August - Solar Eclipse

The big event of this summer was the solar eclipse! People have been talking about this eclipse for months. Brodie & I were not planning on going anywhere special . . . where we live in Camas was already in the 97% totality zone. We were going to just watch the eclipse from home. However, last minute, we decided to travel the extra hour to get to the "path of totality". Originally, we didn't want to deal with the traffic and crowds, but we figured it would be lame to stay home when we are so close! Luckily Brodie's grandparents thought ahead and had reserved a camp site near Salem, OR. Brodie and I drove down late at 9pm the night before, and we didn't hit any traffic! We spent the night on the floor of Grandma and Grandpa Heppler's motor home and then left the next evening. Short and sweet but "totality" worth it! Get it? :)

all set up and ready to go

the whole crew

the sun before the eclipse

what it looked like through the eclipse glasses

here's a neat shot taken with Brodie's phone that shows a reflection of the eclipse

within minutes, our view went from this. . . 

 . . . to this!! When the moon covered the sun, the temperature dropped and it looked like dusk

completely covered by the moon

After the eclipse was over, we stayed around for the day to avoid the traffic. We played lawn games, went out for ice cream, played cards, and then left after dinner. Thank you for letting us crash the party, Grandma and Grandpa!