A home for my words.

I’d regrettably missed the 2017 total solar eclipse and vowed not to let getting a group together prevent me from catching the 2024 eclipse. I even purchased eclipse glasses months in advance. I had considered flying down to Mexico to view it, but instead chose one of the closest hubs to me: Dallas, TX. This was great since it would also be my first time touring the city of Dallas.

Dallas was understandably packed given the approaching natural wonder, but I really enjoyed walking around. I would have loved to have some good barbecue, but wait times exceeded anything I was willing to invest. I did, however, enjoy a burger back in my hotel room while bingeing a few hours of true crime programs followed by a Friends marathon.

The forecast leading up to the big day called for thunderstorms, but I held on to hope. By morning, fears of rain during totality had cleared, but clouds were still a concern. Low clouds would mean that Dallas would witness nothing of the eclipse and my hotel and flight money would basically sink down the drain. Supposedly clouds that were high in the sky would mean we still had a chance. I woke up that morning and the sky was clear. Any clouds that I did see were high up. Great!

I’d originally planned to watch the total solar eclipse from the Sam Houston Trail Park, but that would’ve left me further in the opposite direction of the airport and reviews said it was incorrectly marked in GPS and therefore hard to find. I’m so grateful that I learned about the DFW plane spotting area and chose that instead. Plane spotting is favorite hobby of mine on any day, and this would make things even more special than I could have hoped for. After my Uber dropped me off, I walked around the area to get a feel for my preferred spot. There were babies and blankets and telescopes (oh my). I enjoyed the people watching and plane watching as the hour ticked by. We were even able to hear the air traffic control dispatch!

At just minutes out from totality I ignored a mosquito bite that tried to rain on my parade and practiced grounding in the earth while a woman 40 feet away from me held a series of tree poses. Just as the Sun had become a tiny sliver nearly entirely covered by the Moon…some clouds rolled it. I could feel the energy of my fellow onlookers. We were collectively holding our breaths as crickets and birds began to stir. I could hear planes in the distance. Thankfully, just before totality, the clouds cleared once again. It was epic. I could see the glow of our Sun behind the Moon, but the sky and everything around me was dark. People grasped onto their telescopes, staring up at the sky in total awe. I was grinning openly, the smile pushing past my usual timidness. 

I didn’t have a fancy camera to accurately capture the moment, but I did try to snap images quickly. At some point during the eclipse, I had a thought that I’m sure many others had: if you had no idea what was going on, would you think that this sight in front of you meant that the world was ending? 

Even after totality passed and the sun washed over us once again, the buzz of nature-marveling lingered in the crowd. I overheard one man in his 50’s say “$1,000 for 4 minutes, and it was worth it.” I silently agreed with him. I stood closer to the air traffic control loud speaker, not yet ready to leave the space, and happened to drop in on the middle of an air traffic controller making a joke: “well, it was just night two minutes ago.” Cue another huge smile.

I felt keenly aware of the Earth’s positioning on that day. The Moon gliding between us and the Sun. Our orbit. During the eclipse, the change of light made it seem like I could see layers of clouds much farther out in the atmosphere than usual. It dawned on me that at so many other places in so many other states tons of people had all just taken the time to gaze up and pay tribute to the Sun and the Moon. There were festival-goers, families, and even couples getting married during the eclipse. It felt like a unifying experience and I am happy that I was able to experience it.

What it looked like after the eclipse

The experience made me brainstorm where I might plant myself in the world for the next Total Solar Eclipse 😉