Eden Prairie’s Nelson family recounts ‘flipped switch’ moment as sun goes dark during solar eclipse

Paul Nelson sounded almost giddy as he and his wife, Karen, pointed their vehicle south on I-35 on April 5, headed to northern Arkansas in search of an uncertain glimpse of the last total solar eclipse in the U.S. until 2044.

“We saw the one in 2017 in Wyoming, which was absolutely amazing!” he said. The Nelsons were among the millions of people who traveled from places around the country that would see little or none of the eclipse to states that would: Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

The Nelsons met up with 18 friends and family a couple of days before the eclipse and made an event of the spectacle. 

Coverage of the eclipse on TV was breathless, to say the least. Millions of people were glued to their TVs and computer screens, tracking the moon’s shadow from southwest to northeast. In total, the eclipse lasted two hours in the U.S.

Among those less giddy was basketball hall of famer Charles Barkley. Sitting on the TNT panel at the NCAA men’s national basketball championship game on April 8, Barkley called solar eclipse fans “losers.” “Hey, we’ve all seen darkness before. Stop it,” he said, tongue-in-cheek (I think).

The Nelsons likely would not agree with Barkley’s assessment as they began their 760-mile journey. EPLN was curious about the thoughts and experiences of one of Eden Prairie’s families who traveled to observe the spectacle first-hand.

The Nelsons agreed to provide a firsthand account of their experiences and to share some photos.

Karen, a retired social studies teacher at Central Middle School, and Paul, senior pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Eden Prairie, share their experience here in their own words (comments have been edited for style):

Planning years in advance

“We started planning our 2024 eclipse adventure shortly after our experience in 2017. We researched all kinds of data, including the path of totality, length of time in totality, plus weather data, to help us settle on a location.

“Our original plans were to go to Texas Hill Country, most likely Inks Lake State Park, but that became a stressor just trying to get reservations there. We shifted gears in the fall of 2023 and decided that Arkansas would be fun to explore for both the eclipse and for a camping vacation following the main event. We were not disappointed!

“We chose Arkansas for 2024 because of its high probability of clear skies, and we had never explored Arkansas before. It’s a beautiful state with a lot of diverse things to do – in addition to eclipse viewing!

“We chose Russellville for our viewing site because it was on the line of totality, affording us 4 minutes and 12 seconds of totality. We had also secured advanced parking passes at a church for $25 per vehicle for the day, with access to bathrooms and a great spot to see everything with no obstructions. 

April 8 – Total solar eclipse

“Our day began by getting on the road at 5:30 a.m.! Why so early? We had absolutely no idea what the roads would be like, traffic issues, etc. We didn’t want to gamble a little extra sleep with missing anything.

“As the day progressed, people from our group took naps, read, went for walks, and just chatted about the event. We all nervously watched the sky and the radar, and the skies just kept staying clear, with a few whisky horsetail clouds popping up now and then.

“At about 12:33 p.m., the first little edge of the sun started to disappear! (We put) glasses on to check things out! For the next hour plus, we watched the sun gradually get covered!

The ‘moment’

“At the moment of totality, you could just feel the excitement of the crowd, and you could hear everyone’s gasps, cheers and feelings of awe! For the next 4 minutes and 12 seconds, everyone around us just kept looking at it in wonder.

“It was like a switch got flipped as the moon completely covered the sun! The diamond ring (the moment before and after totality when the sun shines through valleys on the moon, creating brilliant bead-shape sparkles of sunlight) was very visible both at the beginning of the eclipse and at the end. We were able to see two planets pretty clearly; there were supposedly four that were visible during the event. 

Heading home

“When it was all over, it was time to go, and then we faced the traffic! It took us a little over two hours to get to Russellville in the early morning hours, and over four hours to get back. Ah well, it was completely worth it.”

Singular experience

Wrapping up their trip, the Nelsons had this advice for their Eden Prairie neighbors: “It is worth going out of your way to pursue singular experiences they produce lasting memories! And to share those experiences with family and friends makes it that much more rewarding.”

Minnesota shut out

To the disappointment of many, clouds obscured the sky in Eden Prairie and throughout most of Minnesota on eclipse day.