On April 8, 2024, a full solar eclipse will make is way across North America from Texas to the Northeast. It’ll cross the Mississippi River south of St. Louis. Much of southeast Missouri and all of southern Illinois will be in the path of totality, with some places experiencing the eclipse for just over four minutes, including Trail of Tears State Park just north of Cape Girardeau. Many of these places were in the path of another total eclipse just 7 years ago.
In this episode, I talked with Alison Dubbert from Missouri State Parks and Cory Jobe from Great Rivers and Routes in Alton, Illinois. We gave an overview of the places that will have a good view of the total eclipse in Missouri and Illinois, with an emphasis on public lands, and some of the special events going on to celebrate it. Accommodations will be hard to come by in the eclipse zone if you haven’t booked a place yet, so we offered some tips about where you should look. We have some tips for daytrippers, too, and a few thoughts on how to deal with the expected crowds. (Hint: Be patient.) We also talked about some of the lessons learned from 2017, when crowds got very big in many places.
In the Mississippi Minute, I share a few memories about viewing the eclipse in 2017.
Show Notes
Missouri Parks/Historic Sites with at least 3 minutes of totality
- Bolinger Mill (Burfordville)
- Eleven Point State Park (Couch)
- Grand Gulf State Park (Thayer)
- Lake Wappapello State Park (Williamsville)
- Morris State Park (Campbell)
- Trail of Tears (Jackson)
Missouri Parks/Historic Sites with at 2-3 minutes of totality
- Felix Valley House State Historic Site (Ste. Genevieve)
- Taum Sauk Mountain (Ironton)
- Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park (Middle Brook)
- Hunter-Dawson State Historic Site (New Madrid)
- Hawn State Park (Ste. Genevieve)
- Elephant Rocks State Park (Belleview)
- Battle of Pilot Know State Historic Site (Pilot Knob)
Guide to viewing the eclipse in Illinois
https://www.enjoyillinois.com/travel-illinois/your-2024-illinois-solar-eclipse-guide/
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Transcript
35. Eclipse of 2024
Mon, Feb 26, 2024 3:28PM • 56:45
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
eclipse, experience, parks, carbondale, area, totality, places, southern illinois, river, illinois, pretty, event, planning, park, cape girardeau, missouri, state, viewing, collinsville, path
SPEAKERS
Alison Dubbert, Dean Klinkenberg, Cory Jobe
Cory Jobe 00:00
I would encourage listeners to make sure you have a full tank of gas wherever you’re going and pack some snacks doesn’t matter, because there’s going to be traffic. This, as we all know, doesn’t happen very often. And this might be the last time some of our generations get to see it and so be patient.
Dean Klinkenberg 00:41
Welcome to the Mississippi Valley Traveler Podcast. I’m Dean Klinkenberg and I’ve been exploring the deep history and rich culture of the people in places along America’s greatest river, the Mississippi, since 2007. Join me as I go deep into the characters and places along the river and occasionally wander into other stories from the Midwest and other rivers. Read the episode show notes and get more information on the Mississippi at MississippiValleyTraveler.com. Let’s get going. Welcome to Episode 35 of the Mississippi Valley Traveler Podcast. In this episode, we’re going to go deep into the full solar eclipse that’s coming up on April 8 2024, which happens to fall on a Monday. We’re going to dive into some tips to help you view the eclipse with the most fun you can possibly have and preferably the fewest hassles, although there are going to be hassles. The most important tips, relax and bring lots of patience. Plus, you’re probably going to want to bring along some snacks and fill up your gas tank before you go. There are a lot of places this time around to experience the eclipse, including a whole bunch in Arkansas. Places smack dab in the center of the eclipse will see totality for over four minutes this time around. And even though St. Louis isn’t quite at the path of totality, in the St. Louis region, we’ll still have 99% of the sun eclipsed by the moon. So in this episode, I’m talking with Alison Dubbert from Missouri State Parks and Cory Jobe from Great River and Routes Tourism Bureau in Alton, Illinois. We talked about some of the places that are likely to be the busiest, most overrun with people trying to see the eclipse and we have a few ideas about where you might be able to go where the crowds could be a little bit smaller. One thing I’m pretty sure about is the harder you have to work to get there, the fewer people you’ll be sharing the eclipse with. So maybe look for a place with a decent hike to get to an open area where you can feel the eclipses full effect in that way. As I mentioned in my in the interview with Cory, I kind of wondered if you might be able to just pick a small town in southern Illinois somewhere and look for a city park and just go and take in the eclipse there. You’re probably going to be away from most of the crowds. If you do that as well. A lot of places are having viewing parties, including the one in Collinsville, Illinois that Cory mentioned. Just go to the show notes and I’ll have a link to the full descriptions of what’s going on in Missouri and Illinois. Now, if you haven’t booked a room yet, time’s running out, time’s running pretty darn short. So at this point, your best bet is probably to look for rooms in the St. Louis area. And probably if you’re smart, you’ll do it for both Sunday and Monday nights since it’s really a bit of a wild card, how long it’s going to take you to get back to St. Louis or get away from the eclipse viewing site. And just out of curiosity, I looked up rooms in the Carbondale area for those two nights around the eclipse and well, I hope you’re rich, there is hardly anything left and the few rooms that are still available, start about $400 a night and most of them were around $600 a night and up. Now, because the eclipse doesn’t really get going until the afternoon it’s entirely possible to do this as a day trip. So depending upon where you’re starting from, you could just leave early in the morning and have some time to look around for a place to view it. I would think in the morning, if