Total Eclipse of the Cache - Path of Totality

Total Eclipse of the Heart
It's the End of the World (As We Know It)
Moon Shadow

This was the start of our playlist as we left Louisville VERY early the next morning. TaGeez and I were warned about the eclipse traffic so we wanted an early start. We know at this point we could see the total solar eclipse anywhere, but we were determined to make it to Gallatin.

Elizabethtown Virtlual GCD13D

MTGC-August- TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE CACHE GC78Z08

TaGeez and I rolled into town at 9am CST. We were the first in the parking lot so we decided to branch out and checkout the town. Cute little downtown with a geocache or two. I wonder if the population doubled on this day?

Downtown Gallatin, Tennessee

Because it is right on the Path of Totality. Gallatin is one of the few towns in the US which will experience the maximum totality of 2 minutes 40 seconds.

Today is day #1,999 on my cache a day streak! 

Lucky me! Everyone was gracious enough to gather for my celebratory photo. And look who is next to me! Monkeybrad, Geocaching.com reviewer and of Captain Rodney fame! He had just completed a 16-day tour of the northwest (I'm following on Facebook) and was happy to be home with family for the big event. 

Day #1,999 of my cache-a-day streak

And look how cool these t-shirts show up in pictures! Best $15 on Amazon. So many people have stopped us throughout the day asking where we bought them.

Scrapcat is styling!

This is the amazing thing about geocachers. We are all practically strangers, but we converged from as far as New York, Montreal and Houston onto this little parking lot to become fast friends For five hours we suffered the 99 degree heat and humidity, finding brief reprieves in the nearby Big Lots and Taco Bells and under trees. And it was a smashing great time!

It's happening!

Starting around 11:59 am CST, the eclipse began. Over the next 1.5 hours, the weather became increasingly more humid and then noticeably cooler. The wind picked up, batting around TaGeez's sun shade. The closer to totality the air turned gray, and the surroundings appeared as if you were looking at a grainy photograph.

Source: Scrapcat

Now, I knew going down that I wouldn't be able to take pictures well enough to do the solar eclipse justice so I decided to live the moment and leave it to the professionals. Luckily we had some very talented photographers at the event, who have graciously allowed me to share their photos. 

Shared courtesy of Rubicon Cacher

Totality was amazing! At 1:27 we removed our glasses and looked at a view no camera could truly capture. Darkness had descended. After sweating all day the cold chilled our skin. The parking lot lights came on and the birds & cicadas in the nearby field and forest went crazy. Our group was hushed in awe.

Shared courtesy of Rubicon Cacher

Eclipse over Gallatin, TN

Shared courtesy of Rubicon Cacher

Shared courtesy of  Caretaker5

As the sun re-emerged, we thanked Southpaw for an amazing event It will be a long time before anyone can top such a spectacular experience. Thank you Middle Tennessee Geocaching Club!

Admittedly, as we pulled away, my mind wasn't grasping what had happened. The solar eclipse was a first for my 47 year old eyes - I missed the last one at around 7 years old. Heading back along the freeway, lining up behind other out-of-state cars exiting the fields and the drive-in and the Kentucky Downs, we were quiet. TaGeez and I are never quiet in the car.

Nashville

After checking into our less-than-stellar hotel (no choice - everything is booked), we headed to Nashville for a little fun. First stop was the Vanderbilt University webcam.

These ladies graciously allowed us to interrupt their studies.
They had no idea they were on camera

Vanderbilt is a beautiful yet compact campus. This is outside their library.

So much to see, but so much time lost in eclipse traffic. We accepted that another visit is necessary so we focused on several key stops. First one was Centennial Park.

Did you know they have a Parthenon????

Athens of the South

"The Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee is a full-scale replica of the original Parthenon in Athens. It was built in 1897 as part of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition." According to Wikipedia, the structure was not supposed to be a permanent structure and fell into a terrible state over the next 20 years. Nashville residents rallied to rebuild a more permanent structure, which is now one of the top 5 museums in Nashville. Unfortunately, we were too late to enter it to see the 42-foot statue of Athenas Parthenos inside.

Before leaving the park we enjoyed 2 Virtual caches, a train cache and a boat cache. The Century of Bronze was challenging and fun. We ran into two overseas visitors, curious to our strange behavior (apparently we can't be stealthy in extreme heat). We described geocaching as best we could, and they became very animated after I pulled a fake spike off this boat.

A Century of Bronze GC55YNX

As darkness settled, we turned towards downtown for dinner and "a show". But first, a highly-favorited geocache outside Titan Stadium.

