Reading Time: 5 minutes
After chasing the annular solar eclipse last year, I had to chase this year’s total solar eclipse. I wanted to be in the path of totality but wasn’t sure where to go because of my work schedule and weather.
From what I read, many people favored Southern Texas and historically more northern parts of the US had a rather bad outlook in regarding to weather conditions like cloud coverage.
As the date of the eclipse came closer and closer, I kept an outlook on the weather forecast for the path of totality. It happened to be that I was in Florida and needed to fly to California that week. I was looking for suitable options.
Location
I decided to fly to St. Louis on Sunday and from there drive to the path of totality, which would be a 1.5 to a 2-hour drive, depending on the location. I made my plans and reservation only two days before the trip and got lucky to find a hotel for a very decent rate and also was able to find cheap flights and was able to get a rental car. I booked the Hyatt Regency in St. Louis, read my review here.
I left Fort Lauderdale on a flight bound for Dallas-Ft. Worth. My seat neighbors on that flight were heading to Dallas to watch the eclipse there, but the forecast was predicting less favorable conditions and showers after the eclipse. Well, we all know how that goes with the weather man predictions. You can’t really trust them.
The forecast for St. Louis and the nearby area sitting in the path of totality was partly cloudy.
I got up the next morning at 5:30 a.m. to get breakfast right when they would open at 6 a.m. While I was waiting for my food to come out, I looked up spots on the map which are centered in the path of totality and decided to head to Jackson, MO.
Spotting Location Jackson, MO
I checked Google Maps for locations in Jackson to set up camp for the eclipse. Preferably, I wanted to have a place with a restroom as I would be sitting there for a few hours to make sure to get a spot. I decided to set up base at Brookside Park in Jackson, MO. Little did I know that this would be the official spotting site for the town’s eclipse festival.
The rest area off I-55 at mile marker 110 was already shut down as people set up there to watch the eclipse. As I took the off-ramp towards Jackson, lots of people were already set up at the nearby gas station. I kept going all the way, as there was still plenty of space out here if the parking lot at the park was full.
I arrived at Brookside Park just before 9 a.m. and the parking lot was about ¾ full. This was by looking at the official marked parking spots. But we all know how people are. They just started parking everywhere, even on the lawn of the park. Which decency would forbid, but people are just ignorant to other people and nature. It is just a sad fact. The sad part is a nearby parking lot at the swimming pool was still wide open. While I had so many hours to kill, I walked through town and found many other parking lots which were completely empty. Ok, the downside was, there were no restrooms nearby. One person in town tried to make a buck of the eclipse and rented parking spaces on the business property for $20 for all day parking. When I walked by there, about 3 hours before the eclipse, not one single car was parked there. I don’t know if there was ever anyone going there and paying for parking as there were so many spots in town to park. During the time of totality, the sun will be at an angle of about 60°. So you can watch it pretty much from everywhere in this small town.
Amenities at Brookside Park
The city set up extra garbage cans and extra porta potties next to the on-site restroom facility. It turned out to be an excellent choice to come here, as there were also a few food trucks and even life entertainment.
It was a great decision to come here. I didn’t know that anything like this would be here, I was just expecting a regular city park with other people showing up. The city had set up a booth too with a moon pie eating contest and they handed out free eclipse glasses. I grabbed some for future eclipses.
The park become crowded but not overly full. There was still plenty of open space as people watched the moon slowly transitioning in front of the sun.
Total Solar Eclipse
I wasn’t sure what to expect and brought a second camera to do eventually a timelapse with an interesting foreground. Due to the high angle of the sun during totality, it was hard to get anything framed in the foreground at my location.
I used only my Canon EOS 5D MkII as my main camera with an EF 70-200 with a 2x Extender and a Thousand Oaks Solar Filter to capture the eclipse.
Capturing the eclipse during the phase where the moon would slowly move in front of the sun was easy. I took most of the pictures hand-held. Only during totality I set up my camera on a tripod as it would be very very dark and I would need some longer exposure times, which can’t be done anymore hand-held.
Even though totality would only last about 4 minutes, it flew by like in seconds. Between shooting the eclipse I took a quick break to actually enjoy this event in all of its beauty.
Photo Gallery
29 photos
Conclusion
I am so glad that the random location I picked turned out to be a great choice. It was awe-inspiring moment. It is really worth it to get out of your way, if you can, to experience a total solar eclipse. Everyone who tells you 99% is not enough, is right. Go and get the full experience. This eclipse was for certain people a once in a lifetime event. The next total solar eclipse in the United States won’t be until 2044. There will be an earlier total solar eclipse in 2033, which can only be seen from Remote-Alaska. Not many people will be able to see this one.
The worst part of the event was the drive back to St. Louis. The trip to the park took me about 1.5 hours. Getting back was slightly over four hours. I was so happy that I booked the departure flight for the next day as I didn’t expect the traffic to be so bad.
Peter is an award-winning photographer who travels all over the world to capture the beauty of our planet as well as the achievements of humanity. Follow Peter on his travel blog Gate to Adventures for more amazing places to go and explore.