you get a good early start, there’s probably not going to be quite as much traffic as there will be afterwards. But I would say yeah, that’s a possibility for a lot of folks. As I said earlier, carry a full supply of patience for this and bring a pair of viewing glasses if you aren’t going to be in a place where they’re going to hand them out. And yeah, I think I’d add like as the eclipse really gets going, do all you can to minimize distractions, like noises from your cell phone, and just really pay attention to how the world around you changes as the eclipse progresses. I happened to, I was lucky enough, to experience the 2017 eclipse on an island in the Mississippi and I gotta say it was a remarkable experience. And we were free from social media and other things that might have distracted us. And we could just pay attention and watch the world around us as it changed and it was really remarkable experience. Places that we mentioned in this episode, I’ll include something about them in the shownotes at MississippiValleyTraveler.com/podcast. And a shout out as always, to those of you who show me some love through Patreon. If you support this podcast on Patreon, you not only get the satisfaction of helping to keep it going, being part of what makes this podcast work, you’ll also get to hear episodes before everybody else. If you would like to join this community, go to patreon.com/deanklinkenberg. If Patreon is not really your thing, you can just buy me a coffee. One time contribution, I drink plenty of coffee, so every penny toward that habit is appreciated. Go to MississippiValleyTraveler.com/podcast, where you’ll find the instructions. Now, let’s get on to the interviews. Alison Dubbert is the Chief Resource Interpreter with Missouri State Parks and she’s here to talk to us a little bit today about how you might be able to view the April eclipse in Missouri. Welcome to the podcast, Alison.
Alison Dubbert 06:32
Thank you, Dean for having me. I’m excited to be here.
Dean Klinkenberg 06:37
So why don’t we start off by just telling people a little bit about Missouri State Parks, the scope of what you do? How many parks are there? What can people expect from a state park experience?
Alison Dubbert 06:47
Sure. So we, Missouri State Parks preserves and interprets the best examples of Missouri’s natural and cultural resources. We have 93 state parks and historic sites. We provide recreation opportunities, camping, educational programming, tours. We have trails, you know, pretty much you want to do it outside or learn about Missouri’s history. We got you covered.
Dean Klinkenberg 07:22
Awesome. And for the most part, there is no entry fee for Missouri State Parks, correct?
Alison Dubbert 07:27
Yeah, our parks are free. Some of our tours and our historic sites, those do have a small fee, but entry into our parks is always free.
Dean Klinkenberg 07:39
So what exactly does the Chief Resource Interpreter do?
Alison Dubbert 07:45
I always get asked, what language do I speak when when people hear that I’m an interpreter. And I guess I can say well, I speak the language of our natural and cultural resources. So it’s my job and the job of our interpreters to translate those natural and cultural resources to the public and help them understand why it’s important to protect those things and, and what we do and help them learn about them.
Dean Klinkenberg 08:21
Fantastic. So lots of things to do, Missouri State Parks, which is very handy, because we have a big event coming up on April 8, another total eclipse, another total solar eclipse. I imagine there’s been just a little bit of buzz about this.
Alison Dubbert 08:37
Oh, just a little bit. The eclipse is going to go. We have 20 parks and historic sites that are going to experience some totality. So that’s, that’s quite a few and we’re pretty excited where we’re busy planning a bunch of really cool events. And I we’re expecting a lot of people to come out and and see it at our parks.
Dean Klinkenberg 09:04
Well, let’s kind of start there. Like I don’t know if off the top of your head if you’ve got a list handy, like which state parks are going to be in the path of totality, especially those that are close to the Mississippi I think since this is the Mississippi Valley Traveller Podcast.
Alison Dubbert 09:18
I do have a list. And actually, if people go to our website, MissouriStateParks.com (editor’s note: MoStateParks.com), down at the bottom, there’s a button about the that has our “spokes-moon” and it will send you right to our all of our information on the 2024 Eclipse. So most of the information I have actually is on our website. But I would say Trail of Tears State Park which is right on the river there, a little bit north of Cape Girardeau. They have over four minutes of totality. And so they are planning some really cool things there, that’s a really good place to see it. Towosahgy State Historic Site, which is further south of Cape Girardeau. They’re also planning a big event and they’re right there on the river. And then further in, we’ve got Bollinger Mill State Historic Site. And they’re gonna have just over four minutes of totality, they’re planning some big events. Battle of Pilot Knob is in the path of totality. And let’s see, we’ve got Current River and Echo Bluff, which are by Salem and Eminence. So again, further further in from the river, but they’re in the path of totality. And Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park is also right there. They’re going to experience I believe, just over two minutes.
Dean Klinkenberg 11:04
Wow. Yeah, that’s that’s a lot of opportunity. So I’m kind of curious, like at Trail of Tears State Park, what are some of the special events that they might have planned for that day?
Alison Dubbert 11:15
So actually they’re going to have programs running Friday through through Sunday. They’ll have limited programs on Monday, because they expect such a large number of visitors. But the park opens at seven. They say to pack a picnic and come early, because they do have really limited parking. And they have they have several long trails that will have good viewing opportunities.
Dean Klinkenberg 11:47
All right, what are they doing the weekend before then they have some eclipse related programming going on that Friday through Sunday?
