Park Unit 82: The Total Solar Eclipse at Stones River National Battleground

8/21/17. We flew in last night to Nashville for the opportunity to see the solar eclipse in the zone of totality.

The highways all read "No parking during eclipse"

This morning we stopped at Wal-Mart for chairs, umbrellas, and snacks, then drove to Stones River National Battlefield. As we reached the park, the rangers directed us to a special entrance for the event and they gave us glasses, brochures about the special events and the park unigrid.

Line to get into Stones River NB

We parked and found a shady spot to settle down and wait for the eclipse to start. There was already a big crowd by 9:30 and throughout the morning, more people arrived.

We toured the visitor's center and some of the grounds. The National Park Service had a special stamp made up for the occasion!

Partial eclipse 1

Partial eclipse 2

Almost full eclipse 3

Corona in full eclipse 4

Sun peeking out after full eclipse

The eclipse started at noon and it was fun to chat with other people while we checked the progress of the moon. At the full eclipse, the sky went dark, except for the horizon far off. People cheered and the stunning corona appeared. It didn't last as long as we had expected. When the corona finished and went back into partial eclipse, most people packed up and left. It was truly an amazing event and we were lucky that the large puffy clouds did not fully obstruct the totality. After the totality, we stayed for a while longer, and drove past the national cemetery on our way back to the Nashville area.

This park commemorates many of the Civil War battles in this area. They had good displays for children along with interactive elements. We're not fans of the war stories, but this park did an effective job of describing life during this period and how the war affected the area.