Our entire state was united in totality, with schools closing or dismissing early, employers allowing their staff to go outside, and news teams broadcasting the celestial event from various locations like Rangeley, Houlton, and Jackman. We experienced the event in Jackman, Maine.

On April 8th, several states, including Maine, were on the path of totality. Maine was the last stop before leaving the U.S. If you were in the path of totality or were able to make it there, I know that you loved being a part of the amazing demonstration in the sky. It was a celestial phenomenon indeed. It was a once-in-a-lifetime event for many Mainers, and I’m truly grateful to our Heavenly Father for such a remarkable gift that we witnessed.

The last total eclipse to pass through Maine was in 1963, and the next total eclipse will take place in 2044.

Adventure to Jackman, Maine

We experienced this awesome event in Jackman. The traffic going there was smooth, but we had to patiently wait to go home. I’ll tell you about that a little later. Many spectators stopped along the route to witness the eclipse. We passed beautiful scenery along the way, including mountain vistas, rivers, and ponds. It was gorgeous. By the time we arrived in Jackman, it wasn’t overly crowded as spectators were along the route and some situated themselves and their cameras just outside of Jackman and surrounding towns.

Honestly, I was just going along with the family for this excursion. My husband really wanted to be a part of this special event. But the more we prepared for it, the more excited I became.

Eclipse time

When we arrived in Jackman, we easily found a parking spot and had a sandwich lunch. My husband packed a couple of beers and a hard apple cider for me. We had read ahead of time to make sure to bring lunch and drinks in case of food shortages in the area. Then we headed to the viewing area and enjoyed the celestial show. It was cool being with such a big crowd. Our buddy came along with our family, and it was his first time in Jackman. I think it was my kids’ first time as well.

Moments of Totality

Honestly, it was a delightful experience. When “totality” started and the sun was completely covered by the moon, it felt as if the lights went out, leaving a night light, a ring, a white spherical shape, or halo. Then what looked like stars appeared. I think they were planets. Instantly, it was as if it was dusk-like around us. I especially loved hearing the man hollering, “I love this feeling!” It truly was something unlike anything we’ve ever experienced. I’m still in awe and not sure what to think of the whole experience. But another neat thing is that during totality, what looked like red diamonds appeared. Super cool. I think they were solar flares. Someone else said they were diamond flares or something like that. The coolest part was that we could see all this with our naked eye. We could take off our eclipse glasses and ponder this amazing moment. Then, after 3.26 minutes, it was as if the light came back on with a quick white flash, and we put our glasses back on.

Sadly, I wasn’t prepared to take photographs, but I did take a video that was all over the place. My kids took some nice videos and pictures on their phones.

I’m so grateful that even though we couldn’t be with our friends that day in Phillips, I got a video of them saying hello. I have such great friends. I love them!!

Mass Exodus

Remember I mentioned there were people all along the roadsides for miles and miles as we drove up to Jackman?? Well when it was all over, they all had to head home including ourselves!! And being there’s only one Route in and out of there, you can imagine the traffic was going to be heavy!! But it was totally worth it though,, we were in traffic for 4 hours before we could freely cruise down the road!! Lol!! But we made it!! 

Eclipse glasses

If you can I would recommend real glasses instead of cardboard ones 🙂 I worried that  a hole would be made in the ones we purchased or they would get scratched 🙂 but they worked great too!! But if  you are a chaser of eclipses, it’s definitely an investment!! 

Hope you had an amazing time!! Thanks for reading, If you like this post please like and share 🙂 thanks 😊 

If your in need of eclipse glasses and plan to visit one this year or in the following years to come, check out Amazon! Thats where we got our glasses. Be sure to buy lens filters as well!! we didn’t do that!! 

Eclipse glasses
Lens Filters

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