Episode 26: Total Eclipse of the Traveler's Heart

Mary Herendeen:

In the U.S., those captured by the beauty and rarity of a total solar eclipse got to see one in 2017 when it traced a path from Oregon to South Carolina, wowing crowds of amateur astronomers. This time, U.S. eclipse-tomaniacs are gearing up for the next opportunity to see one again in 2024, and it's not too early to begin planning.

Welcome to Traveling With AAA. I'm your host, Mary Herendeen, and today we are packing up to embark on a century's old tradition: eclipse chasing. We are joined by award-winning freelance journalist, David Swanson. David's written for National Geographic Traveler, Travel + Leisure, and The Los Angeles Times. He's also the author of the book, 100 Things to Do in San Diego Before You Die. He's a contributor to Westways and AAA Explorer magazines. He's a self-confessed eclipse chaser, and in 2017, wrote a terrific article for Westways on his experience witnessing several solar eclipses.

David Swanson, thank you for joining us.

David Swanson:

Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here.

Mary:

We're really excited about it. I've got to know, what's the thrill of seeing a total solar eclipse, and what makes you so passionate about it?

David:

The first thing I'd say is that many of us think that we've seen an eclipse, and we probably have. That is when you put on the goggles and you can see the moon passing in front of the sun, seemingly taking a bite out of the sun, then the light around you starts to darken and it passes by. I think most of us have witnessed that at some point in our lives.

What I'm talking about is being in the path of totality. When the moon passes in front of the sun, it actually casts a shadow on the planet. This shadow races at a speed of thousands of miles an hour across the planet's surface, and if you are within that path, you're going to see something quite special.

It goes beyond just wearing the glasses. In fact, when the moon totally eclipses the sun, you don't have to wear the glasses because the sun is no longer glaring at you. The environment around you becomes quite still, and it's almost as though you've gone into a complete nighttime environment except the horizon is illuminated 360 degrees around you. It's like being transferred to another planet for a few minutes.

Mary:

Wow, that sounds incredible. I actually have chills as you're describing it now. OK, so I'm like most people that you were describing. I've seen an “eclipse,” and I remember being a kid with the glasses on or the box. Was I looking at a partial eclipse in those times?

David:

Sure, exactly. Partial eclipses happen several times a year, and total solar eclipses happen an average of about 6 times a decade, so roughly every year and a half. They could be as close as a year apart or they could be 2 years apart, but they happen all over the world. Of course, the planet's surface is mostly ocean, so the chances of it hitting land in any particular spot is literally a once-in-a-lifetime experience for most of us if you were to live in the same place for your entire life. Occasionally, there are places that are bisected by an eclipse path because it will be thousands of miles long, but the actual path of that shadow is only 25-60 miles wide. So, the chances of that coming over your house is relatively slim. It might happen once in your life, or it might never happen in your lifetime.

Mary:

Wow, so for you to have witnessed more than a few means you've got to go out and get them. Tell us a little bit about what travel is like to see something this incredible.

David:

The first one I saw was back in 1998. I was writing about the Caribbean and I had a villa rental owner—or villa rental management company, I should say—that was based in Guadalupe who said, “You know about the eclipse coming up in 1998?” This is about a year in advance, and I knew nothing about it. And he said, “This is something really special and people are going to really want to come and see it.” I started doing some research and I was able to connect with a scientist from NASA named Fred Espenak. He explained what this was all about and that this eclipse would pass through 5 different islands in the Caribbean over a period of a few minutes. There were a number of cruise ships that were going to get into the path at sea, but if you were on the island itself and the skies were clear, you would have a very good chance of seeing the total solar eclipse.

I wrote about this, and I was surprised that there was a huge amount of interest in this story from a lot of different newspapers. I thought, “Wow, maybe I should go and see this so I know what I'm talking about next time.” I arranged a trip to Antigua in the Caribbean, went to Shirley Heights, and pretty much all the accommodations on the island were sold out. It was in February, which is their high season, so that's not unusual, but there were a number of people who had specifically gone there to see the eclipse—maybe a few of them had read my article. I went to Shirley Heights, which is an elevated mountaintop on the south end of the island, and from way off in the distance, you could see the shadow coming across the sea toward us.

Mary:

Wow!

