A Solar Eclipse Adventure with Good Dirt Farm

It’s probably not surprising to know that two folks who live on a farm have an interest in what’s happening with the natural world. You’ll often find us remarking on a particularly great night for stargazing (Andy) or tracking the phases of the moon (Amanda).

Naturally, that led to a desire to travel for the recent solar eclipse to experience the total eclipse. At the farm, we would only get to see 97% totality.

Road Trips with the Good Dirt Farm Fam

As dog parents, Andy and I do most of our travel in the car so we can bring Azula along for the ride. For a high-energy blue heeler, Azula does really well on long drives. She likes to play lookout for a little while before settling in for a solid nap so she can resume crazy pooch activity upon arrival.

The Sunday before the Solar Eclipse, we loaded up our farm van with all the necessities–snacks, overnight supplies, and Azula’s trusty seatbelt. Then, we settled in for a drive up to Kennerdell to stay with Andy’s parents. This let us enjoy a day of hiking and relaxing by the fire before traveling another hour to view the eclipse.

Because we planned on a picnic during the eclipse, getting Azula good and tired was an essential task. She’s not the biggest fan of activities that involve sitting still anywhere besides the comfort of home. So, we went for a five-mile walk on Sunday. That was followed up with some fetch in the yard before another, shorter walk on Monday morning.

Then, a tired Azula (and Amanda) in tow, we loaded up the van once again to drive to a small park in Union City for the eclipse.

The Moment of Totality

Unsurprisingly, there were plenty of people at the park when we arrived. Still, it wasn’t nearly as chaotic as some of the more popular destinations were. We had a bit more traffic that you might expect on back roads, but overall the drive went smoothly. Soon, we found ourselves setting up for the main event.

We picked a spot near the creek to spread out our blanket. Azula got tethered to a pole so she could safely roam around to find sticks to chew and grass to sniff. Andy and I enjoyed our snacks–cheese and crackers for me, salami and crackers for hi

Soon enough, the eclipse began. Special glasses in hand, we kept an eye on the progress while I also got some reading in as we waited for the big moment.

Eventually, totality was upon us. When the moon fully blocks out the sun, it naturally gets pretty dark. The corona looks a lot more like the light from the moon than from the sun, transforming the light before your eyes.

Fun fact: you can actually look directly at the eclipse during this period since the sun’s light is fully blocked. You know it’s safe when you can no longer see a darn thing with the eclipse glasses on.

Sadly, someone in the park decided that the total eclipse was an occasion that needed fireworks. This terrified Azula, who huddled between us for safety as we waited for the loud sounds to stop and the light to return.

After that, we headed out so we could get back to our regularly scheduled farm activities. It was a four-hour drive back to Good Dirt Farm from Union City, but it was well worth the experience of watching Mama Moon fully block out the Sun for a few minutes.