Locals turn out to witness eclipse

The clouds got in the way, but eastern New Mexico residents on Monday were at least able to experience the first total solar eclipse to cross the U.S. in most of our lifetimes.

Since the last one was 99 years ago, Clovis Community College Professor Don Scroggins told his anatomy and physiology students they could leave class early on one condition: they had to observe the eclipse.

Scroggins, who is also the curator for the college's science museum, set up a device he called a "sunspotter" and pinhole viewers so students and visitors could safely observe the eclipse on the college campus.

Tonja Winters brought four of her children, whom she homeschools.

"I remember making the pinhole projectors in elementary school in Utah," she said.

Her son, Kevin Winters, 16, wore viewing glasses and marveled at how small the sun looked as the moon passed over.

"I think it's a cool planetary event," he said.

Residents across the region looked skyward as the sun was 74 percent covered by the moon just before noon.

Morgandy Barnett and her family gathered to watch in a parking lot off of State Highway 209. The kids were armed with a welding helmet to protect their eyes.

"It's such an amazing experience. It's definitely worth making time for," Barnett said.

Nearby, a crowd gathered in the Clovis' Wal-Mart parking lot where viewing glasses were shared with customers and store employees.

Penny Ortega shared the experience on social media: "(It) was pretty awesome to stand still for just a moment and witness something amazing," she wrote.

Aleta DeSalvo Wills watched the eclipse from the back yard of her home at Cannon Air Force Base.

"We homeschool, so we had all six of us in our back yard," she said. "We had glasses and made a box viewer."

The event had Wills' children excited, and looking forward to future events. Maddie Wills, 8, proclaimed,

"I can't wait for the next eclipse," said Maddie Wills, 8.

When it ended, Wills' 3-year-old son Ryan was upset. He wanted to "peek at the eclipse" again, he said.

There is some good news for Ryan: He won't have to wait 99 years for another total solar eclipse. The next one is expected on April 8, 2024.