Alison Dubbert 11:53
Yes, they do. They’ll have telescopes and educational activities and a lot of fun stuff. And I think they’re still working on finalizing those details. But yeah, that they, they’re one of the few parks that will have stuff going on the weekend before the eclipse. Make a whole weekend and hit Trail of Tears, and then go to one of the other ones that have more activities during the eclipse event too.
Dean Klinkenberg 12:29
So for folks that are going to try to view the eclipse, obviously, we do not want people looking directly into the sun. Are the parks and state parks sites going to be providing glasses for viewing or people responsible for getting their own?
Alison Dubbert 12:49
We will have glasses available for purchase. They’re also available if you want to purchase them ahead of time. I think they’re $1 apiece on our website. And I would recommend if you’re planning to purchase some viewing glasses do it sooner rather than later. Because last time we sold out so yeah. So we do have viewing glasses and and they will have some of the parks that have are having events will have telescopes with solar filters on them and have those available for viewing as well.
Dean Klinkenberg 13:32
So I know, I suppose to some folks April 8 might still seem like it’s pretty far away. But I think some people have been planning for this for quite some time. Do you have a sense now about which areas within the path of totality are expecting the most visitors and which sites might already be near capacity for camping or lodging?
Alison Dubbert 13:52
Well, for camping, our campground reservations open a year in advance. So a lot of our campgrounds are already booked. Not that it hurts to keep checking because sometimes people cancel. So I would recommend to keep doing that. Most of our campgrounds and lodging are full as far as I know right now. But keep checking. For staff who work outside of the Bootheel area who are coming to help. We had to we had to get hotel rooms in Festus which is a little further away. So I would say if you don’t have reservations for lodging, get them now to be able to get as close as you can.
Dean Klinkenberg 14:49
Right. So from Festus I guess the nearest park would probably be Trail of Tears?
Alison Dubbert 14:56
Yeah. And and I will be working at Johnson’s Shut-Ins, so that’s that’s a little bit further away even. Yeah, um, Trail of Tears and also let’s see, Hahn I think is closer to Festus. They’ll have a pretty good viewing window. And there in St. Genevieve or outside of St. Genevieve. And also the Felix Vallé Historic Site, they’ll have in St. Genevieve. So they’ll have a pretty lengthy viewing time in totality as well.
Dean Klinkenberg 15:35
Right. So I was just thinking about that, like, if you haven’t made like, if you’re going to get a room somewhere you wanted to get a room somewhere, probably we’re talking at this point, the southern end of Metropolitan St. Louis would be the place where the rooms are most likely to be. And, gosh, let’s see from Festus to Trail of Tears State Park has been at least an hour, maybe an hour and a half. Maybe a little longer if there’s traffic.
Alison Dubbert 16:01
Yeah. Luckily, the eclipse is really going to be late in the afternoon. So around lunchtime, a little bit later. So you know, you don’t have to get up super early to drive that hour.
Dean Klinkenberg 16:20
Exactly. Right. And unfortunately, there’s no rainchecks for this if the weather turns out to be bad, so no guarantees with any natural phenomenon that you’re actually going to get to see it. So all right. So I’m just trying to think off top my head so you when you were looking for rooms then too for your staff, you weren’t able to find anything around Cape Girardeau, then even.
Alison Dubbert 16:42
No, no. Yeah, it was it was pretty booked up.
Dean Klinkenberg 16:47
Right, because in the past the totality path through Missouri, there really aren’t much in the way of population centers. You know, Cape Girardeau would be the closest, and then St. Louis. So, so yeah, I guess if you’re if you haven’t booked a room yet, you’re going to come the night before, you’re probably looking at St. Louis and then expecting to do some driving. So if people live nearby and want to go visit a site, so let’s call them daytrippers. Do you have any particular tips for them to make the day go a little smoother?
Alison Dubbert 17:25
Well, I would say, do your research ahead of time, figure out where you’re gonna go. Plan extra time, we’re expecting to be at maximum capacity at at our sites. So you know, parking is going to be limited. So you might want to get there plenty early. You, like I said, you want to do your research and and figure out some of our sites are going to have food available, like I know at Bollinger Mill, they’re going to have a barbecue truck, food truck there. But other places are not. So you need to know if you need to bring your own food. And I would say come with a sense of wonderment because it’s a really cool phenomenon, but also come with kindness. Because there’s going to be a lot of people, and it’s going to be crowded. And you know, we’re going to do the best we can to make sure everybody has a wonderful, really cool experience. You know, we can’t help if it’s cloudy. We’ll do our best. But, you know, bring your patience and plan ahead of time. It’s my best advice.
Dean Klinkenberg 18:53
Patience is great advice. Right? So because we just have one of these seven years ago, 2017, we had a full eclipse. What were some of the the lessons that came from that?
Alison Dubbert 19:05
I’m planning ahead, buying way more eclipse glasses than we thought we needed. Like I said, we we ran out. You know, we we started planning now one, really early, and we probably should have started even earlier than we did. And that one came right through Central Missouri, which is where I’m at and we had a big event at the on this State Capitol on the lawn there. So that that took a lot of planning and coordination. So just like this one has as well.
Dean Klinkenberg 19:54
Right, and I guess the the other big lesson from that what we already said was folks need to be patient, because a lot of people are going to try to see this, traffic is going to be bad at times. Maybe not as horrible in the morning as after the eclipse, but after the eclipse is over, when everybody’s trying to leave at the same time, it’s going to take a while to get out of there. And just a few deep breaths, put on some good music, you know, don’t hurry. Don’t be a jerk.
