An often cloudy, yet stellar, eclipse
The solar eclipse reaches totality on April 8, 2024, over Grenwelge Park in Llano. Staff photo by Dakota Morrissiey
The clouds parted in Burnet and Llano just long enough to see the entire four minutes of the much anticipated total eclipse of the sun. In Marble Falls, however, revelers got only a minute.
Traffic is flowing well, according to Burnet County Sheriff Calvin Boyd.
“All our preparations paid off,” he said. “It’s going smoothly.”
As the sheriff’s office monitored traffic, eclipse viewers talked about the experience. No matter the length of time, for those who caught the show, it was amazing.
Jim Erick and wife Linda of Denver chose Marble Falls by chance.
“We saw the path of totality and started looking at places to possibly stay,” he said. “For one reason or another, Marble Falls stood out. We’re happy with our pick — minus the clouds.”
In Burnet, a small crowd spread out on the courthouse lawn for the full four-plus minutes of totality, when the moon blocked out the sun. Darkness fell, birds went quiet, and the stars came out. You could see both Jupiter and Venus.
For Aaron Tysdal and his family from Los Gatos, California, it was much better than the eclipse they viewed in 2017 in the northwest United States.
“This one being longer, it was also darker,” Tysdal said. “It noticeably looked like evening rather than just sort of late afternoon or twilight.”
John Crawford and Brenda Williams of Houston took the Hill Country Flyer from Cedar Park to Burnet because “it’s a really nice place to go.”
“We will never ever in our lifetime see it again,” Williams said.
“It was fantastic,” Crawford said. “It cleared up for us just in time for the entire thing. I can’t believe it cleared up just in time. It was spectacular.”
In Llano, the sun shone most of the day. Steve Hirt drove in with three friends from Los Angeles for “the view.”
“I went to Portland for the 2017 one, but I didn’t know enough about the eclipse to know that if you’re just outside the path of totality, it’s not the same,” he said. “I vowed to make up for it.”
Llano Police Officer Jake Scott reported a well-behaved crowd on the courthouse square.
“Everybody is behaving themselves, everybody is having a good time out here today,” he said. “We didn’t get quite the crowd we were expecting, but that’s a good thing. Everybody is enjoying themselves.”
As of 3 p.m., Sheriff Boyd reported that traffic was moving well in Burnet County. More than half of the 33,000 people at the Texas Eclipse Festival at Reveille Peak Ranch near Burnet are out of the venue and on the road, he said.
“Traffic is moving well except for Texas 29 eastbound,” he said. “It’s backing up at (U.S.) 281 and (Texas) 29, but (the Department of Public Safety) is going to start directing traffic there to get it cleared up. Traffic is normal through Marble Falls.”
The eclipse as it happened April 8, 2024
2 PM MONDAY: Eclipse chasers in Marble Falls partied in the town’s historic downtown district while listening to classic tunes performed by The Johnny Rogers Show. Others flocked to Lakeside Park to catch a view of the celestial event over Lake Marble Falls. While clouds created visibility issues for guests, a roughly one-minute break in coverage created a window of opportunity to witness the sun and moon in perfect totality.
2 PM MONDAY: Eclipse watchers cheered, whooped, cried, and hollered at Grenwelge Park in Llano as the eclipse reached totality. Llano was lucky enough to have a full view of the eclipse with very little cloud cover. Visitors are continuing to linger in town as the celestial festivities wind down. The crowds present in Llano eclipsed any major festival or holiday that the small town typically sees.
1:45 PM MONDAY: On the Burnet square, “eclipse” music played from Mad Hatters as dusk settled over the around 200 people staring up at the sky, most flat on their backs on the courthouse lawn. The clouds parted just long enough for the entire time of totality and then some.
As the moon moves on, “morning” dawns, and some people slowly make their way to their cars. Many are hanging out and enjoying the community spirit.
1 PM MONDAY: The sky over Llano has mostly cleared, although it’s a little hazy. Clouds are persistent in Marble Falls with short breaks in between. Large clouds are in the distance as we approach totality at around 1:30 p.m.
