August 25-28, 2017: Prudence's Birthday in San Antonio
	July 2-6, 2017: Fourth of July in San Antonio
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About a year ago, when the 2017 Solar Eclipse began to be widely anticipated, I looked into taking a road trip to someplace in the path of totality. My first thought was to work in a trip to see Judy in North Carolina with a stop in far northwest Georgia and a small town in the path. Another option was a town just twenty miles northwest of Charleston, South Carolina, which was also in the path.

To keep my options open for a while, I made reservations in both places, knowing that if I waited until everybody and his brother-in-law were making plans, not only would space get snapped up, but hotels and motels in the path of totality would start jacking up their prices. I didn't tell Fred anything; the eclipse wasn't on his radar late in 2016.

Getting to St. Robert, Missouri

By April or May of 2017, it became evident that my sister wouldn't join us in Georgia for the eclipse, and that working in a trip to see her in August wouldn't be in the cards either, as at that time of year Fred cannot be away from his house and his watering chores for that long.

So I started thinking about changing plans, looking for a place closer to home that would still be in the path of totality. I settled on Sullivan, Missouri, a small city southwest of St. Louis. It would be hundreds of miles closer to Dallas than Georgia would be, and so we could do the eclipse in a short three-day trip.

So I canceled both hotels in the southeast, noting when I did so that their rates had already almost doubled. I found I was too late to get a hotel room right in Sullivan, but I could find plenty of them about an hour southwest in the town of St. Robert, near Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.

In May, I let Fred in on the plans for the eclipse. We were having a discussion with someone about it, and about how it would only be a partial eclipse in the Dallas area, so I told Fred then that I'd made plans for us to get into the path of totality up in Missouri. I think he was pleased that he'd get to see the eclipse- as neither he nor I might get another chance. (We will, as it turns out, but to maximize the chance of good weather, we thought it would be best to try for this one.)

We left Dallas on Sunday, August 20th, heading up a familiar route along US Highway 75 (where I was treated to a short stop at Fred's house so he collect a few things for the trip).

Eventually, US 75 turns into US 69 and that highway eventually connects with I-44 east. We found ourselves at the exit for St. Robert along about 6 o'clock, and we found the Liberty Lodge, where I had made reservations, easily enough. We checked in and eventually walked across to the other side of I-44 to eat dinner at a Cracker Barrel (which has become something of our "go-to" supper option when we are going back and forth to Florida.

We returned to the lodge and did some planning for our run up to Sullivan the next day. (As I mentioned, all the reasonably-priced places in Sullivan were booked up, that town being right in the center of the path of totality.)

In the late afternoon, we were walking around the Liberty Lodge property and Fred found these interesting trees and wanted to get some pictures of them. It was their bark that intrigued him, and so I was happy to take the few photographs at left.

As it turned out, if you are curious, these were paper bark birch trees.

Getting Situated at Sullivan's City Lake Park

The eclipse was to begin around 11AM, so we wanted to be in a viewing area close to that time. This meant that, allowing for the 65-mile run up to Sullivan, we needed to leave right about 9AM from St. Robert.

We were out on I-44 before 9AM, and by shortly after 10AM were getting off the highway at Sullivan, MO. There did not seem to be a terrific amount of traffic, which I found a bit surprising.

The town had, helpfully, put up some signs at the exit directing visitors to a couple of viewing sites for the eclipse. I assume they didn't want people just parking anywhere downtown to watch. We followed the signs around to the south to a site called City Lake Park, and found it with no trouble at all.

We came into the park on Progress Drive; the park itself is essentially a lot of open fields for running around, baseball diamonds and soccer fields, and a bunch of picnic tables and playgrounds. There were some signs directing visitors where to park, which turned out to be on the grass by a temporary fence. There were maybe six or eight other cars there.

We saw a bunch of maybe three or four trees north of a large open field, so we headed over there to put down a towel or two under one of them. There were two other groups already there- one that looked like a large group of three or four families, each with a bunch of kids, and the other a group of maybe ten or twelve college-age young people with a couple of adults.

It was a perfect place to be; we had a shady place to wait out the pre-eclipse period and a large open field to lay down and watch the actual event. You will see the group of trees in a number of our pictures; and it was good we had the shady spot because the day itself was very warm.

Relaxing Before the Eclipse

We brought one of the large towels from the car to spread on the ground; we knew we would be waiting for over an hour as the moon made its slow transit across the face of the sun. Fred had a book to read, and I just wandered around, periodically glancing up to see if I could detect the very slow fading of the light. We did both have some eclipse glasses; I had ordered them online when I first came across the site that I used for planning our possible trips.

I Am So Ready to Look Directly at the Sun

So we settled in for a wait. Having arrived at the park around eleven, we knew that it wouldn't be until after noon that the eclipse would become noticeable with the naked eye. The glare of the sun would be too great to allow you to see the dark moon, even with the best glasses, until it was covering 80% or more of the sun's disk. Nor would the slowly darkening day be noticeable until then.

