Once in a Lifetime

In case you've been hiding under a rock, I want to make sure you know that the eclipse is coming. THE ECLIPSE! You know, next Monday's nearly sacred event, when the moon will blot out the sun for two whole minutes, give or take a few seconds--that is, if you live along the path that bisects the U.S. from coast to coast.

I live right on the path. Here in Gering, in the Nebraska panhandle, we can expect about a minute and a half of total eclipse, with partial eclipse lasting for more than an hour on either side of the 11:49 a.m. magic minute. A few miles north of us, people will experience two and a half minutes of totality. Click here to see exact starting and ending times for our area.

It's exciting, for sure. The last time a total eclipse bisected the US from the Pacific to the Atlantic was 99 years ago, in 1918. Since then, there have been a couple of total solar eclipses that covered far fewer states, and several more partial eclipses, but nothing like this for most of us. I guess it is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

One other thing makes this eclipse unique: the media coverage or, more specifically, the Internet coverage. The Internet offers maps, charts, times, warnings, weather reports, eclipse glasses, suggestions of the best viewing locales, reviews of said locations, ad nauseam.

One city-dwelling meteorologist dutifully researched the best spot in the US to view the eclipse, based upon probable clear skies and wide open viewing space, and picked (insert drum roll here) Scottsbluff, Nebraska. Then he wrote a blog about it, stating that he and his cronies plan to make the trek to the boonies of Scotts Bluff County, where, as he implied, the people are so backwards that they won't know how to treat the sophisticated city folks who will be descending on them, and will have no idea how to prepare for such an influx of people. Further, he went so far as to call our part of the country flat and boring.

Clearly, he didn't complete his "due diligence."

We have been told to expect thousands of visitors this weekend, some flying in from all over the US, and from as far away as Europe and other distant continents. We have been directed to gas up our vehicles before the weekend, and finish any necessary grocery shopping before Friday, because gas stations expect to run out of gas, and supermarkets expect to run low on staples. We have been further cautioned to stay off the roads as much as possible, to make way for the overabundance of visitors whose SUVs and rental cars will be clogging our highways, and who, I might add, probably have no clue how to drive across our desirable, wide open spaces on two-lane highways, let alone on our narrow, sometimes winding, gravel roads and two-tracks.

Some communities across the country are planning eclipse festivals. Here in western Nebraska, we can choose from several special weekend activities, and we have a choice of designated viewing sites, as well, in hopes that most visitors won't line up their vehicles along the edges of our country roads.

I'll be heading out to Meagan's house for the day, where we can view the eclipse without undue distraction. (I don't consider grandchildren to be a distraction, even though they will definitely require attention and direction.) We have our eclipse glasses ready, made in the USA, and determined, by the Internet, to be safe enough for us to use, at our discretion. And, as we wait outside for the eclipse to reach totality, we can gaze past the adjacent, flat cornfields, to the Wildcat Hills, south of the house, and to the stately Scotts Bluff Monument to the west. 

If the Wildcats were located on the east coast they would be called "mountains." Not-so-flat, and not-so-boring, mountains.

 

If you visit western Nebraska, you can expect us to give you our classic, two-fingered, Nebraska wave when our cars meet yours on our dusty, county roads. We will gladly give you accurate directions when you ask. If you have car trouble, I guarantee that someone will stop to help you. You will meet some marvelous, friendly people, and more than a few intelligent ones. You will get to eat some award-winning, delicious food, if you're willing to stop at an independent restaurant, rather than at a more convenient, fast food establishment. 

If you like what you find here, you are welcome to return for the Old West Balloon Festival over Labor Day weekend, or for Gering's Oregon Trail Days in July. Come back and visit Scotts Bluff National Monument and Chimney Rock. Run a 5-K or a marathon. Tour the amazing Legacy of the Plains Museum, take your kids to see the animals at the Riverside Discovery Center, or hike the Wildcats. Ask us which restaurants are our favorites: we have many outstanding places to eat.

We really do like to have visitors. We are happy to share our expansive terrain and blue skies with you this weekend. We hope you have a wonderful time here. But, actually, we don't want too many of you to stay forever. You see, we really, truly, value our wide open spaces, and we'd like to keep them just as they are: broad, majestic, and awe-inspiring.

God created something good when He made western Nebraska.