Believe it or not, we did not decide on exactly where we were going until Saturday night. To ensure full flexibility to select viewing locations, we canceled the precious hotel room my good friend generously offered to us. Finally, around 10pm on Saturday night, we decided NOT to stay in the Chicago area.
Sunday, the action day, we continued monitoring the weather conditions all morning... until about 2pm, we finally selected 3 locations in Kentucky.
We left home around 5pm on Sunday to avoid heavy traffic, and arrived in Kentucky around 12am Monday morning. In the dark, we drove through all 3 pre-selected locations and settled in at Vista Ridge Park, Kuttawa, Kentucky. I never spend much time in Kentucky for the 29 years I've been in this country, but I have to say, summer nights in this little Vista Park was quite pleasant - humid but with occasional cool breeze; quiet but with crickets singing in the woods. In front of us, Cumberland River was running calmly and spaciously in the dark...
Thank goodness, after all the evaluation and reevaluations, Monday turned out to be a clear day in Kuttawa, Kentucky. Almost no cloud, but hot and humid. My job was to manage 2 tripods, 2 professional cameras, plus my iPhone video during the 175-minute eclipse. There was sweat, sunburn and exhaustion... there were 456 photos and timelapse videos... However, nothing can replace the amazing experience during the 2-minute eclipse at totality and the 10 minutes before and after that. I have never experienced the surreal, sudden calmness in the air; I have never seen the shadows being distorted so strangely; and I have never heard so many dogs barking all at once in the middle of a nightly dark day...
Driving home was far more than a nightmare! We left the park at 3:20pm on 8/21/17 and did not get home until 6:08am on 8/22/17. An usual 5-hour drive turned into a 15-hour drama... made you wonder why on earth everyone in the whole country decided to come out on Route 57!! The nightmare did not stop with the traffic jam. In the middle of the night, strong lightenings were everywhere lighting up dark skies and the horizon. It was followed by strong storms and endless thunders... The whole thing was creepy to say the least, and it reminded me of an old Chinese saying about the solar eclipse - "the heavenly dog eating the sun!"
Nonetheless, we got home safe and sound... with our memorable experience of the 2017 solar eclipse. Enjoy the one and only photo I was able to produce!
Kuttawa, KY
August 21, 2017