The Total Eclipse of the Heart Sun

As I said, we had a good wait, more than an hour, before there was really anything to see. I tried taking some pictures with my little camera, but whether I was holding it or it was on the tripod, it wasn't at all suited for this kind of specialized photography. Looking at the display was impossible; the sun was simply too bright. And I was concerned about taking any pictures until the period of totality for fear of burning out the camera's internal sensor. (92 million miles away, and the sun can burn you to a crisp- pretty amazing).

Odd Images at 80% Totality

Can You Spot Both "Cameras"?

Look at these odd crescent-shaped images all over the ground under the trees; I am sure you can figure out what they are, but what causes them? As it turns out, they are images of the sun generated because the gaps between the leaves of the trees make natural pinhole cameras. Those dappled blobs of light under trees are actually images of the sun, as are these. We ignore the blobs, but the crescents, the sun's disk not covered by the moon, attract our attention. Incidentally, since the sun is so far away, and the rays of light so near parallel when they arrive here, the "pinholes" don't have to be particularly small or particularly round to generate pretty good images. What you are looking at is evidence of that.

(Click on Thumbnails to View)

For the hour or so before the eclipse was far enough along to get really interesting to those of us without telescopes, Fred and I, as well as the families and kids, just kept looking up- standing or laying in the grass. At about one in the afternoon it really began to get noticeably dark, and the most interesting part of the eclipse began.

So, as for the eclipse itself, it was, as you would expect, immensely interesting; it was also fairly easy for me to imagine what people might have thought was happening before the time when they actually knew about eclipses and what they were. To experience night falling in the middle of the day would have been terrifying; as it was, it was still awe-inspiring. Let me begin with two movies, the first taken shortly after we arrived and the second just ten minutes before totality, respectively:

A Look Around the Viewing Area (Mouseover Image Above for Video Controls)

Ten Minutes Before Totality (Mouseover Image Above for Video Controls)

Towards the end of the second movie, you can almost see it getting darker, as "night" is falling much more rapidly than usual.

Totality

Now I have to admit that none of the pictures I tried to take of the actual eclipse turned out decently enough to include here. I am sure it was a combination of my not knowing how to photograph the event and the inadequacy of my little camera to the task.

On the other hand, quite a few of the pictures Fred took with his larger, more capable camera turned out; the best one, I thought, is the one at left, showing the eclipse right at totality.

He also took a number of other pictures using different settings, but all taken during the period of totality. A selection of these are below:

(Click on Thumbnails to View)

Lastly, I did make one movie during totality, although I will caution you that it really doesn't express how odd everything felt here at one in the afternoon looking more like 9PM on a summer evening:

Night Has Fallen- At One in the Afternoon (Mouseover Image Above for Video Controls)

It is hard to adequately describe what it is like during a total solar eclipse to one who has not experienced it. To say that it is like nightfall is to ignore the otherworldly effects that the actual observer experiences.

Not much happens until totality approaches. The sun is so brilliant that the only observable effects to the naked eye are those crescent-shaped shadows that appear under trees. Obviously, if you have the right equipment, you can see the entire march to totality, but we are talking about the observer who has no more than appropriate glasses here.

About ten minutes before totality, it begins to darken perceptibly (even though it does not appear that the sun has changed much). The animals know, as birds stop chirping, insects change their behavior and sounds, and even people notice and conversation tends to cease. And then it arrives- the shadow of the moon. You can actually see it approach over the landscape, particularly if you have a view downhill in the right direction.

And then darkness falls. It is not darkness as in the middle of the night; the sun's corona still gives off enough light that the sky rarely gets darker than a deep navy blue or purple. But the stars come out, and at least the brighter ones are visible to the naked eye. (You can see at least one in the movie at right.) During totality it becomes very quiet- unusually so, it seems, but more because there is such a contrast with normal daytime sounds; the "night" of an eclipse falls about ten or twenty times as fast as night does usually. Totality is awe-inspiring. If one stops to think, we would never experience this event if our moon were not just the right size and just the right distance from the earth. Mars, for example, does not have total solar eclipses; neither of its moons are the right size at the right distance.

And then it is over. As the moon slides past totality, the brilliance of the sun returns almost instantly- as if the moon had disappeared entirely. Of course, most of the sun's disk is still covered, but what sliver there is has such an intensity that sun looks normal, and the light it casts seems only slightly dimmed. All in all, the experience, my third, is pretty amazing.

I might advise that if you have never experienced a total solar eclipse, plan on coming to Texas in 2024, when three of the state's four largest cities (Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio) will be right in the path of totality, and a drive of 30 minutes or less will take you to the exact center of that path so you can experience all six or seven minutes of totality.

After the eclipse, we drove back into Sullivan to get a late lunch, and then hopped on I-44 back towards Dallas.

