The Solar Eclipse 2017 was a powerful day. My family and I headed up to Oregon, timing our summer adventure in ques with the eclipse. Prineville was not a place on my bucket list, but our friends hosted us and we were close to a climbing mecca, Smith Rock. I was excited.
We waited till the perfect moment with our eclipse glasses ready and then watched it from beginning to end. My little ones laughed with excitement and said it looked like someone took a bite out of the sun. The day got darker and colder. In the middle of August, we were all scrambling to find jackets and blankets. When the moon was fully in front of the sun the sky turned grey with pink edges, like twilight. The energy was amazing and tangible. We finished watching and then stood around in awe for a while. Finally we regained ourselves enough to drive over to Smith Rock. I don’t know if it was the eclipse, the renewed sunshine, or Smith Rock itself, but I felt something magical as soon as I walked over the crest of the ridge and looked down on it.
We spent the rest of the day climbing and my brother and I got a picture at the top of ‘Zion’ a four pitch route. The formarly dark sun glowed red behind us and set itself into the pinnacles of stone.
