So bummed about the overcast skies, but it was amazing! My family came up from Dallas to KC for the view! read more

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Have you ever seen the sun set at 1 p.m.? Sure it feels like that in the winter around here sometimes, but this was so similar to a true evening coming on, albeit very briefly. This two minute "evening" eerily crept in and I have to say... it was as cool as advertised! My experience was watching with some wonderful fellow Yelpers at The Exchange in Lead Bank in the Crossroads which was a rooftop overlooking downtown KC. Sipping sodas and nervously looking through eclipse glasses, I enjoyed watching the sun shrink into a sliver through the glasses. However, the phenomenon of seeing city lights flip on was the coolest part to me. The whole thing has an eery, exciting vibe like when a huge thunderstorm suddenly forms overhead. I can only imagine what people thousands of years ago thought when an eclipse happened, and wouldn't they naturally look up and stare at it? Y'ouch. I'll admit I didn't understand all the hype for it and talk of closing roads and schools, but once I experienced it and felt the excitement, I changed my tune. Great time, glad it was in our backyard, and the rarity of it makes it a special experience no matter what. read more

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Review 1,000!!!!!! I travelled to Marshall, MO to be in totality for 2 minutes. We had cloud cover. No rain. I was afraid we wouldn't be able to see it. Marshall is right on the line of totality. Marshall was all about the eclipse. The entire town has been planning this for months. But the cloud cover....but it got colder, probably dropped by 15 degrees. But suddenly, the clouds dispersed. We put the glasses on and watched the sun for 90 minutes. I allowed for the energy to go into my soul, and it was amazing. Yes, that's the kind of things I do. Once the ring around the moon showed, everyone in the parking lot of over 300 people clapped and hollered and cheered. The sky got dark, dusk like, and the streetlights came on, as did the airport runway lights. Then it got brighter, slowly. The sun through my glasses looked like an orange crescent sun. I stayed like that for a long time. It was a cosmic experience I will never forget. read more

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Since we live in the path of totality, we invited a few friends over to join us for a watch party. We ended up with 50-60 people at the house, from as far away as Germany, Alaska, and Florida, along with a bunch of "locals". I smoked some ribs and we had a potluck. The day started iffy with storms to both the north and south of us and cloudy skies. The rain managed to slip around us and moved eastward, and sunny skies prevailed right up until totality when the cloud cover returned. It was awesome to see the various "phases" of the sun as the moon eclipsed it, and totality was completely amazing. The skies got very dark, and for a few moments you could see both sunrise/sunset effects at the same time on either side of the shadow band on the horizon. The changes in behavior of the insects and animals on the farm were interesting to witness as well. All in all, it was a wonderful experience, even though it got cloudy during totality. We still managed to capture some great images and saw some solar flares around the edge of the moon. read more

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This was so cool that we already planned our trip to Waxahachie, TX in 2024! Eric R. and I had friends (all yelpers) drive in from Michigan (Heather K.) and Texas (Carlie M. and Brian M.) to stay with us for this epic event. We drove to Beatrice, NE for the eclipse. We expected the worst traffic so we left at 6:30 AM but we were the only car on the road it seemed, so we got there at 8:00 AM. We stopped by the Chamber of Commerce to sign in and get free postcards (which read I GOT MOONED!), then shopped for shirts downtown before finding a park to settle into for the eclipse. Once we parked, we went tailgate style and pitched a tent right behind the car. We brought chairs, picnic blankets, and coolers of food and beverages. We had to entertain ourselves for a few hours before the eclipse started around 11:37 AM. There were spouts of rain and cloud cover, but for the most part, we could see the eclipse occurring over that time towards totality at 1:02:11 PM. About 3-4 minutes before totality, clouds were completely blocking the view and we were freaking out but they moved just in time. Right at 1:02, the park lights turned on as the sky looked like sunsets in all directions, the corona/ "diamond ring" effect occurred, and it went dark and got cool. It was crazy to experience that during the day! Afterwards, we watched the "reverse" eclipse for a little bit before driving back - we were going against traffic which was all headed toward 77. When we got on our rural roads to head back towards Manhappiness, no one was on the road once again. We made it back easily and went straight to Call Hall to celebrate with local ice cream. We were all excited to experience it together and look forward to 2024! read more

On a football field with 1,000 of my closest friends, and Total Eclipse of the Heart blaring over the stadium speakers. Absolutely in love with our planet! read more