Alison Dubbert 20:23
You know, where our parks are, the scenery is beautiful. Just enjoy it.
Dean Klinkenberg 20:30
Absolutely. So what do you remember? You see, you had a chance to see the last eclipse in 2017. What was your experience like of that?
Alison Dubbert 20:39
Oh yeah, I yeah, I did. You know, I mentioned we had the big event on the Capitol lawn, I did not work at that event. I don’t know how I managed to not work at that event. But I did. And instead, I went to my first graders elementary school and helped out with the kids there, experience the event. And it you know, we still talk about how cool that was. And, and there was, you know, we had a pretty long time in the dark and, and being with the the little first graders who were experiencing this, you know, being dark in the daytime. And, you know, oh, where where did all the bird sounds go? And, you know, it was really it was really fun to experience that with, with my daughter and her first grade class.
Dean Klinkenberg 21:40
Right? And now they’re 8th grade?
Alison Dubbert 21:43
7th grade? Yeah. But we still talk about it.
Dean Klinkenberg 21:48
Great. She’s gonna start to think these things happen all the time, then.
Alison Dubbert 21:52
I know, but they don’t. This one. I mean, it seems like in the past few years, they have but this, this will be the last one for another 20 years. I think 2044 is the next time it’ll be seen in the contiguous United States. So yeah, if you can get out and see this, you should.
Dean Klinkenberg 22:16
Absolutely. I am a little older than an eighth grader at this point. And I don’t remember before 2017, I don’t remember ever seeing a full solar eclipse. So these are special events. And I understand why a lot of people would want to be out there and see it, but just you know, the patience thing, remember that.
Alison Dubbert 22:37
Yeah.
Dean Klinkenberg 22:38
All right. So so based on your experience, maybe from 2017, and what you’ve seen from buzz and advanced reservation so far, is there any Missouri Parks property within that path of totality, that you think might be less busy than the others?
Alison Dubbert 23:00
I mean, there are several sites that aren’t necessarily having watch parties, because the staff is maybe going to a different site to help out at a bigger event and that sort of thing. So those parks will be open, but they may not be as popular because they don’t have activities going on necessarily, like Grand Gulf State Park, which is sort of in the center of the state, but it’s still in the path of totality. That’s an unmanned facility. And it’s a really cool, really cool facility. If you’ve never been there. They have kind of, uh, well, we’ll call it Missouri’s Grand Canyon. But they, as far as I know, they are not having an event. And so that might and like I said, they’re in the path of totality. So you know, that may be an out of the way place to view it.
Dean Klinkenberg 24:02
Anything else that you can think of that might fit that might be a little bit more work to get to or maybe you’ve got to park and hike for half an hour to get to a good viewing spot? So I guess the other thing to think about and maybe you have some recommendations for people, is you want to be in a place that’s also got a good clear view of the sky, right?
Alison Dubbert 24:22
Well, of course, Taum Sauk Mountain is our highest point in Missouri. So if you want to hike up there, you’d probably have a really good view of the sky.
Dean Klinkenberg 24:34
Absolutely.
Alison Dubbert 24:37
But it’s it’s a hike and I think kind of think, you know, Hunter-Dawson State Historic Site which is in New Madrid, you know, they have some some open lawn and they are not doing an event. They’re they’re going to be over at Towosahgy. So, you know, they’re the, the I don’t think that that will be very crowded. I’m trying to think I actually, Morris is down there in the Bootheel. And they’re an unmanned facility. But it has been a really long time since I’ve been there. And I cannot picture what it looks like. If that would be a good viewing area. Morris is kind of in the like on on Crowley’s Ridge, if you’re familiar with the Bootheel. Sure. Yeah. And if you want to be like, just outside of totality, you know, we have several several parks that that are just outside that might be you know, you wouldn’t necessarily get the full ring of fire. But it would still be pretty dark and pretty cool to see. Looking at my map here to get an idea for you. Trying to think of ones that have good open areas. Well, Montauk, that’s one of our, our trout parks. So they have some open area. And there, they’re not too far out of the path of totality.
Dean Klinkenberg 26:38
All right. So you would still get most of the eclipse experience.
Alison Dubbert 26:43
Right.
Dean Klinkenberg 26:44
It’s maybe not quite the full ring of fire.
Alison Dubbert 26:48
You’re all of our our parks in Missouri, all of Missouri will get some eclipse effect. So, you know, really anywhere in Missouri, you can experience it a little bit. But like I said, you wouldn’t get the full ring of fire totality effect.
Dean Klinkenberg 27:11
Right. Well, great. Those are some really good tips. I appreciate your expertise and taking the time to share this with us. And if people want to look up some of this, on their own, remind us where they can go a good resource.
Alison Dubbert 27:28
Yeah, absolutely. We have all this information on our website, and that’s MissouriStateParks.com (editor’s note: mostateparks.com).
Dean Klinkenberg 27:37
All right. And I will put a link to that in the show notes. Great. Thanks so much for your time, Alison, I appreciate it.
Alison Dubbert 27:43
Thank you for having me on.
