Against the odds and against the weather forecasts, it was crystal clear here last night, giving a wonderful view of the eclipse all the way from start to finish. I was at my wife's school in the evening and was able to talk to some of the kids about how the curved shadow helped the Greeks to conclude that the Earth was round, and that the reddish colour was due to sunlight being bent through our own atmosphere.

Then, this morning, there were smooth horizontal bands of clouds in the south-east, and the rising sun turned them pink but also cast long rays of black shadows from the crags of the North Cascades. Incredible sight - I almost drove off the road.