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Yeah that was cool. I liked the crescent shaped shadows on the ground and the fact that it got so dark that the crickets and cicadas started their nighttime song. It was fun to know that you and millions of other people were all stopped enjoying the same thing. The quiet was really profound. read more

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Storm before and storm after, but PERFECT 2-minute totality in Liberty MO! Truly amazing! Some observations: we heard a rooster crow, but I didn't notice any other unusual animal activity; I guess there weren't many birds around. Didn't hear any locusts or crickets, and it didn't get totally dark. Also missing were the wind gusts and 10-degree temperature drop (one person actually brought a thermometer and said it got 2 degrees cooler). But the sunset and eery dusk were pretty darn cool. SO glad I got to see it! read more

Solar Eclipse 2017 - Waiting for totality in Liberty MO - Local Flavor Near Me - Kansas City, Missouri

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Had rooftop status at the Yelp Lead Bank Event. Since we didn't melt or get taken over by aliens, we got to enjoy yummy treats, like Nothing Bundt Cakes, Sundry Sodas and some Eclipse glasses. It was also fun to meet more Yelpers, from the area. Thanks for another cool event Adam, you def know how to treat your peeps well! xo read more

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I opted to stay in downtown and view the eclipse during my lunch break so Lead Bank was the perfect place to go. Thank you, Adam and Lead Bank, for putting on an eclipse viewing event at the rooftop patio. We did not have to worry about getting eclipse sunglasses since those were provided, and there was refreshing soda from The Sundry and dessert from Nothing Bundt Cakes. It was great being outside and seeing how many people were outside too. Other rooftop parties were going on as well, and many who were working simply went outside of their office buildings to hang out and enjoy the festivities during their break time. The excitement filled the sky with the sound of people all over cheering and celebrating together. Seeing the eclipse itself was an amazing experience, but even more amazing was seeing how people all came together. read more

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We got lucky. We drove from Lawrence to the Harry Truman Library, which was within the totality region. Our friends in Lawrence were very disappointed, since the cloud cover completely blocked even the partial eclipse they were expecting. I am sure that those at the eclipse special event at KU must have been especially disappointed. The morning thunderstorm at the Truman Library cleared in time for the eclipse. The sky was clear, and we got to see the total eclipse for about a minute. Since Independence was not near the center of totality, the total eclipse did not last as long as at places like St. Joseph, but the 1 minutes was wonderful to watch. The outside lights at the Truman library turned on during the 1 minute of totality. We had considered driving to St. Joseph instead, to be near the center of totality, but we got lucky again by not going there. According to the reports in the KC Star, the eclipse was a "bust" in St. Joseph, because of the cloud cover. In Independence, the eclipse was in an area of the sky that was completely clear. Before the eclipse during the thunderstorm in the morning, we stayed inside the Truman library to see the exhibits, so all went very well for us. read more

Neat to see, saw it Italy several years ago through a welding mask at Camp Darby. It was an odd feeling like the zombie apocalypse or something. Wish it had been clear outside, overcast skies didn't help. read more

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Uh.Maze.Ing. We watched from the comfort of our driveway which was in the path of totality. Thunderstorms bookended the eclipse, so it made the sunshine and experience of totality even more special. We had a few wispy clouds that took a center stage right during the darkness and got to see the beautiful colorful clouds on the horizons and hear crickets chirping. We celebrated with a healthy snack of beer and Moon Pies. It makes me excited to plan a road trip for the one in 2024! read more

The clouds tried to hard to ruin it for us! The one good thing they did was keep the temperature down for us! We drove to pretty much the middle of nowhere to be away from strangers and closer to totality. It was a great afternoon for us! I made my poor husband take a million photos of me and our 2 year old son with the rural scenery. About 30 minutes until totality, we started my sons favorite movie in the mini van and cranked the A/C so we could sit out of the back and watch. We had 2 minutes and 28 seconds of totality. The clouds were so dense that we could probably only see it for about half of that time, but it was worth it! The crickets started chirping and a street light came on very far in the distance. By far my favorite part was the surrounding sky - to one side we had a sunset and to the other a sunrise. It was one of the most remarkable things I've ever seen! It was amazing to get to experience while pregnant too - a great story to tell later on. I hope to take the kids to go see it again, hopefully without all of the clouds! read more

Solar Eclipse 2017 - Silly clouds. - Local Flavor Near Me - Kansas City, Missouri