David:

It was just a phenomenal event. Again, the sky starts to darken a good 30-40 minutes before the actual totality happens, but the experience of totality at that point was about 2.5 minutes. It was just one of the most magical experiences I had ever had, and I knew I was hooked.

The next eclipse was in 1999, and it was through Europe. There were a number of countries that were going be in the path, but you had to be a little picky because in Western Europe—over England, France, and so forth—the chances of clear skies were relatively low. It was in August, which isn't a bad time to be in Europe, but as the shadow moved east across Europe and then down into the Middle East, the chances of seeing the eclipse became better and better. It really came down to Turkey and Iran being the 2 best places to see that one. I really wanted to go to Iran, but I decided that was going to be a little complicated for me, so I ended up booking a trip to Turkey and saw it there. That was also quite a magical experience.

I've seen a couple since then, including the last one that came through the United States in 2017, and that was a terrific one. I think many Americans got into the habit of looking for eclipses because of that. That was a great one, but we have another one coming up.

Mary:

Yeah, it sounds pretty magical. What's the atmosphere like there? You mentioned this darkness coming across and it moving so quickly. What's the aura or the atmosphere with the other watchers like yourself?

David:

Well, you could potentially be in a place where there’s no one else, and you could be the only person around. I think that that could be a special experience in and of itself. I certainly wouldn't advise against it, but if you're in the path and you're in a crowd of people, it's a pretty exciting moment. It's kind of like a touchdown at a Super Bowl. I've heard people scream, people are cheering; it's a really exciting event. The energy from that is terrific to be around. It's also interesting because you talk about the atmosphere and as I mentioned, it becomes darker and the stars start to come out and the 5 or 6 planets that are visible to the naked eye will be out.

The air also becomes very cool because obviously, you've lost your sunlight. It's almost like you've gone from 2 or 3 o’clock in the afternoon to 8 or 9 o'clock in a matter of minutes. So that's a very eerie feeling to have the temperature drop 10 or 15 degrees in a very short period of time. The last thing I would say about the atmosphere is that it's indescribable. The best way I can put it is that the colors get sucked out of the environment. It's almost like you go into a black-and-white movie for a few minutes because the sun is what produces a lot of the colors around us, from the green of a tree to the blue of the sky, and so forth. All of those things start to get desaturated, and so the next thing you know, you're in a moon-like environment because it's a lot of grays and blacks and whites.

Mary:

Wow, I hadn't considered that the sun gives us that color so that’s really interesting.

Now, what's special about the total eclipse coming up in 2024? Are there best places to see it that you would recommend?

David:

Absolutely. The only place you're going to be able to see it is in North America or over the Pacific Ocean. It's a really good eclipse for a couple of reasons. One is the time of year; it's not in the dead of winter. Secondly, it's a long eclipse. At its maximum, it's going to be 4 minutes and 28 seconds, which is a really nice juicy amount of time to be able to be in the path of totality. That's longer than I've ever been in one. I think the longest I was in one was about 3 minutes, so that's a pretty choice one. I think the longest eclipse that's happened in the last century or so was just shy of 7 minutes, so 4.5 minutes is pretty good.

The forecast from NASA says it’ll happen on April 8, 2024, and it's going to come onto the continent around Mazatlan. In fact, Mazatlan, Mexico is right at the center of the eclipse, so if you were in downtown Mazatlan or around the beach in Mazatlan on that date, you're not going to miss it. It continues up from there through Mexico.

The maximum totality is at the center line and at the center of the total path, and that's going to be in the vicinity of Durango. Then it's going to cross into Texas, with San Antonio and Austin on the southern edge of the eclipse path, and Fort Worth and Dallas on the northern side of the eclipse path. The eclipse is then going to continue through the Midwest and into the upper Northeast.

However, the best weather conditions forecasted for this are throughout Mexico, and secondarily in Texas and maybe Oklahoma in that area. Arkansas will also be fairly good. As it goes into the north, the chance for cloud cover increases. I've seen 4 eclipses and I've been lucky enough to have clear skies for all 4 of them. For me, Texas or Mexico would be the best places to be.

Mary:

Based on your passion, it sounds like you're probably headed to Mexico!

David:

Why not? What’s not to like about Mexico?

Mary:

I know, I love it! I love a trip to Mexico! And Texas, I travel there to the Dallas Fort Worth area for work often, so maybe I'll get an opportunity to see this one.

