Solar Eclipse from Tennessee

For the first time in my life I had an opportunity to see a total solar eclipse. I had seen and heard of them on various television shows, even experienced a partial eclipse, but never a total eclipse of the sun.

I started checking campgrounds in both Kentucky and Tennessee and there were some spots available. My wife and youngest son weren't interested so I asked my 2 younger brothers, Steve and Vic. Both said yes so I went back to the campground listings and all available slots for that time period had already been snapped up. Arrrrrgh!

I kept looking for campgrounds around small towns and came across the Lock A Campground, Corps of Engineers on the Cumberland River near Ashland City, TN. It was within the circle on the eclipse map for a full eclipse. They had exactly 1 spot left. I took it, expecting it to be the worst spot in the campground. It turned out to be a nice shady spot, not too far from either the river or the bathroom; lucky us. 

Steve and I came down with the Airstream and Vic drove up from Georgia. We arrived a day early so we could set up camp and try fishing in the Cumberland River. The edge of the river was difficult to navigate with a steep bank and large rocks. Brother Steve is using a cane because of a bad knee and had trouble getting to the water's edge. Vic and I didn't catch anything of size but it was interesting and a way to pass some time. 

I had set up my large screened in tent over the picnic table so we could cook and eat without a lot of flies or mosquitoes bothering us. This was a gift from my employer for 15 years of service and it has been very handy for campouts. 

We cooked on my Coleman stove and had some very nice meals. Vic had prepared a stew, a new recipe and wanted to make it for the summer fishing trip group. He wanted to be sure it would pass muster so Steve and I were the guinea pigs. There wasn't any need for that because hungry fisherman will eat anything.  The stew was very good, none left over as I recall.

The big event finally started around 1:00 PM. We were surprised how much of the sun was covered by the moon and yet it was still full daylight. Here are a couple of pictures. The partial eclipse was taken through the dark glasses we were wearing. The full eclipse was taken with nothing in front of the camera.

While the moon was approaching the sun, shadows under the tree had these nifty arcs. After the moon had passed, the arcs went in the other direction, but I was too excited to get that picture. 

There is a video of the event, albeit a little grainy. My camcorder is digital but standard 480p, haven't spent the money to buy a better one

.Here are a couple of better shots, one just before the eclipse and then at total eclipse.


We had a great couple of days, then the inevitable packing up and going home. This was the last trip in the Airstream, at least for a while. No trips in 2018 but maybe 2019 will be a new beginning.