David Post | 4.11.2024 10:14 AM

What a day! After two solid weeks of typical Vermont early spring weather—rain and snow and heavy cloud cover—Monday dawned bright and beautiful: blue skies, no humidity, and not a cloud in the sky. Along with a couple of old friends, we headed north from our house in southern Vermont in the early morning. We had originally planned to meet other friends in Burlington, but the weather reports were talking about clouds rolling in from the west, so we decided to find a spot up in Vermont's "Northeast Kingdom," near St. Johnsbury. We ended up in a great spot for viewing—a little local bar in the tiny town of East Burke, with a big grassy picnic area behind it with a great view, and maybe 40 or 50 so other folks, including lots of kids, hanging out and waiting for the Big Event.

The first hour leading up to totality was fabulous. With the glasses on, watching the moon—which was itself completely invisible—take a little chunk out of the sun, and then a bigger chunk, then a bigger chunk, … A gorgeous sight—the deep black of the moon's shadow against the intense gold of the sun, and the sharpness of the line between them, like it had been cut........

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