the cell phone from a viewpoint that was free of trees.
	Where we stopped for the night.
We learned that most RV Parks in Wisconsin do not open until April 15th. Our first choice for a campground could not accommodate us. We had to double back to a resort who accommodated us for a small cash payment, no questions asked.	We had power and water and used the Sani Dump on the way out of the park all for $25.00 cash.

Day 15: April 11^th: On to Olson’s Campground, Maple Lake, MN near St. Cloud

During the day we followed the interstate westward towards North Dakota. Driving though the pine forests of Wisconsin, stopped for some Cheese. In the Twin Cities we drove though the centre, dealt with a traffic accident during rush hour. Crossed the mighty Mississippi River one last time.  

This is the St. Croix River crossing that separates Minnesota and Wisconsin.  The westward trek continued through the next few days.	We camped by a lake on a beach, enjoyed a fire. We woke to the sounds of a Heron, and Loons on the lake.  Quiet and peaceful and well off the Interstate.
Before we left, we sat and enjoyed the sun by the lake for a little while. Nice to enjoy the warm sun of spring.

Day 16: April 12^th:  Across Minnesota to Red River Exhibition Campground, Fargo, ND

The next day we followed the Interstate to Fargo. Where we would be due south of Winnipeg, Manitoba.

We crossed from the Mississippi Valley to the Red River (of the North) Valley.  We crossed the Red River at Fargo, no flooding this year. We stopped in Alexandria, Minnesota and refilled our propane tanks and at the Wal*Mart, we shopped for the last time at the Wal*Mart on the west side of Fargo. 

Red River of the North, no flooding this year.

We camped at the Campground on the Red River Exhibition Fairgrounds at Fargo as we could not secure a spot in Jamestown further west as planed.

We were not happy with the showers and would not likely stop there again in the future.   The next morning, we left as soon as we could and headed west on the Interstate towards Montana.

Day 17: April 13^th: Across North Dakota to Small Town RV Campground, Terry, MT (just west of Glendive)

On this day we crossed North Dakota.  It was a full day of driving on I94. But we had a chance to see a lot of scenery, and a lot of prairies.  The weather was nice and springlike, and we stopped to rest a number of times at a number of the Highway Rest stops.

And we crossed the Missouri one more time at Bismarck.  But it will not be the last.  The place always reminds me of the betrayal of the Mandans when they were forced to sign away the rights to their ancestral lands to build the Garrison Dam. I also thought about the journey of La Verendrye and his sons to this country in 1739.  He was the first European to record visiting this country.  In a few years his son’s who ventured further west came back with the first horses.

Western North Dakota is on a flyway, this interesting work of Art was very fitting and worthy of note and pays tribute to our winged friends. A little more to the west and we crossed the Yellowstone River, and we ended the day on Traditional Siksika (Blackfoot / PiedNoir) territory. I now have a little more insight regarding stories that I have heard from my good friend and Siksika Elder, Francis Melting Tallow.

We found a nice campground to stop at on the other side of Glendive Montana.  There was also a time change and we ended the day on Mountain Time.  The Owner of the Small-Town Campground came over and visited us for a while in the evening while we unwound for the day.  I had a chance to grab this photo of our camper under the 5-day old moon.

Day 18: April 14^th: Continue to Double B RV Park Stanford, MT (East of Great Falls)

The next day we headed up to Hwy 200 also called the High Road from Terry and across through Grass Range where we caught HWY 87 through Lewistown.  At Lewistown we met with a downpour, and flooding.  We had planned to stop here, but we kept going towards Great Falls.
	the rainbow after we left Lewistown

At the famed Eddie’s Corner/turn off towards Judith Gap, we met up with the road we had travelled on the way out.
	There would be one more stop before Calgary.  This was as Stanford. There we found a nice campground run by an elderly couple.  We ordered a meal from a restaurant/ casino. While there picking it up, we met a man who had only recently returned home himself from seeing the solar eclipse (in Arkansas.) We talked about the next solar eclipse in 2044. We will not have to travel far for that one.
Before turning in for the night I took this photo of the now 6 day old moon. This would be the last night on the road and the last clear night. Tomorrow Rain/Snow was expected by the end of the day in Montana.

Day 19: April 15^th: To Home in Calgary, AB

This entailed a drive to Great Falls then, a turn North to Canada on I25. 

We stopped in Shelby for one last fill of cheaper US fuel and then on to Sweet Grass/ Coutts border crossing.  Shown here is the Image of the Sweet Grass Hills in the distance which marks the location of the border.
	Around mid-afternoon we crossed back into Canada at Coutts, AB/Sweetgrass, MT. The event was rather mundane.   In spite of being interviewed twice, first on the US side of the border and then again on the Canadian Side.  Both asked about the telescopes in the back of the Jeep and both asked to see solar eclipse pictures, which I proudly shared using my cell phone.  It took us all of about 30 minutes to cross the border.
We drove directly to Calgary, and we arrived home at 19:22 local time. Having stopped once at Claresholm for Gas. We arrived home 4 hours later. We had logged almost 7,000 kms. It snowed that night.

Related Links

Here is how NASA Science documented the solar eclipse.

Other Solar Eclipse Posts on this site.