12:45 PM MONDAY: Cloud coverage over Marble Falls is making eclipse viewing a little difficult right now.
12:30 PM MONDAY:
The eclipse has begun! Around 350 people descended on the Burnet courthouse square, where Mad Hatters is serving barbecue cooked on a large pit out front. People are gathering. A harpist playing country music decided to sing “I Can See Clearly Now.” A helicopter is buzzing around the Texas Eclipse Festival monitoring the traffic leaving Reveille Peak Ranch.
11:40 AM MONDAY: Traffic lights on U.S. 281 and Texas 29 are blinking to help facilitate the traffic leaving the Texas Eclipse Festival at Reveille Peak Ranch near Burnet. Officers are manually controlling the lights at the intersection of the two roadways. How long this will continue depends on traffic flow, reported a Burnet city official.
Downtown Marble Falls is rocking
10:50 AM MONDAY: Tourist activity in Marble Falls remains lower than anticipated. No major emergencies or incidents to report.
“It’s dead out here,” said Jimmy Cole, captain of the Marble Falls Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division.
10:45 AM MONDAY: Skies are clearing in Burnet and Marble Falls and should remain clear through the total eclipse this afternoon. The moon will block the sun, which is known as totality, at about 1:30 p.m. for around four minutes. Heavy clouds and storms are predicted to begin around 4 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.
Skies clearing in Marble Falls
10:20 AM MONDAY: Traffic along Texas 29 in Burnet is starting to build from east to west, possibly heading for sunnier skies in Llano County to view the eclipse. Law enforcement officials report that guests at the Texas Eclipse Festival at Reveille Peak Ranch near Burnet are starting to make their way out of the venue. Traffic officers are reporting a tour bus has blocked traffic on Texas 29 near RR 2341, which leads to the festival.
Badu Park filling up with eclipse watchers
Fueling up for the eclipse
9:51 AM MONDAY: The parking lot at Lakeside Park in Marble Falls is filling up with cars as the morning progresses.
9:47 AM MONDAY:
Despite forecasts of rain and clouds in the Highland Lakes from the National Weather Service, the city of Llano has clear, blue skies.
Severe storms are predicted for later in the day in Burnet and Llano counties, but the eclipse might be visible from Llano if current conditions hold.
9:40 AM MONDAY:
Traffic in Marble Falls is below average. Spaces are available throughout the downtown district ahead of the Downtown Eclipse Block Party, which starts at 11 a.m.
9:40 AM MONDAY:
The city of Llano is seeing heavier traffic than usual for a Monday morning and nearly every parking space on the historic town square is occupied.
The Tesla charging stations, which normally host one or two cars, are all taken.
9:20 AM MONDAY: The Texas Eclipse Festival at Reveille Peak Ranch will end a day early (on Monday) “in a calm orderly manner,” according to a notice posted on the Burnet County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.
“The emergency plan we have in place for the entire event will continue,” Chief Deputy Alan Trevino told DailyTrib.com.
Guests at the festival may stay for the eclipse but are asked to be packed and ready to go as soon as possible once totality has ended, which should be around 1:40 p.m. Monday.
8:38 AM MONDAY: The Texas Eclipse Festival is ending early due to predicted storms on Monday. Traffic will start letting out from the event at Reveille Peak Ranch in Burnet County later this morning. The festival was supposed to have ended on Tuesday. The Burnet County Sheriff’s Office sent the following message Monday morning:
The Burnet County Sheriff’s Office has received the following notice from the organizers of the music festival at Reveille Peak Ranch: Given that this event is being cancelled early, we expect a surge of traffic in the county to begin later this morning (Monday) or in the early afternoon. Please be patient and avoid making unnecessary trips.
Plans might change as details unfold. Check back with DailyTrib.com for more information.
1 thought on “An often cloudy, yet stellar, eclipse”
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The eclipse was spectacular. Thank goodness for the predicted storms so maybe folks ANYWHERE NEAR reveille peak might get a decent night’s sleep after 4 days of extremely loud “music” keeping us awake ALL night. So rude. Ought to be against the law.