I wrote about the 2017 solar eclipse on eQuipping for Ministry.  Mike and I met up with our son and grandson to experience the 2017 eclipse. It was amazing.

I highly recommend adding a solar eclipse to your bucket list.

2024 North American Solar Eclipse

On Monday, April 8, 2024, the United States will experience a total solar eclipse, crossing from Texas to Maine. It’s time to start planning. Lodging is already filling up and room rates have increased for that weekend. Because of the path length, this eclipse will be pretty easy for many of us to experience totality. 

Start Planning

Maybe you could plan a family or an MPD trip around the eclipse? Many of our financial and prayer partners are on the path. Both my hometown and Mike’s are on the totality path. Wow! What an exciting experience to share with your ministry team. This Astronomy.com article, 20 of the best places to view the 2024 Great North American Eclipse, lists cities in the path of the eclipse, including two in Mexico and one in Canada. The article details what you might expect if you choose one of the cities. The eclipse is passing right over several major cities, many of which will have eclipse festivals. Some of the smaller towns may have less crowding.

• Radar Base, Texas (4 minutes 27 seconds of totality)
• Kerrville, Texas (NW of San Antonio)
• Fredericksburg, Texas (my addition, great little town)
• Lampasas, Texas (NW of Austin – check the interactive map, below)
• Sulphur Springs, Texas (E of Dallas-Fort Worth – check the interactive map, below)
• Mount Nebo State Park, Arkansas (Camp or rent a cabin here and then view the eclipse from the flat top of Mount Nebo)
• Russellville, Arkansas (W of Little Rock – check the interactive map, below)
• Cape Girardeau, Missouri (S of St. Louis)
• Indianapolis, Indiana
• Lima, Ohio
• Wapakoneta, Ohio (Why not take in the Neil Armstrong Air & Space Museum while waiting for the moon to pass across the Sun? Perfect.)
• Cleveland, Ohio
• Erie, Pennsylvania
• Niagara Falls, New York
• Buffalo, New York
• Plattsburgh, New York ( S of Montréal, Québec, Canada)
• Mars Hill, Maine (3 minutes 12 seconds of totality)

An Interactive Map to Help You Plan

Check out this interactive map for the eclipse path. Totality is within the gray path. Enter the name of any city within that gray path to “experience” the eclipse in that city.

• The blue line is where you would experience totality for a longer time. The area outside the red lines will have a partial eclipse. 
• The further north you are, the shorter the duration of totality.
• You’ll also have a greater risk of cloud cover or poor weather further north.

I highly recommend seeing the 2024 eclipse. Can you make it part of an MPD trip? We were in a garden for our viewing in 2017. The birds and animals reacted to the eclipse, making it a fuller experience. Here are some photos:

Our 2017 Family Eclipse Trip

NOTES:

• MPD is Ministry Partner Development
• The Ring of Fire solar eclipse is coming on October 14th. Most North and South Americans will see it. Read more in my article: The Ring of Fire Solar Eclipse Is October 14, 2023.
• Read about more things to do with your MPD team in this e4e article: Showing Appreciation for Your Ministry Partners.