So, when does it happen again?

One last eclipse shot so I can go over when we get to see it again. In 2019 and 2020 you get two eclipses hitting similar areas in the South Pacific, Argentina and Chile. Those will be big bucks trips to see around 2 minutes of totality. The first gets you to astronomical sights high up in July in Chile's Elqui Valley which has dozens of world-class telescopes, however, that comes with high probably of clouds in the southern winter and with the sun low in the sky. The second is in December 2020 in late afternoon so the sun is high in the sky with the center line over a tourist-friendly area in the Chilean Lake District. It would be hard to pick one of those but maybe maybe we can start saving now for a Christmas trip to the southern hemisphere in 2020. Definitely would be a huge check off the bucket list.

However, if you want the eclipse to come to you then it is April 8, 2024 where you have totality swinging across Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois (across my cousin's property again), Indiana, Ohio, New York and Vermont. It will be hard not to see the eclipse at my cousin's place as we did this trip. It was so much fun seeing it with family members but chances of cloud cover are much lower and the eclipse much longer in Waco, Texas. There you will get 4 minutes and 13 seconds of darkness with low probably of clouds. Dallas gets 3 minutes and 49 seconds so that is an easy reach as well. Austin and San Antonio are fun towns to visit and they get hit with a short totality as they are just inside the path's southern edge. However, they can be staging areas with short trips to the center line. As we learned with this eclipse, the trip back can overwhelm the roads, but Texas looks like the place to be in 2024!!!