All four Arboretum staff members traveled to Nebraska for Monday’s solar eclipse. I happened to be on a business errand up there to pick up plants for our upcoming sale, while my co-workers fanned out to different towns in the zone of totality. We had no idea how close in proximity we were to each other until we returned to work Tuesday! Here are some reflections from each of us about our “totality” experiences.

Janelle

Holmesville, NE

“I viewed the solar eclipse with family and friends, including a large group of young children. Watching the kids experience this amazing cosmic event, with such joy and wonder, made the whole day so much more meaningful.”
Janelle visited the home-church of her great-grandmother to get a look at the eclipse. Friends, family and church members shared lunch on the lawn while children enjoyed games and crafts related to the eclipse. Janelle took the video below at the moment of totality when the shadow of the moon fell over the area, creating a look of twilight. Listen for the enthusiastic young boy exclaiming “totality! totality!” in the background; a perfect soundtrack!

Brad

Geneva, NE

“One of the best memories of the moment we hit totality…screams of delight heard from the elementary school about a half mile away.”
Monday was a special father-son bonding experience for Brad and his father Leon. On a last minute whim the two zipped across the state line to witness the total eclipse first hand. Through an old coworker and with the help of serendipity, they ended up welcomed into the home of strangers and watched the event from their yard.

Brad safely watching the eclipse through his solar glasses.

Scott

York, NE

“Impossible to describe. Watching it with the 120 people on our trip in such a beautiful setting made it even better.”
The Arboretum received overwhelming interest in the Solar Eclipse viewing trip. Scott and our board chairwoman Lorna Harder led two buses full of Arboretum supporters, nature enthusiasts and umbraphiles  to Prairie Gold Nursery in York, just on the north side of the totality zone. We are so grateful that the nursery staff were willing to let the Arboretum commandeer their parking lot for this event. Our trip-goers were delighted with the opportunity to buy some beautiful plants while waiting for the eclipse to begin.

Only a sliver of the sun left showing. Photo by Jim Griggs, http://www.selective-focus.com/

Katie

Beatrice, NE

I watched the show from a friend’s family farm near Beatrice, very near the center of the totality zone. Out in the open country, I experienced the natural phenomena of the eclipse as the moon’s shadow draped over the land: sudden stillness of the wind, quieting of the birds, and a sunset-orange coloration encircling the entire horizon. I resisted the urge to take photos. Instead, I just soaked in the eerie feeling of darkness during the day and reflected on all the changes around me.  I had been very skeptical in past weeks about all the hullabaloo leading up to this eclipse. It can’t be as exciting as everyone was talking it up to be, right? I am glad to be proven wrong, and so happy that I happened to be in the zone of totality so I could view it for a few moments without the solar glasses.

Arboretum supporter and master photographer Jim Griggs agreed to let us use some of his amazing shots taken in far western Nebraska for this blog post. Find more of his photography at http://www.selective-focus.com/