Horseshoes and hand grenades

Almost.

Close.

Whatever.

Torrington. Never heard of the place until this morning. I knew all about Highway 85. Took it to Cheyenne over a year ago on my way to the 25. Had a date with my kids in Salt Lake that weekend. Didn't matter that it was snowing, had to go, like it or not.

But today was something different. A grand celestial event was happening, possible a once in a life time deal and it was right up the road. I have no idea why I waffled so long, why I took so long to act. Well, maybe I do, actually. Up until last Friday I didn't really have a confirmation on my work scene. Couldn't make plans until I knew for certain what my future employer had in mind for me. Plus, up until Sunday night I had three trips in mind, all going in different directions. One by one they fell by the way side. The only one left standing this morning, apparently, was the Great American Eclipse of 2017.

Well, the Cannabist posted an article last week that proclaimed loud and clear that the Wyoming Smokies would be on the look out for cannabis. The state made it clear that they wanted us to come and see the show but they wanted us to leave our dope behind, too. Okay, no problem there, but I knew I might have had a bit of one if someone decided it was in their best interest to smell the inside of my trunk. Left some mota in there this past weekend and by the time I unloaded it this morning that sweet smell of skunk just wouldn't go away.

I decided to log onto the NY Times this morning and as luck would have it they had this cool graphic posted that displayed the path that the moon's shadow would take on it's hour and a half journey across America. Luckily for me the shadow crossed Torrington, which was right up the way in Wyoming, about two and  half hours from the casita. Once I saw that I knew that I had to take a chance, make that drive. Once in a lifetime, right?

So, snacks and water, a bit of fuel and on the road I went. After reading horror stories for days about the traffic I would hit I was stunned that I drove unimpeded through Weld County, all the way into Cheyenne. Only once did I hit any kind of traffic and that was when Yellowstone Road out of the capitol merged again with the 85. Clear sailing, I thought. Then, about 30 minutes away from my destination I hit what was to be the end of the road for me. A Wyoming Highway Department truck sat off to the side of the road, it's lights flashing. The traffic slowed to a crawl. The area around the jam up was an adhoc rest area, big asphalt meant for big trucks. Once I saw that there was a sizable crowd parked all around me, I decided to forego the stop and go traffic and watch the show from there.

A number of the articles I read suggested to watch the eclipse with folks, to get a feel for the larger impact of the event on humanity. I knew that if I had my druthers I would have rather been 30 miles further up the road in that mix of people instead but for all intents and purposes, for the sake of the story, those folks on either side of the highway were going to be my Peeps for the Eclipse. I looked around and nodded. It was just this side of tail gate party. I said hello to guy parked next to me, named Josh, who was from Fort Collins. Rode there on his Harley. He figured that the traffic had pretty much dictated his story as well. Yeah, we were from all over...Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, California, Wyoming. I guess some of those folks got late starts, too. No Torrington for us.

So, I had that extra half hour plus about an hour to kill. Knocked out the snacks, texted the mujuer and my foul friend back east. Grabbed my solar glasses and peeked at the sun. Very cool tool to have around, I imagine, even when the eclipse moved on. But before too long the moon began it's reconnaissance and began to encroach on the sun's territory. Bit by bit the shadow ate up the sun just like a boy eating up a moon pie. Slowly but surely the sky went weird and color of the light began to change. Crickets started their evening song. The horizon went into twilight mode. The wind picked up and it got mighty cool. The moon finished up gobbling up the sun, and for those of us stuck 30 miles out of town, right on the edge of totality, we saw a glorious smile on the side of the sun's face, all that remained of it's former glory..

Then, that was the end of the show. The shadow had other places to go, other folks to please and impress. Once that sweet slight smile on the sun shifted I knew it was time for me to go, too. One things for certain, no amount of mota would have improved that event today. Sometimes you just have to go "au natural". No enhancements needed. I was happy to have made the journey, even more happy to have missed the traffic that was soon to be heading down that same highway I was taking. I was mighty happy for the quick decision I made that morning. I thought the day would go completely different, that I would just smoke a doob, strap on my glasses and float around the sun dappled universe of that cool, cool pool I have down the street. But instead I hit the road, grabbed a spot off the highway and was part of a very sweet and important scene.

Maybe that eclipse thing does inspire big feelings. I heard that folks would laugh, cry, when they saw the sun go out. Me, when I was driving off I felt a bit flat. It kinda reminded me how I felt when the movie Jaws came out. For years I put off watching that flick. Was it because of the giant shark? Did I put it off thinking it might make me afraid to hit the surf? Nope, it was the endless hype that ruined the event, that made the movie seem so much larger than life than it was. I generally avoid things that have big hype attached to them.

Until today. Glad to have done it, big solar smile and all.

Hope you caught it, too.

Salud!