From every corner of the country and every part of the world, visitors are pouring into North Texas for the rare chance to witness a total solar eclipse.
“I’ve seen a partial one, back in August maybe. That was pretty cool, but this… I think this is going to be awesome,” said Hunter Burton.
Burton, a space camp veteran, was among those checking out the solar stroll in downtown Dallas’s Main Street Garden Saturday to get a lay of the land and to pick up supplies.
He encouraged his family to make plans last year, traveling from Las Vegas and Massachusetts.
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“I had no idea that it was this popular. No idea,” said Hunter’s mom Michelle Burton.
Elaine McLean from Lennoxtown, Scotland was among those who struggled to find a hotel room with 90 percent of the city’s 35,000 rooms booked.
Monday will be the third eclipse she’s watched from the path of totality.
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“We saw our first eclipse in the south of England in 1999 and then we saw our second eclipse in 2017 in South Carolina. So we’re hoping the skies will be clear and we’ll see our third here in Texas,” said McLean.
This time, she was hoping to see the stars. Each experience, she explains, is different.
“It gives you tingles up your spine when it happens. It’s just most bizarre,” she said.
For those who’ve gone to great lengths to be in the path of totality, predicted cloud cover is a disappointment but not enough to ruin the experience.
“We can’t change it, can we? So just have to hope for the best,” said McLean.
They’ll get mere minutes to witness a once-in-a-lifetime site alongside people from all over the world.
