While many people in Saskatchewan settled for viewing a partial eclipse at home, others travelled south to experience being plunged into darkness.
Bryce Holcomb drove for 12 hours to Casper, Wyo., from his home in Saskatoon to place himself in the path of totality for Monday’s eclipse.
Speaking to Gormley just after the event, Holcomb was nearly speechless.
“What I just experienced, there’s really nothing to compare it to,” he said.
Holcomb experienced the total eclipse for just over two minutes, joining thousands of others from around the world who descended on the small Wyoming city.
He said the atmosphere around them changed as the moon covered more of the sun.
“It’s a really eerie feeling,” he said. “It gets noticeably cooler … the light is just kind of grey and also vibrant at the same time.”
Holcomb described that once the moon completely blocked the sun, everyone went quiet.
“Looking all around us, it was like the latest part of sunset. A dim, pink glow just above the horizon, and up above you could see stars,” he said.
Greg Muszkie from Regina took a road trip to Fort Laramie, a national historic site in Wyoming, to watch the total solar eclipse.
“The corona was completely visible, it was probably one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen in my entire life,” he said. “No picture would ever do that justice – it was fantastic.”
Muszkie likened the eclipse’s shift into darkness as closer to twilight than night-time.
“Right before the eclipse happens it’s day, but it doesn’t feel like day. It’s a dark day,” he explained. “The shadow came over us quickly, it was like a wash of shadow – it was phenomenal.”
The 28-year-old protected his eyes with special glasses and a welder’s mask. He said people all around them were awe-struck, enjoying a cloud-free sky to take in the unique experience.
“The really weird thing that I discovered was it got kind of cold all of a sudden, because like the sun is out – in the middle of the day – and it gets a little windy and this cold air just kind of rushes towards you,” he said.
Muszkie encourages people to consider making a trip to watch the phenomenon, which will occur again in parts of North America on April 8, 2024.
The path of totality in 2024 will stretch northeast from Mexico, entering the U.S. through Texas and eventually crossing into Canada’s Maritime provinces.