It was all about the sun that day, starting with first light over the mountains as we headed north from Utah to Idaho.
Despite what we'd feared after hearing months of build-up preceding the Great American Eclipse, traffic was clear along the back roads through Preston, Star Valley and Swan Valley.
Entrepreneurs were everywhere, but takers seemed light.
Before the action started, we could look at sunspots visible through my brother-in-law's telescope.
The sun was too much -- even when partially covered by the moon -- for my lens to make sense of. Covering it with my eclipse glasses didn't help, but looking at shadows did.
I heard in some places it was really quiet during totality. We couldn't help exclaim -- and loudly -- at the beautiful aura that was visible when the moon fully blocked the sun. Different exposures show different things -- what was closest to what our eyes saw is the third one.
It was the drive home when we learned that, yes, people really did turn out for the celestial show. What should have been a four-hour drive took nine.
But it was worth it. To see something we hadn't seen in 60 years of living.
And again the sun made an impression at the end of the day.
