Total Eclipse: April 8, 2024

On Monday, April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse crossed North America, passing over Mexico, the United States, and Canada. The next total solar eclipse visible from the contiguous United States won't be until August 23, 2044, so we decided to take advantage of the shortish proximity to the April eclipse, by driving 6 hours to Ohio to experience it in totality.  We drove down the day before, and had no traffic, and spent the afternoon/evening in Cuyahoga National Park, about 20 miles south of Cleveland.  

We picked the Brandywine Gorge loop for a walk and enjoyed the beautiful views.  Cuyahoga National Park is set in the middle of a populated area, making it different from other national parks I have been to.  

We didn't book our hotel until the last minute, so there wasn't much choice and most places were ridiculously overpriced.  We ended up at a junky motel with cigarette burns in the bedding and a faucet handle on the sink that fell off if you weren't careful turning on the water because the selection was severely limited.  Nate commented how strange it was that the motel parking lots had an Audi, Range Rover, and a BMW so apparently other people also picked a place to stay they normally wouldn't have.

The next morning, after breakfast at a local diner, we went on a hike at at Gorge Metro Park along the Cuyahoga River in Akron, Ohio and saw the Gorge Dam.  This dam is actually scheduled to be shut down by 2026.  Experts say that closing the dam will provide substantial environmental benefits to the local area.

A short walk away is the Mary Campbell Cave, also known as Old Maid's Kitchen,  There was a small plaque nearby that read 

"In Memory of Mary Campbell
Who in 1759 at the age of twelve years was kidnapped from her home in Western Pennsylvania by Delaware Indians. In the same year these Indians were forced to migrate to this section where they erected their village at the big falls of the Cuyahoga. As a result Mary Campbell was the first white child on the Western Reserve and this tablet marks the cave where she and the Indian women temporarily lived. Later, in 1764, she was returned to her home.
Erected by the Mary Campbell Society Children of the American Revolution of Cuyahoga Falls, 1934"

We found a sign labeling this type of rock with all the holes in it "pudding stone":

The total eclipse was scheduled to happen a little after 3pm, and our morning had disappeared.  We then went to Cuyahoga National Park to watch the eclipse.  We were going to park at the Ledges trailhead parking, but heard it was full.  Luckily, the nearby Pine Grove parking lot seemed to have spots, so we headed there.  We ended up with the last parking spot, as the national park seemed to be full everywhere.  It was only a 5 minute walk to Ledges, where park rangers had set up activities and crafts for the kids that rotated every 30 minutes.  

We hiked on the Ledges trail, aptly named, and I thought it was gorgeous.

We had our solar eclipse glasses out and were able to see as the moon began to slowly inch over the sun while we were still on our hike.  

Even though we were lucky to get a parking spot, there was plenty of room for viewing the eclipse at the field.  Spectators were set up on blankets and chairs, with ranger-led activities for anyone desiring that.  

We met my friend Lois and her kids there to see the eclipse.

The kids played in between viewing the moon slowly cover the sun.

The totality of the solar eclipse only lasted a few minutes and everyone cheered loudly when it happened.  Supposedly, we should have been able to witness birds and other animals go silent because of the sudden darkness, but the crowd was so loud that we wouldn't have been able to observe wildlife.  It was very festive, but the time was incredibly short-lived.  It felt like it ended as soon as it started.

We were also so lucky with the weather, as the few clouds that were in the sky were thin and completely invisible with the solar eclipse glasses on. 

I didn't get any good pictures of the actual eclipse, but here are photos that one of Nate's coworkers took from Lake Erie in Ohio (just north of where we were):

And a different coworker of Nate's took this picture from Maryland (where it didn't reach full totality):

It was a really cool experience and memorable.  The drive home was awful though with everyone leaving at similar times.  The rest stop took forever to get us food because lines were so long.  Also, on the drive home, Google Maps sent us on a wild goose chase in search of a faster route.  At some point in Pennsylvania, it had us get off the interstate onto a highway.  However, the highway turned onto a smaller road, and then we were soon on a dirt road driving through a forest.  There were lots of other cars with us, because they too were following Google.  One by one, we saw cars pull over and turn around, not happy with the directions from Google Maps.  We stuck it out and eventually rejoined a highway.  I do wish Google had a setting that allowed the user to specify 'No dirt roads.'

Overall, it was a great mini trip to see a cool astronomic phenomenon!