If someone's not jumping in their car to drive to see a total solar eclipse, where else could they see one?

David:

Surprisingly enough, there are a number of cruise lines that operate their regular schedule from Southern California into Mexico, and I'm pretty certain that several of these ships are going to be in place for the eclipse off of Mazatlan in that particular area. And I'm not necessarily talking about specialty or expedition cruise ships, but ships from Norwegian, Princess, Holland America, and Royal Caribbean. I think that these ships are going to be in the neighborhood and will have access. Again, there will be special tour operators that will probably buy out certain ships, so this isn't necessarily going to be available through normal resources, but it's worth looking into.

Mary:

Wow, thank you. I imagine a travel advisor can help you with that. You said that's April 8, 2024? We've got to make sure we've got our cruise for then.

David:

Yep, April 8, 2024. You want to look at cruises that are leaving the first week of April, and then look carefully at their schedule to see that they are close to Mazatlan on April 8 because the captains of those ships know this is a special event, and they will maneuver into a good position if they can.

Mary:

Yeah. That's pretty awesome. Thank you so much for sharing that tip with us. Now, I was saying it's not too early to start planning. When do people normally start planning for these trips?

David:

I think it depends on how accessible it is. There are eclipses that have taken place in Antarctica. In fact, one was on my birthday, and I got to tell you, I really wanted to go to that one. I didn't though, because basically no one saw it. If you're going someplace really remote, you want to plan not just a year in advance, but years in advance.

The reality is there's a pretty substantial infrastructure for hotels and so forth in Mazatlan and Durango, and certainly with so many big cities in Texas; San Antonio, Austin, Fort Worth, and Dallas are all in the path of the eclipse and those cities may not be the ideal place to be for the eclipse, but within 20, 30, or 50 miles you can be right at the center line. I don't think that there's a huge rush to book accommodations, but if this is something that's important to you, I'd look into booking your hotel and maybe your flights. Obviously, there are lots of flights to Dallas, Austin, and so forth. It wouldn’t hurt to be planning this some months in advance.

Mary:

It sounds like what's great about this one is that for some of us, we can just get in our car and go.

With that, I think this is a good place for us to take a break, David. We'll be back in just a moment and hear more about traveling.

Welcome back to Traveling With AAA. I'm your host, Mary Herendeen, and I'm joined today by David Swanson. We're hearing all about an opportunity to see a total solar eclipse here in the U.S. in 2024 and booking our travel there. Before we left, we were talking about booking that trip. Dallas is maybe one of the best places to go, or Mexico because visibility is going to get even more challenging.

Is there anything that we should know about the partial eclipses coming up in 2023? Where are the best place to see those?

David:

One moment, I'm pulling open my handy dandy cheat sheet here.

Mary:

I love that you have a cheat sheet on this. It sounds like you have to go to the right place.

David:

Right. Oh boy, there’s actually no more partial eclipses this year. The next eclipse is an annular eclipse, which is not quite the same, and that's going to take place on October 14, 2023. That's not the same as the total eclipse. The next eclipse following the total solar one next April is another annular eclipse in October 2024, and that'll be in South America. Then there are a couple partial eclipses coming up in 2025. One in Africa, Europe, and Northern Russia, and another in September in the South Pacific, New Zealand, and Antarctica. So again, a total eclipse is something very special and unique. We do have the one coming April 8, 2024, but the next one following that is not until August 12, 2026. That's going to be a relatively good one if you can get there, but as an example, this one can only be seen in Greenland, Iceland, and Spain.

Mary:

Wow, and the weather conditions have to be right. Is a partial or an annular eclipse worth traveling to? Would you recommend it?

David:

From my own personal perspective, it is not something that I would make a special trip to. Partial eclipses do transpire from time to time where you're going to get a little darkening of the skies wherever you live. At some point, in a matter of years, it's going to happen. To me, this total solar eclipse is the one that you want to travel for.

Mary:

All right, do we hear that listeners? Get ready. Because it sounds like for it to be so unique, it's probably going to be challenging to find that.

What are your tips for viewing it safely? You said, we don't have to wear the glasses during some parts of the total solar eclipse?

