Solar Eclipse!

Our pack stopped everything to watch the partial solar eclipse this afternoon. As you know, it's not safe to look at the sun without eye protection. R was ready!

Shyla kept cheating, peaking out from the glasses with one eye.

My camera was ready too. I had a solar filter from back in 2012 when we saw the annular solar eclipse on K's last trip to the desert.

We saw the second half of the eclipse today. Here, the moon was taking a large bite out of the sun. You can see that there were sun spots - several of them - visible through our funky glasses and my special lens filter.

The sun was fairly high in the sky for when the eclipse was maximum but some clouds drifted across the sun at times.

The next one looks like a Halloween decoration! Spooky dark clouds gathered at the bottom of the sun. You can also see the shadow of the moon "rolling" to the left compared to previous photos.

As the eclipse was winding down, the sun was also setting. So, the sun took on a honey-like beautiful color and thin clouds added a touch of mystique.

As the sun dropped in the sky, the clouds over the Divide started changing colors.

At the very end of the eclipse, there were no clouds obscuring the sun, and the sun sat just barely above the Divide. You can see the tiny bit of shadow of the moon in the upper left of the sun.

Finally, about 3 minutes before the sun dropped below the mountains, the whole orb blazed again! The entire sequence of photos was over about an hour.

And patient Shyla sat glowing in the setting sun's light after the eclipse was over.

It was a fun and relaxing afternoon, seeing something that is so rare. In the next decade, there will be only three solar eclipses visible from anywhere near our perch in the mountains so I'm glad we took the time to sit out on K's rock (where the banner photo was taken) and watch this eclipse.