My brother, Jeff, strongly suggested a trip to Broadway at night. As we turned past the giant Hard Rock guitar, we saw a street filled with neon lights, drunken brides, music hounds and police on horseback. No offence, but it was a hick version of Las Vegas.

We had intended on visiting Nashville again before leaving the next day, but we received bad news later that night and turned for home. We will be back one day with WikidKriket and SnakeyLicks.

Word is out that the next total solar eclipse will be in 2024, crossing lower Ohio. TaGeez and I will be there, but this time we will book our hotel a little earlier!

Total Eclipse of the Cache - Louisville

Extra! Extra! Have you heard the news? Total Solar Eclipse in 2017!

TaGeez and I had heard the news, but we thought there's no way we could travel (with 55 million others including some good friends) to see it  along the "Path of Totality" this year. Whereas Michiganders would see the sun with 79% coverage by the moon, those along the 70-mile wide swath of the moon's path would see 100% coverage.

But joy! The stars aligned (pun intended), and TaGeez found he could get two days off. It would be a short trip. Can we do it? We pulled out the maps and realized an 8-hour trip south would put us right along the path and would experience the longest period of the total solar eclipse of 2 minutes and 40 seconds! And WOW! There's a geocaching event in Gallatin, Tennessee!

We logged our 'will attends' and ordered our solar glasses, t-shirts and a geocoin. 

The hotels were more difficult as all hotels were booked within a 150-mile radius of Nashville. Panning further and further out for something we could afford, we booked one room in Louisville for Sunday and one near Nashville for Monday. We have ourselves a plan!

HEADING SOUTH

I love a roadtrip with TaGeez - we can entertain ourselves for hours. Good thing! We were stuck outside Cincinnati for two hours in construction traffic. It was really cool seeing the digital billboards along our route with the eclipse countdown.

Luckily we had geocaches along our way.

We reached Louisville later than we hoped so we headed right to Cave Hill Cemetery.

Holding the bodies of a number of influential Americans, Cave Hill Cemetery, a 296-acre Victorian cemetery came to be almost by accident. (AtlasObscura.com)

The Spring - Virtual and Earth Cache

Cave Hill had stunning views and artwork.

It is also the home of several famous residents. We first ran across Harry L Collins, the official corporate magician of the Frito-Lay Company.

And curving around the corner is Colonel Sanders! Kentucky Fried Chicken, right? TaGeez wants to know if people in Kentucky just calls it 'Fried Chicken'?

Seen next to Colonel Sanders...

Impressed by the statues realism? It's due to the former artist in residence, Barney Bright. Barney is probably as well know for his own risque tombstone which shows both he (as an old man) and his wife (shown eternally young) reclining nude. It caused great controversy, but the Cemetery Board finally conceded to the installation thinking it would be tucked out of the way, unnoticed. Of course, unknowingly that was the first aisle we turned down!

With just minutes before they locked the gates we cruised (a little too fast probably) to the other end to pay our respects to the great Muhammad Ali.

We turned to downtown while we had a little sun. I had promised my baby brother I would visit the Louisville Slugger museum. 

1,998 straight days of geocaching

It was too late for the tour so we bought commemorative Eclipse bats and posed for pictures.

Louisville was a funky, fabulous place! It had the same spirit as Ashville, NC. Colorful, random art. Let me give you a tour downtown...

30-foot David

Kentucky Science Center

Louisville Slugger Walk of Fame

TaGeez made a friend - Mayor of Louisville

Red penguins at the 21C Museum Hotel

Which is my warrior prince?

We were also able to grab several Virtuals downtown including a house that Thomas Edison rented and a well-known extreme skateboard park.

Thomas Edison House

The next stop was just outside downtown near Thruston Park. The Heigold House was a standing testament to a skilled German stonecutter's love of his new homeland. It's facade is the remaining survivor of anti-immigration sentiment, flooding, forced evacuation. It was the site of a municipal dump and now stands in a prime location for the pending waterfront rebirth.

After a fabulous yet exhausting day, we turned back to downtown for dinner. Because of the flood of eclipers, the restaurants and streets were packed. We made our way to the Troll Pub Under the Bridge, but the waiting list was way too long so we took some fun photos with the big guy. We eventually rounded the corner for pizza and live music overlooking the main street at Bearno's Little Sicily.

Louisville was an unexpected gem, and I'm happy to say we made it back a few days later. Off early to bed! Tomorrow is a big day!