Dean Klinkenberg 27:46
Hey, Dean Klinkenberg here interrupting myself. Just wanted to remind you that if you’d like to know more about the Mississippi River, check out my books. I write the Mississippi Valley Traveler Guide Books for people who want to get to know the river better. I also write the Frank Dodge mystery series set in certain places along the Mississippi. Read those books to find out how many different ways my protagonist Frank Dodge can get into trouble. My newest book, “Mississippi River Mayhem” details some of the disasters and tragedies that happened along Old Man River. Find any of them wherever books are sold. Cory Jobe is President and CEO of Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau based in Alton, Illinois. And Cory is here to tell us a few tips for viewing the eclipse on the Illinois route of this eclipse in 2024. Cory, welcome to the podcast.
Cory Jobe 28:37
Thank you, Dean for having me. I am excited. This will be my second solar eclipse in not too many years. I was around for the 2017 and excited that Illinois is going to be in the path for 2024.
Dean Klinkenberg 28:54
Boy, talk about being in the path too. There’s a pretty wide swath of Southern Illinois that will see a full solar eclipse. Can you just kind of give us a ballpark sense of the how wide the area is through Illinois where people will be able to see the full eclipse?
Cory Jobe 29:10
Yeah, so we’re, you know, obviously the base or the really the best the view of totality is the Carbondale Makanda area. That was I think they call it the Crossroads of the Eclipse because that was the epicenter in 2017. And again in 2024 coming up. But wide path throughout southern Illinois, really starting within our area. We’re at 90 plus percent, which is great. It’s not 100% but it’s still 90%. We’re pretty 90 plus percent. We’re pretty excited about that. But all of Southern Illinois will experience it and so you know, we represent six counties in southwest Illinois. So many of our counties will be in that path and we’re looking forward to it.
Dean Klinkenberg 30:04
So, I know there are only really a couple of population centers, really on the Missouri side Cape Girardeau, but it’s right there on the border. And then Carbondale but otherwise there is a lot of open space. Do you have a sense of right now, like what areas you’re hearing are probably most likely to be most heavily visited?
Cory Jobe 30:28
Yeah, I think again, you know, I can recall from 2017. The, you know, all the hotels were sold out. But it was amazing. I think we were still trying to figure out we’re trying to judge, really how many people were in Southern Illinois or in the Carbondale Shawnee National Forest area, and I was living in Chicago back then. And I was in in the area the week of and then through the event. And I just remember hiking one day at the Shawnee National Forest, taking some journalists with me, and I couldn’t believe the amount of cars that I had, that was there and I said, this is going to be a concern. Number one about traffic. And really, it was because there were so many Airbnb’s and RV parks and camping and one off type locations. And I remember after the eclipse was over, it took me 16 hours to drive from Carbondale SIU campus to Chicago.
Dean Klinkenberg 31:30
Oh, my goodness
Cory Jobe 31:31
Yes. And so it was quite an adventure. And so I think you’re going to see something like that, again, obviously. We are checking in with our hotels, you know, we’re pretty big population center outside of Carbondale area. Some of our hotels are starting to see an uptick in bookings. We’re not seeing many sold out at the moment. But I think we’re, we’re starting to see a movement in hotel overnight stays, you know, the versus in 2017 it was on a weekend. And obviously, in 2024, it’ll be on a Monday. And so that I think people are still trying to gauge how that’s going to be but yes, I think we’ll see a pretty good healthy, overnight stay at our lodging, but we have RV parks and camping facility campground facilities too. And so it’s obviously a different time of year than it was in 2017. And it’s on a Monday. And so I think we’re still waiting to see some better numbers closer to closer to the eclipse.
Dean Klinkenberg 32:35
Right. So in 2017, it was in August, so it was a little more favorable time to be spending a lot of time outdoors. This year on April 8, you know, you never know quite what the weather’s gonna be like. It could snow it could be 80 degrees.
Cory Jobe 32:50
Welcome to the Midwest, right. You know, we have a consultant that we’re working on a tourism master plan for the region and she’s from Portland, Oregon and her and her son, they’re going to they’re they’re traveling. They’re going to be traveling to the area and come out a week early and experience. They might try to go to Garden of the Gods or Shawnee National Forest and come back up. But yes, it’s just a different, you know, you know, in 2017 families were traveling for the week, and it was a summer last minute travel before back to school. So we’ll just see what what happens on a Monday. We can’t control the date.
Dean Klinkenberg 33:27
That’s right. Hopefully, there won’t be any clouds. So we’ll be able to see the eclipse.
Cory Jobe 33:32
Let’s hope for beautiful sunshine and the no clouds that day. Yes.
Dean Klinkenberg 33:36
So I am gonna guess that if you if somebody hasn’t booked a room yet and they’re thinking to come in Carbondale is probably going to be a hard place to get a room even now?
Cory Jobe 33:48
I would think so. I mean, I would encourage you know, where there’s 37 certified tourism bureaus in Illinois, were one of 37, the southern most tourism bureau covers the Carbondale area. I would encourage your listeners to search out those destinations, their websites, we have a landing page dedicated to all of our solar eclipse events. The events that are happening, We have a watch party, but there’s also a couple other things happening in the area and some good spots to view. And we’re, you can go right on our website and look for hotel rooms and book packages, those sorts of things.
Dean Klinkenberg 34:33
So at this point, what are a couple of the important tips are offering people if they haven’t made any plans yet? Yeah. And so just for some context about how long a drive is it from Alton to Carbondale?
