Behind the Story: It's total eclipse time!

Here are two truths and a lie about Statesman Journal (Salem, Ore.) columnist Capi Lynn:

• She’s an umbraphile, which technically translates to “shadow lover” but means eclipse chaser.
• She was a sports writer for 13 years, covering Portland Trail Blazers basketball.
• She nicknamed a local mystery philanthropist who leaves $100 bills around town “Benny,” and now he signs his bills with that moniker.

As we read this newsletter, Capi Lynn has been dry camping for four days in a farmer’s field-turned-pop-up-campsite called Solartown in Madras, Ore., along with potentially 20,000 people waiting for the moment of total solar eclipse. No, she’s not an umbraphile. (That was the lie.) The truth: She’s here to tell their stories.

“There’s a gentleman from University of Arizona who’s an astronomer and has seen 33 eclipses, has traveled all over the world for this. His name is Glenn Schneider, super interesting,” Lynn says over phone on Wednesday, a day before heading out to start her eclipse reporting.

“But really, I’m looking to find people with stories. Who’s traveled to Madras, Oregon, to watch smack-dab in the middle of the totality?" she says. "That’s what I do with my column usually. I write about interesting people. Let’s find the interesting people of the eclipse.” (And seems like she's finding them -- here's a video Lynn took Sunday with some excited aliens.)

Lynn is one of the many reporters across the Paste BN NETWORK covering the full solar eclipse across the USA today, Aug. 21. She’s one of a team of four journalists camping in Madras (population: 6,200; eclipse population: expected 100,000), but that’s just the beginning.

“We’ll have coverage around the country, and certainly a ton in this state,” Lynn says. Reporters usually based in Salem will be heading out across Oregon, from the coast where people will catch first sight of the eclipse at 9:05 a.m. PT inland. Additionally, reporters from the Desert Sun (Palm Springs, Calif.) and the Paste BN Los Angeles bureau have headed north for the event. 

“We’ll be doing a live feed, then passing it off to reporters in the next town,” she explains. “It’s like the greatest live feed relay ever and we have people all along the path. Who else can say that? That really does show the power of the Paste BN NETWORK and shows how we can do things as a team.”

Lynn is primarily a columnist for the Statesman Journal, covering human interest stories and personalities in the community, from World War II veterans to nonprofits. She found out she’d be covering the eclipse in April and that’s when the planning began.

The group is staying in Lynn’s RV, about four miles from any sort of press tent. “Dry shampoo, that was a new one. We have tons of chargers and will be watching our water because this is five days of dry camping. It will be an adventure,” she says.

As for research, “I’m not really a science geek, and that’s the point. I am here to tell stories," she says. "But one thing I do know: wear the glasses.”

Follow all of the Paste BN NETWORK eclipse coverage here. Follow Capi Lynn on Twitter.

Other quick-links: What time is the eclipse where I live?
What’s the latest solar eclipse weather forecast?
If there’s a solar eclipse and you don’t take a smartphone photo of it, did it ever really happen? (And other FAQs.) 
Most importantly, what’s the eclipse party scene like?

Miss the total solar eclipse? Catch the next one in 2024. Miss this newsletter? Catch the next one in two weeks.