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I had spent several weeks trying to decide where I wanted to be for this probable once in a lifetime event. I chose a small remote cemetery in rural Clinton County MO that was near the center line of totality. The cemetery is the only thing that remains of the forgotten town of Lilly. This is where one set of my Great-Great grandparents are buried and I can imagine them watching the last total eclipse in this region that occurred in 1869 from their farm nearby. The cemetery is not only remote - 2 gravel roads off a county road - it is on a hillcrest, with a great view of the surrounding horizons. I arrived early not knowing traffic conditions and when I arrived, to my surprise, another car was there and with New York plates. A retired science teacher and his wife drove from Rochester to this exact spot because of the isolation and the hillcrest also! We killed the time waiting pulling weeds from the cemetery rose garden with him educating me on eclipse's and cemetery stone and I schooling him in local history. Once the totality struck with silence, darkness, temperature change and euphoria and slight panic made this a phenomenal event and a memorable day. read more

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I made a last minute decision to drive out for a better shot of the eclipse. As I drove, the incoming clouds made good view points tough to locate but I found a great one at The Argosy. With the back down, I stretched out in reverse in the drivers seat watching the production through the sunroof while nesting my head on the steering wheel. I had brought a book with me to look through while waiting for the 1:07 hit time, but being out under the sun amongst other onlookers, I was in awe. It was beautiful & amazing to see. I kept taking pictures with my phone using the film from my viewing glasses as a filter to keep this memory. I felt blessed to be this close to a point of totality. It was weird but incredible to be surrounded by midnight at midday. read more

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Amazing experience from the roof top of the Lead Bank in the Cross Roads. BIG Thanks to Adam S. for setting up a fun venue and event to watch this once in a lifetime opportunity. We got super lucky with the clouds clearing giving us the chance to see the eclipse in all its glory! Super fun to see all the people out on roof tops in the area ... just as it hit 100% and went dark someone yelled "I love Kansas City!" ... I'd say I have to agree!! We live in a pretty spectacular town and universe! read more

Solar Eclipse 2017 - It's about to get real! - Local Flavor Near Me - Kansas City, Missouri

What an epic experience. It was great to view it from the Lead Bank rooftop patio. Nice little venue that I would not have know about until this event. read more

Solar Eclipse 2017 - Will never forget this experience! - Local Flavor Near Me - Kansas City, Missouri

1991 I was in elementary school. My first complete solar eclipse. Fast forward 16 years later... My second. I went up just below Excelsior Springs and found a local church with other people looking to do the same. Crescent Lake Church was kind and offered water and use of their restrooms. Clouds cleared out. Traffic was minimal off the 291. Nice to witness it again. I hear Kansas was bleh. read more

I've lived in many places. This wasn't my first eclipse. But by far the most enjoyable.

We had clouds roll in at literally the last minute here in Overland Park... but it was very cool in an eerie way to stand in the gloom, feel the temperature drop, hear the confused birds & insects start their nighttime noises... a deeply moving experience. read more

The sun and the moon really exceeded my expectations. I was lucky enough to be in Kansas City for this event, in the path of totatality. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am so happy I got to experience it. The crowds in KC River North were so friendly and I was so happy to be standing to so many enthusiastic people. The world needs more events like this that bring us together, more often. read more

Hearing night insect noises during the day was my favorite part. Sure, darkness in the early afternoon is a trip, but hearing the cacaphony of cricket and cicada noises was a blast. Poor confused little critters! read more

Had clouds roll in the last minute in Overland Park, so I missed the actual eclipse, but was able to stream it on NASA's website. But was able to see it move through the stages all the way up till then with my glasses. It was still very cool! read more

I was so excited for the solar eclipse! We drove north from Kansas City to Smithville where we joined a watch party at a family friend's house. The party was stocked with all of the best treats including Sun Chips, Moon Pies, Corona beers, etc. Unfortunately, we experienced cloud cover and rain for most of the afternoon, but there was a brief period (~1hr) right when the eclipse began (~11:30AM) that we had clear skies for viewing. As the time to totality (~1:07PM) crept closer we decided to try and drive further south, back toward the city to see if we could reach some clearer skies. At the time of totality we pulled over down a road off the highway where we were able to see the eclipse peaking out through the clouds from time to time. It was eerily awesome how dark it was outside and amazing how quickly it became light again. I was very happy to have my eclipse viewing glasses, which were SO cool to use for observing this spectacular event! read more

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Giving it 5 stars for the venue we chose to view it at! We went to Les Bourgeois Winery in Rocheport,Mo. Wine, Cheese, Music, and friendly folks. HOWEVER, at exactly totality, it started to rain..and continued for exactly the length of totality!! But we took photos of the people and darkness..and it was awe inspiring and very moving! read more