Cory Jobe 34:38
Well, I would make sure you know, just from my personal experience, you know, it’s funny I was reliving a lot of this last couple of months as we’re making our final plans. I would encourage listeners to make sure you have a full tank of gas wherever you’re going and pack some snacks. Doesn’t matter, because there’s going to be traffic. This, this, as we all know, doesn’t happen very often. And this might be the last time some of our generations get to see it. And so be patient, I would plan ahead as much as possible in terms of restaurant reservations, get hotels booked immediately, if possible. Again, I think the Carbondale area is going to be more difficult, but I’m assuming there’s probably some still some rooms available. I don’t know that. But the better chance outside of that as you come further north and west and to the state, though, in our area. I can tell you there are still hotel rooms available, still reservations that can be made. But patience, pack your pack snacks and plan ahead because it’s, I wouldn’t do it, I wouldn’t make up your mind on Friday. You’re gonna go somewhere to view the solar eclipse in Illinois, because I think it’ll be too late. Oh, I’d say about three hours.
Dean Klinkenberg 36:04
Three hours. So you can do that the eclipse is in the afternoon. I think it hits the Mississippi River around two o’clock in the afternoon or so. And then progresses to the east from there. So I’m based on what you said with your experience, a 16 hour drive back to Chicago, I will say if you if you have the time maybe they should spend two nights there. Right? It’s a Sunday night and Monday night. So then you don’t have to deal with all that traffic trying to get back to Chicago or some other place.
Cory Jobe 36:06
Yeah. Correct. I was. I wish I had thought about that, too. I was ready to go home. I’d been in Southern Illinois for a week plus needed to get back to meetings. But yes, and I would think the closer you get a hotel, if you booked through hotels, they might there might be two night minimum. Sunday night, Monday night. So be prepared. But yes, I would you know, there’s plenty of things to see and do and, you know, downstate Illinois, there’s there’s a whole Illinois is so large. Not only is there things to see and do along the Great River Road in our area, but the Shawnee National Forest and Giant City State Park and the lodge they’re just beautiful, beautiful outdoor nature based product that that you can hike and there’s a great winery scene in Southern Illinois and really some really unique small towns and so plan ahead, there’s not always, you know, it’d be cool to see the eclipse, but there’s a lot of unique things to see and do and downstate.
Dean Klinkenberg 37:41
Yeah, thinking, you know, folks can get there even early enough on Sunday to have some time to look around and visit some local businesses, something it’s a little more spread out. There’s not a density of tourist sites in that part of Illinois, there’s a lot to see and do the lots of places to hike. And in early April, there should be some wildflowers starting to bloom. But and as you said, like Giant City State Park is in the path of this. It’s really it’s one of my favorite places to go. The Lodge is beautiful, and they have great fried chicken.
Cory Jobe 38:12
Yes, they do.
Dean Klinkenberg 38:13
And then all of the Shawnee National Forest is pretty much on the path of totality. So one thing I know what I was thinking about this by so I’m I’m one of these stragglers where I have not firmed up any plans yet. I have a couple of possibilities I’ve been waiting on but one of the things to think about too if you’re gonna be like in the forest, even Giant City or Shawnee National Forest, is you still need to find a spot that’s pretty open, right?
Cory Jobe 38:45
Yes.
Dean Klinkenberg 38:45
Otherwise the trees are gonna block your view of much of the experience. Right. That was a great tip for you had there too about packing some food and maybe some water too is, yeah, like there’s not a lot of places to fuel up or to eat when you get down in some of those parts of southern Illinois so be good to have some food with you in case you’re you know, you find out you’ve got a four hour wait to get a table somewhere.
Cory Jobe 38:49
That is correct. Yes. I mean, I, I remember in 2017, you know, we were at Saluki Stadium on the campus of Southern Illinois University, the football stadium. And you know, it was a little bit of an overcast day in that part of the state. So that wasn’t great. But yes, you need some wide open space to view. And so just begin to think about that too. And you know that again, there, there are so many events happening throughout Illinois, especially in southern Illinois, a lot of communities I get served ads all day long it seems like on Facebook about different things that are happening. So again, we have a list of events. We have an official watch party, if you can’t make it that far south in the state, we’ve got plenty of opportunity here in southwest Illinois. Yes, I agree. I mean, I think it’s just important that you think about that, right? Like you’re going on a road trip. Like the good old days, right? You make sure you just pack things, you just never know. That’s what my experience was in 2017. And I’m assuming it’ll be that same way again in 2024.
Dean Klinkenberg 40:20
So I know things aren’t necessarily going to be like they were in 2017. But were there some spots in 2017 that turned out to have a pretty good view of the eclipse that were not nearly as packed.
Cory Jobe 40:37
I think maybe the, you know, again, I think further up in like, toward our area, but I you know, I remember, even as far north as Effingham. But in here in the southwest part of the state, not as packed, not as busy. But for the most part, all around the Carbondale Makanda all that area was pretty busy. I mean, you get to the point that people just parked on streets or side roads. That’s how it got a little too busy. And so yes, I mean, I would say the further if you want to be in the the total totality, you want to be there, but if you’re okay, with a bit of a you know, 90 to 95%, you can come to the southern part, I mean, southwest part of the state. Yes, I again, I think the further south you go, the better. But again, keeping within, you know, in this St. Louis metro area is still going to be plenty of opportunity, and things to do.
Dean Klinkenberg 41:48
Yeah, I’ve tried to think off the top my head of some of this, but I am like, I would be willing to bet the Garden of the Gods hiking trail, that camping area there is probably going to be overwhelmed with people. Because for one thing, you have such a wide view of the of the the eclipse from there, probably that is not the ideal spot to go, especially at the last minute.
