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The Other Side Of The National Park System

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By Kurt Repanshek - April 10th, 2023

There was a total eclipse of the sun at Grand Teton National Park in 2017. This fall's eclipse will be of the annular variety/NPS file

One of the most incredible experiences I've had in the National Park System was being able to watch the total solar eclipse of 2017 at Grand Teton National Park.

After a hearty breakfast as guests of Doug Leen of Ranger Doug fame that August day we hiked up Saddle Butte, just south of the park and rising above Jackson, Wyoming, to a flat spot with a good view of the Tetons. Armed with two video cameras, a DSLR, and our cell phones, the wait began. And the weather cooperated, as the few clouds that were on the horizon as we hiked vanished.

Waiting for a total eclipse, if you've never experienced one, is a bit like waiting for Christmas morning. You know a present is waiting for you, but not exactly sure what it will be.

The partial eclipse started about 10:15 a.m., and as we waited for totality to arrive at 11:36:14 a.m., the show slowly began. It was so slow, the eclipse, that it was almost like being in a theater with the lights dimming so slowly you had to concentrate to notice the fading. And along with the dwindling sunlight was the falling temperature.  

To the north the Tetons gradually shaded into a mid-day sunset, while overhead the moon just as slowly slid across the sun until it blotted it out, all except for the surrounding corona. As it did, a rousing cheer rang out from those on the butte as exterior houselights popped on automatically. At least one jet's pilot had totality on his flight plan, for he pulled a tight 180-degree turn almost above the Tetons to turn into the blotted out sun.

For a bit more than two minutes we reveled in this astronomical oddity, one that captured the nation's attention and interest, and which passed much too quickly.

And then came the day's second sunrise.

I mention this because this October an annular solar eclipse -- an eclipse when the moon covers the center of the sun, but not all of it -- will cross North, Central, and South America. 

If you're hoping to catch the greatest effects of the eclipse in a national park or monument you'll want to be in parts of Oregon, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, or Texas. That's where the totality of the eclipse will reach 90 percent.

Among the parks and monuments that will be in this path are:

  • Aztec Ruins National Monument
  • Bandelier National Monument
  • Bryce Canyon National Park
  • Canyon de Chelly National Monument
  • Canyonlands National Park
  • Capitol Reef National Park
  • Chaco Culture National Historic Park
  • Crater Lake National Park
  • El Malpais National Monument
  • Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
  • Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument
  • Gran Quivera National Monument
  • Great Basin National Park
  • Hovenweep National Monument
  • Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument
  • Lava Beds National Monument
  • Natural Bridges National Monument
  • Rainbow Bridge National Monument
  • Mesa Verde National Park
  • Navajo National Monument
  • Padre Island National Seashore
  • Pecos National Historic Park
  • Petroglyph National Monument
  • Valles Calderas National Preserve
But you better hurry to make plans and find lodgings. They're going fast.

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This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

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