We sent reporters to 9 locations to see the eclipse: Here's what we saw

09.04.2024 - 17:21 / thepointsguy.com

It won't happen in the U.S. again until 2044.

But on Monday, a rare, total solar eclipse cut a swath through parts of North America. That's why TPG sent a team of reporters across the country to cover this incredible and rare celestial event.

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The moon passed directly in front of the sun, creating darkness in the mid-afternoon sky for more than four minutes in some places.

Here's what our intrepid reporters saw, felt and heard from where they were:

Central Texas had one of the best statistical shots at favorable weather along the path of totality in the year of planning. However, the forecast for the week leading up to the eclipse put a bit of a cloudy damper on expectations of clear weather for much of the Central Texas area.

However, that didn't stop us from making the five-hour drive from our house to the Hyatt Hill Country Resort on the western side of San Antonio. We joined its eclipse watch party to see the afternoon skies darken and the path of totality pass right over the resort's golf course.

Mostly cloudy skies did prevent consistent viewing as the sun shifted behind the moon in the hour leading up to the moment of totality. Still, we did catch a few peeks during the partial phase of the eclipse. Meanwhile, the resort played music and had things like eclipse t-shirts and even signature eclipse cocktails on offer.

Then, at 1:33 p.m. local time, the winds picked up, the temperature dropped, the birds quieted, and what looked like dusk quickly enveloped the golf course. Fellow resort guests cheered and we broke out our glow sticks and glow-in-the-dark glasses for the less than two minutes in the darkness we got to enjoy on this eastern edge of the path of totality.

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We watched the eclipse next to a couple who had made the trip from Denver. We all marveled together about how this must have felt to witness before the days of modern technology if you didn't know it was coming. We knew it was coming, and it still took our breath away to plunge into almost total darkness within seconds in the middle of the day.

Since we were on the edge of the path, it was over very shortly after it began, and we started our drive back home. It took longer this time because of all the other traffic heading east toward Houston and points beyond the path that cut through Central Texas. The moment of totality in Texas was over, but for other parts of the country, it was just beginning.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway — home of the annual Indy 500 race — is typically loud on and off the track. The cars are roaring by at speeds upward of 220 miles per hour, and more than 300,000 fans are cheering on their favorite racers.

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