Day 74

August 21, 2017                                                                                                               Day 74

Solar Eclipse Day!!  Okay so that was way more excitement then I actually had over the eclipse.   It was dead quiet this morning when I woke up and the same went for last night.  There were no birds singing, no insects making noise and no vehicles. It was oddly eerie.   I laid there in bed listening to the silence debating whether to get up now or not but I knew I wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep so I just got up.  I put on the pants I wore the day before and I slept in my top from yesterday so no need to change that.  Stepping outside, it was a windy day but bright out with not a cloud in the sky.  I made a cup of coffee and sat down in my chair and put my headphones in to listen to some music for the silence was bothering me.  Since I had until 08:00 when the visitor center opened I called up my grandmother in Wisconsin and talked to her for a little bit. 

When 08:00 hit I left where I was staying and drove the three minutes to the entrance station where I got my special "free" solar eclipse glasses.  I stopped at the visitor center again to use the restroom and to fill up my solar shower bag and bottles with water.  Then I drove within the park to Jasper Forest to watch the eclipse.  While I waited I sat in my vehicle and read out of my Dummies book.  At 09:35, in whatever time zone I am in, the eclipse started so I put on my fancy glasses to watch the eclipse.  Where I was I would only being seeing a partial eclipse, about 75%.  It took until 10:45 to be at its maximum and it was actually pretty cool.  I think I found the fact that someone created glasses to allow people to look at the sun to be the fascinating part.  I kept wanting to look with just my eyes because I hate glasses but I prefer to not be blind. By 11:00, the eclipse was receding and I couldn't sit still any longer.  I stopped to use the restroom one last time on my way out and headed in the direction of Phoenix, AZ.

The drive was really relaxing and I listened to country music the whole way.  When I stopped to fill up my fuel tank I was craving chocolate so I bought two king size candy bars: butterfingers and twix.  Shortly after purchasing fuel I found free camping on Globe-Young Hwy 288 just north of Colcord Ridge Campground on USFS land.  I was going to eat and then lay out in the sun; however the weather had a different plan.  Instead I heated up a small can of baked beans, which I ate the entire thing, and finished cleaning up my mess right when the rain started.  As I moved to inside my camper Travis and I messaged back and forth about our plans for Thursday and Friday.  During our messaging I typed up my blog into a Word Document since my hotspot on my phone would not work and I couldn't connect to the internet.

While typing away I noticed my camper started to leak inside again so I  used my pants to catch the water while I got out the silicone gun.  I was only able to get out two shots before it started to not work again but thankfully that was just enough to stop the leaking.  Once that crisis was diverted I was over being on my computer and moved to coloring in my adult coloring book. At this point, I was thinking it had to be almost time for bed...it was only 16:00!  Today was going by so slowly and being idle is not for me.  

As I laid in bed, with the rain coming down outside, coloring in my adult coloring book my mom called me and we talked for a little bit before she left to go to bed.  At this point, I didn't really know what to do so I decided to make some hot tea since it was getting cold outside.  While the tea was steeping I put on sweatpants, two long-sleeved shirts, my jacket and a pair of socks to try to keep warm.  With my tea by my side I sat on my bed and cleaned my gun and then called it a day.