Through the looking glasses

COEUR d’ALENE — For a few minutes Monday morning, the clouds cleared and the sun broke through.

That’s when Nichelle Holmes looked skyward at Independence Point while wearing a pair of solar eclipse glasses.

It was then she could see what many were hoping to see: The moon passing between the sun and Earth, partially blocking the sun’s light.

It was as spectacular as she hoped.

“When you have glasses on it’s totally different,” she said. “It’s beautiful.”

Her sister, Carissa Schmitz, had earlier suggested they meet for coffee and check out the partial solar eclipse that was supposed to be visible from Coeur d’Alene between 10:40 a.m. to 12:33 p.m. 

Holmes agreed. She bought a few pairs of solar eclipse glasses at Staples for $2.99 each and showed up with 3-year-old son Jaxon.

“I don’t want to miss out,” she said.

Neither was disappointed. Despite mostly cloudy skies, the sun made an appearance just before 11 a.m. With glasses, they could see the moon obscuring the sun's lower quarter.

When she saw the eclipse, Holmes gave her sister a playful slap.

“You can see it,” she said. “Pretty cool.”

Several others drove and walked to Independence Point to see what they could of the partial solar eclipse.

Coeur d'Alene saw 27% of the sun eclipsed by the moon at its max, according to Time and Date.

Curt Fasciona of Coeur d’Alene sat in his car while taking pictures with his phone through a pair of sunglasses.

He said he’s been following the news about the eclipse and wanted to see it for himself.

His pictures told the story.

“These turned out fairly decent, actually,” he said. “It works.”

Friends Maggie Bennett and Holly Lehrman were walking along Coeur d’Alene’s waterfront when Holmes and Schmitz offered their glasses so they could view the eclipse.

“Oh, wow. I am so excited I got to see it,” Bennett said, smiling.

She didn’t expect to see much because of the morning clouds, but was pleased when they suddenly seemed to part and opened the skies.

“It’s awesome,” Bennett said. “I thought it was amazing.”

According to Time and Date, the next solar eclipse will be Oct.  2, but it won’t be visible in Coeur d’Alene.

The next eclipse in Coeur d'Alene will be a partial solar eclipse Jan. 14, 2029.

    Nichelle Holmes views the partial solar eclipse in Coeur d'Alene on Monday morning.