David:

During totality, and that's when the moon has completely eclipsed the sun. What you're going to see around the sun is not actually the surface of the sun, but the solar flares and so forth ringing the moon. It's just a wonderful freak accident of nature that the size of the moon and the distance of it between the sun and the Earth is exactly the right size to block out the sun—not too big, not too small.

Once the actual totality of the eclipse starts, you can take off the glasses and bask in that strange glow until the moon starts to pass over the edge of the sun and the totality ends. The width of the shadow determines how much time you're going to have, and depending on where you are in the eclipse path, the shadow can take anywhere from 2-4 minutes to cross over you. But anywhere within that shadow, you're going to get the totality.

Mary:

It sounds incredible. I'm definitely interested in seeing that. I really did enjoy your article, and this wasn't something that I knew that people did. I’d heard of storm chasing, but not eclipse chasing. It's really cool. And I see you've got your eclipse chasing shirt on. I know our listeners can't see it, but you said this from Idaho? Will you tell us about it?

David:

Sure, this was in 2017. It was the last total eclipse that came through North America, and quite a few people saw this one. More Americans saw that eclipse probably than any other in history. It started in Oregon, crossed through Oregon into Idaho, down through the Midwest, and I believe off through South Carolina.

Once again, the western edge of the eclipse path was where the best weather forecast was. That's not always the case, but it was here. I was very fortunate to be able to take my mother. Along with my husband, we went to Idaho and I searched out a number of different places where we could see it. We stayed in Cedar Falls, Idaho and I found this place looking at a topographic map. I'm now forgetting the name of them, but they’re a pair of old volcanic craters to the east of the Craters of the Moon National Monument, which were right at the center line. I believe one was BLM land, and the other is privately owned. The people who owned the private one had opened the road that led up to the top of this crater, maybe 300 feet above the surrounding area, and in the middle of the volcano was a field that they normally used for crops. I think it was for corn or something like that, but the corn season had ended, so we were using it as a parking lot so people could park down in the center of the crater. I mean, this was an area several acres large.

We sat with maybe 200-300 people up on the rim of the crater watching this event. And because we were at an elevated position, and this is one tip I'll pass along, being in an elevated position where you have a view of the horizon is really special because we could see the shadow approaching, and it's just a very eerie feeling. It's almost like seeing a spaceship coming at you at hundreds of miles an hour.

Mary:

Wow. You said you were able to bring your mother with you. What was that like for her to see that?

David:

Yes, she's of limited mobility, so it was not easy getting up there, but we did get her up there and I didn't break her.

Mary:

What an amazing memory for you. I can see the look on your face, smiling thinking back on that memory. That sounds really incredible.

Now, you just gave us a tip about sitting above. Is that your single best tip for traveling to see a total eclipse of the sun?

David:

That's one of my best tips in terms of where you want to be positioned. That's something I learned quite by accident from that first eclipse that I saw. I certainly would look toward something like that for the eclipse coming up next year.

There's a website I like that I think is a terrific resource for somebody who's looking for information on the eclipses. It's done by a meteorologist based in Canada named Jay Anderson. The website is eclipsophile.com, and he does a very detailed weather forecast that explains what the cloud probability is on a certain date at any given location that you can see the eclipse. He's a terrific resource for the weather information. If you're planning to go to someplace like Texas, he can narrow it down to tell you to be on this side of the mountain range, or be north of this river to give you a much better handle on where your chances of seeing the eclipse are best.

The other website that I think is terrific is by Fred Espenak, and he's a retired NASA scientist. His website is called eclipsewise.com. He has a great deal of information about solar eclipses down to the second. Quite frankly, he's a great resource for me. I hope I meet him at some point at an eclipse. I know he's seen more than 20 himself. He travels to pretty much all of them. But his website is a terrific resource with information on days and places for upcoming eclipses years into the future. I want to say even 100 years into the future.

Mary:

Wow. All right, 2 great resources: eclipsophile.com and eclipsewise.com. Thank you for sharing those and your great tips. Also, thank you for sharing your passion with us today on seeing a total solar eclipse. It was great to have you. Thank you again, David Swanson, for being our guest.

David:

Thank you. It's a pleasure.

Mary:

And thank you to our listeners for being with us. If you're planning a trip, be sure to connect with a AAA Travel Advisor, check out AAA.com/travel, or visit your local branch. If you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe. I'm Mary Herendeen, thank you for traveling with AAA.