Onondaga Cave

We'd gotten about twenty miles down the expressway when we saw the signs for Onondaga Cave, and since it wasn't much after two-thirty in the afternoon, we thought that we'd stop and take a tour (this being one Missouri cave that we'd never visited).

The route to the cave took us off the Interstate and through the town of Leasburg, and then another six miles south towards the Meramec River.

Onondaga Cave is located in Onondaga Cave State Park, which is situated on the Meramec River approximately 6 miles southeast of the village of Leasburg. The park was established in 1982. Park activities include cave tours, camping, fishing, hiking, picnicking, and swimming.

In 1850, the area was settled by George and Statirah Cresswell, who built a mill on the Meramec River. When a large flood destroyed the mill, the Cresswells sold the land to William Davis who built a new mill on the property by a spring. In 1886, while studying the outlet of the spring that powered the new mill, Charles Christopher discovered that a cave existed behind the spring. With a borrowed boat and two friends, Christopher entered the cavern and spent an entire day exploring the tunnels within the property. He acquired the land over the cave and began developing his discovery as the "Mammoth Cave of Missouri", spawning a property dispute with Davis that lasted more than fifty years.

At the time, "cave onyx" was in demand for architecture, and many caves in the area were being harvested for this purpose. Funds for development of the cave was something neither Christopher nor Davis could spare, and the property was eventually sold to a St. Louis group.

The cave was opened as a tourist attraction for the upcoming Louisiana Purchase Exposition planned in St. Louis for 1904, using an Iroquois word for "People of the Mountain." Land disputes led to a partitioning of the cave, affecting tourism. Another problem for Onondaga came from the commercial opening of the nearby Cathedral Cave.

In 1932, one part of Onondaga opened as Missouri Caverns- the first electrically lit cave in the Missouri Ozarks region, and Cathedral Cave also offered competition. A new entrance to Onondaga was dug out in 1938 (the entrance currently used when entering and exiting the cave). Until this time, tourists entered and left the cavern by boat. Decreased tourism up through 1945 at all three caves led to the closing of Missouri Caverns and Cathedral Cave- and Onondaga's own future was uncertain.

After the war, the three caves were consolidated, and the electrification of the rural area of the state allowed the entire cave to be wired for lighting, and the old tour paths were replaced with new trails, stairs, and bridges. This began a time of prosperity for the caverns; celebrities were invited to visit the caverns, stories were written about the caverns, and an advertising campaign began in all forms of media. Since then, while there have been other disputes and lean times, Onondaga Cave has prospered enough that it has remained open and (barely) profitable.

With cooperation from the owners and the assistance of the Nature Conservancy, Onondaga became a state park, and the cave was designated as a National Natural Landmark.

In 1986 a large celebration was held in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the cave's discovery. Under the management of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources' Division of State Parks, Onondaga Cave is now in its second century and secure from further land disputes and vandalism. A new visitor's center and the nature museum were erected in 1990.

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When we arrived, it had been quite warm, so I just had a t-shirt on, but as soon as we got into the anteroom for our tour explanation, I realized that I'd be underdressed for inside so I ran back out to the car to get a long-sleeve shirt.

Our tour guide first gave us a fifteen-minute recap of the history and geology of the cave and then took us inside for our 90-minute tour.

As usual, we first had to descend a rather long staircase to get down to the cave level; when we did, we found that the cave was quite extensive (also as usual, not all of it is open for tourists) and the formations are pretty nice. This was not the prettiest cave we'd been in, nor was it the largest, but for being right off the highway and easy to get to, it was quite good.

We took lots of pictures, but I have selected only the best of them to include here- in a slideshow so you can go through them fairly quickly. That show is at left and, as with all slideshows in this album, you can use the little arrows in the lower corners of each slide to move back and forth through the pictures. You can also track your progress through the 30 slides by referring to the index numbers in the upper left corner.

Enjoy going through Onondaga Cave with us!

I took some movies in the cave too, but only two of them are worth including here. You can use the players below to watch them:

The Largest Cave Formation (Mouseover Image Above for Video Controls)

One of the Beautiful Cave Pools (Mouseover Image Above for Video Controls)

When we left the cave and the visitor center, we decided to walk down the hill to where there was a water and air exit from the cave down to the Meramec River. On the way down the hill, Fred caught some butterflies among the flowers. Down by the river there was a path that led over to the glade where the cave exit was.

At the Cave Exit

The Pond at the Cave Exit

I tried to make a movie to show the actual exit, where there was cool air and water coming out, but it didn't turn out well. Off to the side though, behind a grate, was an old cave entrance.

It was about four in the afternoon, and we could have gone back to St. Robert and stayed another night, but we thought we would just head on home. After stopping for supper, we got home about eleven-thirty.

You can use the links below to continue to another photo album page.

	August 25-28, 2017: Prudence's Birthday in San Antonio
	July 2-6, 2017: Fourth of July in San Antonio
	Return to the Index for 2017