We left Oklahoma City on April 7th and made our way to Tina and Mike Ball’s house way outside of Mena. Good thing Tina met up with us on Highway 8 and escorted us here. It is truly remote and way out of town. And really pretty. Tina’s good friend, Joan, is also here. She drove in from Hamilton, Montana. So it is a party of sorts.
The drive here was so pretty- green grasslands slowly became deciduous forest. Not many conifers but some. We crossed some big rivers – both clear and quite muddy- and lots of little streams – both clear and quite muddy! Lots of RVs on the road and when we got off Highway 40 the little towns and fishing resorts all had things set up for eclipse parties. It is adorable. We stopped at a grocery store in Heavner, OK and they had all sorts of bakery items decorated for the eclipse. Like cookies with half block and yellow icing, moon pies, astronauts etc.
Tina and Mike have been very welcoming. Their friend Joan, is also here. Lots of dogs but Dave is doing OK- I love giving so many pets! We had yummy chicken and bean enchilada casserole last night on the picnic table. We had great conversations getting to know everyone. They are all unique characters! As expected I guess. I had met both Tina and Mike over the years so it was nice getting to know them better. We went back to Tut a little early since Dave and Joan had driven all day.
We both woke up easily today – eclipse day!! We had a relaxing morning (sourdough pancakes!) and went down to the pond early. Tina had mowed it short so Dave and I set up our easy-up and our chairs. Tina made a picnic lunch of sandwiches and salads and we brought cheese crackers and chocolate (of course cuz it is a celebration!). We were out there for 4 hours total. It was so intriguing to watch the process of the eclipse. It was like watching the moon phases except the “bite” comes from below instead of the side. And the half moon stayed crescent shaped not semi circular like the phases. We could see Dave’s screen as his camera followed the sun. Perfect clarity here. Felt like the temperature dropped about 10 degrees over about an 8 minute time frame, even though totality was only 4 minutes. I have to say I was surprised the dogs didn’t react at all but the crickets, owls and frogs were calling. Then everything went still for about a minute and started up again! Very cool!
This was a pretty magical day – wishing Rita was here! Glad we were with these guys instead of just strangers on a road somewhere!
Sounds like a lot of fun!