Cory Jobe 42:11
No, I would think not, you know, what I’m just looking there, there is going to be you know, it looks like Southern Illinois University is doing quite a bit of things again this year, which is exciting to see that. That was just a really nice setup there. You know, they opened it up for the football stadium and other places on campus. And, you know, that’s the, I think, the official NASA certified spot. And so I was just looking at their website and seeing some of the different things that are going to be doing but yes, that they’re not saying right now that anything’s closed. But again, just make sure you plan and, and think ahead, well in advance.
Dean Klinkenberg 43:01
I might also be tempted to find a small town somewhere that’s got a nice little park and just pull in there to watch the eclipse that probably aren’t going to be nearly as many people around as around, especially around the state parks and some of the more popular sites within Shawnee National Forest.
Cory Jobe 43:18
Well, I agree with you. I knew many people back in 2017 that would leave Springfield, Illinois and just drive as far south as they could and find a you know, a small community park or, you know, rural street or, you know, country road that they wouldn’t be able to park on. But yes, I mean, they’re, you know, and I forgot about this location, too, is the Bald Knob Cross area, they they did a big event. And they’re doing one again this year. And so that that’s a great location. That’s probably a ticketed event. But I know a lot of media that set up there too to view back in 2017.
Dean Klinkenberg 44:03
That’s around Alto Pass, I think.
Cory Jobe 44:05
That’s Alto I’m sorry, that’s Alto Pass area. Yes.
Dean Klinkenberg 44:08
Yeah. So yeah, so time the clock is ticking for me, too. If you’re going to spend the night you probably want to book some reservation as soon as possible. Otherwise, you’d be looking at the being a couple hours away, possibly, which isn’t the end of the world, but it just means a longer drive, especially coming back.
Cory Jobe 44:28
Yeah. And you know, I mean, I haven’t, I’d be remiss if I didn’t pitch and talk to you a little bit about what we you know, we’re having a viewing party in Collinsville along Route 66. Our events going to be from noon to three on April 8. And we’re partnering with the City of Collinsville and Old Herald Brewery and Distillery and we’re gonna have all sorts of activities. From live music to Old Herald Brewing Distilleries brewing a dark noon whisky and a solar shandy. They’re they’re a really cool brewery distillery. But we’re going to have different activities. Uptown Scoops, a local custard shop is going to do Moon Pie custard. And there’s gonna be a lot of lawn games and activities, live music, eyewear, all sorts of stuff. So we’re going to be doing that from noon to three on Monday. And would encourage any your listeners who may not want to travel too far south or can’t find rooms to join us in Collinsville.
Dean Klinkenberg 45:38
Great. And I’ll post a link to that in the show notes as well.
Cory Jobe 45:43
Great. Yeah, we have a whole lineup of activities and then different events. I know Cahokia Mounds is another great location. They don’t have any official events. But the obviously they have plenty of land to view. I know the Skyview Drive-In Movie Theater, that’s one of the last drive-in movie theaters on route 66 over in Litchfield is doing a whole weekend of activities. And I’m and there’s others. So a lot of different locations.
Dean Klinkenberg 46:16
Right. And because of the time of day of the eclipse, like there are the opportunities to do it as a day trip.
Cory Jobe 46:22
Yes, absolutely.
Dean Klinkenberg 46:24
Just keep in mind, it may take several hours to get back home when it’s over.
Cory Jobe 46:29
Yes, I think you’re right. I think that’s what caught me by surprise the most is the amount of people that really the amount of people that drove to Southern Illinois. And that I remember that traffic I remember we I mean, I mean, you go, we went up 57 And it was just we didn’t get clear till oh my gosh, we were welling north of Effingham. And it was just bumper to bumper for hours upon hours. But nothing I’d seen.
Dean Klinkenberg 47:05
You could have almost walked to Chicago in 16 hours.
Cory Jobe 47:10
Yes, you’re right. I have my dog with me, too. He wasn’t very happy.
Dean Klinkenberg 47:16
So what what was your memory? What was your experience of the eclipse like itself? But what do you remember? Especially about being able to view that.
Cory Jobe 47:24
No, it was just a really, I mean, even though it was a bit overcast, that you know that just the change in the the sky and the temperature and everything getting so quiet, and it just seemed like it kind of time stood still for a moment. You know, it, you know, I would have probably rather viewed it from somewhere in an open field where there wasn’t a ton of national television cameras and all that sort of stuff that probably impacted my experience a bit. But in the role I had, I didn’t have that choice. So I couldn’t do that. But I still have friends and colleagues and acquaintances that still talk about it. You know, I was obviously working in Illinois State government then. And then many people just took off that morning and started driving. And but I, you know, it’s, you think about all the cool things you do in a career, and I’ve gotten to do a lot of cool stuff. And that being a part of the eclipse was pretty, it ranks pretty high up there. So I’m hopeful that I get I’m looking forward to experience in Collinsville, obviously, but it won’t be total path of totality but still be a nice experience.
Dean Klinkenberg 48:40
And you won’t be surrounded by all those national TV cameras this time right?
Cory Jobe 48:44
Nope. I hope not. Maybe we will. I don’t know. I think what some locals but no, I think we’ll have just a relaxed afternoon and hopefully get to enjoy it.
