Total Eclipse of the Husband

99.5% is not the same as total.

I learned that . . . from my engineer husband, Dan, who has been nerding out over the total solar eclipse for the past several months.

"It is literally the difference between night and day," he told me after listening to his Science Friday podcast.

"Or the difference between lightning bugs and lightning."

"That's a stupid analogy," I said. "I lived in the Midwest. Lightning bugs are just as awesome as lightning."

Boiseans experienced 99.5% of the eclipse, but several surrounding towns were in the line of totality, meaning you could view the full eclipse just twenty minutes to an hour away.

However, LOTS of people were predicted to descend upon those tiny, rural areas, and my husband, like many engineers, is an introvert who #HatesHumanInteraction.

Dan was stoked about the solar eclipse. He had been purchasing eclipse glasses for months. We had, like, twenty pairs, only two of which were approved.

Everyday leading up to the eclipse, he tried his special glasses on and looked at the sun. He would try them on in the bathroom and look at the florescent lights to make sure they were blocking out the lesser brightness correctly.

One afternoon, he came back into the house rubbing his eyes.

"I think I accidentally looked at the sun."

Then he saw on Facebook that Neil deGrasse Tyson was in Boise the night before the eclipse and sh%$ got real.

Dan spent much of the lead up to his eclipse celebration on his phone checking out traffic maps and the line of totality. He couldn't decide where to go. One day, he was definitely staying in Boise. The next day, he was going to drive to Rigby and stay at his parents' house. Then, he was going to Oregon or maybe Idaho City.

"I can just ride my bike to Emmett and bypass all the traffic."

"No," I said. "You're not riding your bike to Emmett."

He worried about visibility the night before and kept me updated each hour on how quickly the clouds were moving out of the valley.

Finally, late Saturday night, Dan found a camping spot for $35 online. He packed up our SUV and headed to Horseshoe Bend the next evening to sleep in his car on some farmer's land off the highway.

"Have fun!" I said as he drove away. "I hope this guy's not a serial killer!"

In case you were wondering, the farmer wasn't a serial killer, and Dan arrived safely. He did get some pretty cool photos on Monday, but he also had time to revel in the experience as his fellow scientists in the media had advised.

Traffic back from the eclipse: Not as bad as Dan thought it might be . . .

What did I do for the 99.5% eclipse in Boise?

I wore my NASA shirt and enjoyed it (a still fairly awe-inspiring event at 99.5%) with my school colleagues.

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