Over the years I saw a few partial eclipses and thought they were interesting, but not spectacular. Then in 2017 the path of totality was only a four hour drive away in Nebraska, so I decided to make it a day trip. At first it was about what I expected as the sun became a tiny sliver and daylight faded. But totality was far beyond what I expected. The wind calmed, the temperature dropped, and there was a sunset in every direction. There was a grade school class standing a few feet away and they sounded like it was the first day of summer vacation.

After that, I knew I had to make it to this one.