Dean Klinkenberg 48:57
Great. So tell us a little bit about the Great Rivers and Routes.
Cory Jobe 49:00
Sure. So Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau. We’re the certified destination marketing and management organization for a six county region just outside of St. Louis. Across the river we have all of Madison, Macoupin Montgomery, Greene, Jersey, Calhoun counties, and then the City of East St. Louis and St. Clair County. What I like to you know, we’re famously known as the only place in North America where the Mother Road of Route 66 intersects with the Great River Road, which is also the Great River Road is also an All American Road, which is pretty unique and special. And so we were responsible for driving travel to and throughout our six county region. And so we do that in the multiple ways from leisure to sports tourism. We do a lot of motor coach and group travel and then experiencing an uptick in international travel. It’s not fully rebounded from the pandemic. Everything else has surpassed pandemic levels. Except international travel. It’ll it’s getting better. But we literally represent the last 100 miles of Route 66 in the state of Illinois, from Verden Girard and Macoupin County down to the Chain of Rocks Bridge. And we’re we’re gearing up for the 100th anniversary of Route 66, which will be in 2026. So it’s going to be a major major year for the country. It’s also the country’s 250th birthday in 2026. And locally, and in the region, it’s Miles Davis is 100th birthday. That would have been Miles Davis 100th birthday. So we have a lot to celebrate in 2026. And so yeah, we’re pretty excited. We, you know, we represent 39 communities in those six counties. And we get to tell the stories of people, places, sights, attractions, unique experiences every day.
Dean Klinkenberg 51:04
That’s fantastic. And of course, the great rivers in your region, you’ve got the three big rivers that kind of come together in the Illinois, Missouri and Mississippi. Yep.
Cory Jobe 51:13
And what’s pretty unique is we actually have four national scenic byways that traverse our region, Route 66, The National Road then we also have the Great River Road and then as you said, we also have the 33 mile stretch of the meeting of the Great Rivers National Scenic Byway behind me. That is a 33 mile stretch from Hartford to Pere Marquette State Park and that’s where the confluence of the three rivers, the Illinois and Missouri and Mississippi meets. And we actually manage the meeting of the Great Rivers National Scenic Byway, Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau does. So we we’re responsible for maintaining and telling the story of the route and the confluence of the three rivers and from various roadside attractions, exhibits, you name it.
Dean Klinkenberg 52:05
So what is the best way for people to follow or get information from Great Rivers and Routes? Fantastic. And I’ll put a link to that in the show notes as well. And thank you so much for your time.
Cory Jobe 52:10
You can go to our website, it’s riversandroutes.com. You can also follow us on all the social channels, #riversandroutes or @riversandroutes. Dean, thank you have a good afternoon.
Dean Klinkenberg 52:43
And now it’s time for the Mississippi Minute. The last time we had a full solar eclipse in our area was August of 2017 and I was lucky enough to be able to experience this eclipse on an island in the Mississippi River with a bunch of friends. Seven of us have packed our gear into canoes and a kayak and paddled from a boat landing all the way down to this island, where we camped for a night and then got up the next day in anticipation waiting for the eclipse experience. So I thought I would just share with you a little snippet from my journal from that particular trip. Just around those moments when the eclipse really got going. After a hearty breakfast, we spent the rest of the morning packing, swimming, chasing the shade, swimming some more and chatting as we waited for the eclipse to begin. The day heated up fast, hence the multiple swims and shade chasing. So when the eclipse finally began around noonish, I felt relieved. We could track the progress through the glasses, which was pretty cool, but there wasn’t much observable difference until at least two thirds of the sun was eclipsed. At that time, the light began to get more dull and some of the shadows changed, shortened and in some cases, ovals became prominent. Just a few minutes before totality, the woods behind us got very quiet. And the anticipation in our group was palpable. As the moon completely covered the sun there wasn’t a gradual change in light, but a quick transition to dusk. Everywhere I looked on every horizon, it was sunset. An awesome spectacle. The locusts chirped loudly again as it got dark and a flock of Canada geese came out of nowhere and quacked loudly as they flew past us. And then it was over. Someone said the whole experience was a was just about 90 seconds. But I didn’t track it myself. We weren’t all that isolated. In the morning several cars parked on the Missouri shore and someone flew a drone over us. We also had a plane fly over us pretty darn low, maybe just 40 feet off the ground. And there were quite a few pleasure boaters that passed the island. Of course, during the eclipse, I didn’t notice any of that. So while that one was a pretty quick experience with a minute and a half to maybe two minutes of total of totality, this time around, it’ll be twice as long. So that’s something to look forward to. And I look forward to going back and, and seeing if this eclipse inspires a different reaction in me. And I’d really love to hear what your experiences were like for the eclipse whether from 2017 or if you have a chance to get out the in April and experience this one. So drop me a note at MississippiValleyTraveler.com/contact and tell me about your eclipse experience. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to the series on your favorite podcast app so you don’t miss out on future episodes. I offer the podcast for free but when you support the show with a few bucks through Patreon, you help keep the program going. Just go to patreon.com/DeanKlinkenberg. If you want to know more about the Mississippi River, check out my books. I write the Mississippi Valley Traveler Guide Books for people who want to get to know the Mississippi better. I also write the Frank Dodge mystery series, set at certain places along the river. Find them wherever books are sold. The Mississippi Valley Traveler Podcast is written and produced by me, Dean Klinkenberg. Original Music by Noah Fence. See you next time.
