Back in 2017, Vivian and I went to see a total solar eclipse in Beatrice, Nebraska. We had some heavy cloud cover and missed out on half the totality, but it was still an amazing experience, and I couldn’t wait to do it again with the kids seven years later.
On Sunday, we drove around 481 miles down to Mammoth Spring, Arkansas, where I’d booked a cabin for a couple days. This small town of just over 900 people was in the heart of the Ozarks and near the center of totality, giving us over four minutes in the moon’s shadow. It was a long drive, with a couple stops for gas and to stretch our legs at a small park in Clinton, Missouri. We arrived around dinnertime not sure where we would eat. Then we bumped into the Ferrill family from Louisiana down on Main Street, who were having a crawfish boil and etouffee down on Main Street. They shared some of their food with us as we talked about the eclipse and their plans to open a Cajun restaurant at their location on 4th and Main.
We went by Mammoth Spring State Park to scope out our spot for the eclipse the next day. The park is home to a large waterfall that was once used to generate electricity over a hundred years ago. We spotted some otters swimming in the water and got to stretch our legs a bit before heading back to our cabin for the night.
The weather for Eclipse Day was just perfect, having gone from partly cloudy to clear literally overnight. I wound up dropping Vivian and the kids off at the park and then walking the half-mile down from our cabin, since the parking lot was full hours before the eclipse started. Among the crowds were a large group of Mennonites, as well as people from as far away as Germany and Sweden.
The kids got the chance to play on the playground a bit and see some snapping turtles and catfish down at the fish hatchery and aquarium. The park was also right next to some railroad tracks, and I saw a couple people putting pennies on the tracks from the train cars to run over, and one man gave one to Hannah to take with her.
We ate some lunch by the water and then positioned our chairs with a clear view of the sky for the moment of totality when it came around 1:54 PM. The kids got excited watching the partial phases through their solar glasses until it came down to just a sliver. One man was also smart enough to bring a colander to see the half-moon shapes through the holes on the ground.
As totality approached, it became dim enough that the automatic lights came on, and the sudden coolness in the air and the darkness in the distance made it feel like a storm was coming.
I had the moment timed to the second and got to see the diamond ring twinkling as day gave way to night in a matter of seconds. Then we had four minutes to gas at the conjoined sun and moon in the sky, sparkling obsidian jewel.
It was a vastly different experience from what I saw in Beatrice seven years ago. There were no clouds to obscure any of our viewing, and I could see the red twinkles of Baily’s Beads around the corona as it glowed in the sky. I snapped a few photos and got some video of the wondrous event while it lasted, but I was also quite happy that the four of us could just see it with our own eyes. It was a beautiful sight to behold.
I had to spend a couple minutes just recovering from the event afterward, and then we packed explored the park a bit more with the kids. We walked along the waterfalls and got a family picture next to the larger one. Hannah also got to hold a dachshund puppy a woman was selling out by the parking lot.
Afterward, we dropped by an organic grocery store and café called Back to Eden down the street from our cabin to have some ice cream to cool off together. Then we returned to our cabin, where Vivian made some burgers and baked beans for dinner. We ate on our cabin’s porch together and watched a few of the unique birds in the area as the sun went down.
We packed up the next morning and headed on back to Omaha. On the way, we stopped to eat Lambert’s Café in Ozark, Missouri. I’d told Vivian about eating at the original location in Sikeston years ago, and we only just learned on this trip about a second location near Springfield.
We immediately got to have some “throwed rolls” together and even some fried okra before we’d ordered our actual food. Vivian and I both had chicken fried steak, but we wound up filling ourselves on the “pass arounds” that kept coming to our table, which included fried potatoes, macaroni and tomatoes, and even more throwed rolls. I’d hardly touched my chicken fried steak by the time I got full, so I took it with me for lunch tomorrow.
The, just up the street in Springfield, we stopped at Buc-ee’s, a giant gas station and “country store” I’d heard about repeatedly but didn’t know existed anywhere close by (at least outside of Texas). We filled our tank ad then browsed around the giant store, filled with themed merchandise and a food court that included fudge and a counter full of beef jerky. I wound up getting at travel mug just as a souvenir before we left.
Then in Kansas City, we dropped by the World War I museum so the kids could stretch their legs a bit and we could look at the giant memorial. The monument is now over 100 years old, but still quite awe-inspiring, and we got a nice view of the city before we eventually headed on for the final leg of our journey home.
We’re covering from our trip now, but I honestly couldn’t have been happier with the way it went. The next eclipse will be 20 years from now, so I was glad that this one chance to see it as a family happened so perfectly — particularly the weather. If we ever see such a thing as a family again, it may very well be seeing it with a couple grandchildren. (We’ll see.)
Greetings from Mammoth Springs!
