Gaspe Eclipse Trip, July 1972.

I have no journal of this 1972 trip. However, shortly afterward, I wrote a poem, Encore, and a short story, The Colony, that describes some of my experiences, though in a somewhat fanciful way.

These notes were written in May 2013, when I scanned the photos.

My father, Bill Menke Sr., drove two of my high school friends, Victor Baltera and Philip Case, and me to the town of Cap-Chat on the Gaspe Peninsula of Quebec, in his Chevy station wagon, to view the total solar eclipse of July 10, 1972.

The trip took several days, as the distance from East Rockaway NY to Cap-Chat QB is about 800 miles. I think that we drove the way up more or less without stopping, but we camped overnight in one of the Maine parks – Acadia, perhaps – on the way back.

I have a vivid memory of driving Rt 299, which at the time was a well-graded but unpaved road, across the Gaspe Peninsula. I remember hoping that we did not have a flat while crossing Gaspésie National Park, for it was a really wild lonely place!

We observed the eclipse from a field near Cap-Chat QB. Victor had brought his telescope, which had an attachment for projecting the sun’s image onto a screen and I had brought my Kowa SLR camera, which had a telephoto lens.

Unfortunately, while the day of the eclipse began sunny, overcast developed in the afternoon, so that the sun became progressively more obscured. We were able to see the beginning stages of the eclipse relatively well, but experienced totality only as a darkening of the sky.

Our stop along the Maine shore was delightful, owing to clear weather and the beautiful views along the shore. Phil, Vic and I spent several hours clambering over rock ledges, looking into tidal pools and admiring the view of the sea.

Bill Menke

May 2013