It’s been a few weeks since the solar eclipse captivated many of us. Some Wisconsinites, like WPR’s Norman Gilliland, traveled to Illinois to witness the rare totality. While the moments of darkness have stuck with him, there’s another phenomenon he can’t stop thinking about: finding other Wisconsin eclipse chasers far from home at an EV charging station.
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Like Canterbury pilgrims embarking on a springtime quest, we set out from Middleton, Wisconsin, hoping to get a good look at a much-anticipated solar eclipse. So we set out for a town in the path of totality—Benton, Illinois.
As it turned out, we never quite left Wisconsin.
We took our e-car, a late model Kia good for 280 miles on a full charge — more or less. On the first day of our pilgrimage, it turned out to be a lot less. After a pummeling from a 20-mile-an-hour headwind and blinding rain, our hypothetical miles of charge plummeted. I began to hope that the car had emergency pedals. We limped into the Walmart parking lot in Bloomington, Illinois, with just 14 miles of charge left.
That’s where the magic began. A bunch of e-cars were clustered around the three working charging stations like hyenas at a watering hole. A woman named Margaret came up and wrote our license plate number down in a notebook and informed us that we were twelfth in line to get to a charger. Each car ahead of us was going to take at least half an hour to charge.
The day had turned sunny and fair, though, and the other e-drivers waiting seemed in no hurry as they stood around chatting, sharing their automotive experiences and, in some cases, their life stories. It turned out that most of them were from Wisconsin and several were Wisconsin Public Radio listeners.
Like WPR’s Norman Gilliland and other Wisconsinites, WPR’s Jonah Beleckis also traveled south to see the eclipse with his family. They witnessed the totality from this house in Bloomington, Indiana on April 8, 2024. (Jonah Beleckis/WPR)
There was Charles, a heart-lung transplant recipient from the Madison area, on his way to see the eclipse at a campground in Indiana. John and Mary, from somewhere near New Glarus, were going to see the eclipse and then go on to Italy. Noah had driven his red e-Mustang down from a small town near Wausau. From farther afield, Bill had come from Iron City, Michigan. And Roy from Duluth.
Margaret was the friendly self-appointed maître d’, keeping track of who got the next charger. Someone else was passing out mini chocolate bars. And the cars kept coming. Whenever someone finally got to a charger, everyone clapped and cheered as if it was a college graduation. The long wait had turned into a Badger block party. Phone numbers and email addresses changed hands. When Margaret graduated, she handed the notebook over to someone else.
WPR’s Norman Gilliland witnesses the eclipse north of Benton, Illinois on April 8, 2024. (Photo by Amanda Gilliland)
It was the fastest four hours you could hope to spend in a Walmart parking lot. Recharging again in Springfield was comparatively lonely. Maybe because it was midnight.
The next day, we decided to get off the Interstate and take the back roads because at slower speeds we could get better mileage. So we got a closeup look at emerging crops and little crossroads towns. One gas station proprietor with a sense of humor was offering free oil changes for Teslas.
On the way back to Wisconsin, we ran into some of the same people at the same chargers. A Bloomington area cattleman who came up to charge his F-150. He said if he’d known us when we came through town the first time, he’d have come over to recharge us from his truck.
And we did see the total eclipse of the sun, corona and all. We watched it from a grassy field north of Benton, Illinois in the company of couple dozen other pilgrims. Wisconsin was well represented.
Will e-cars e-clipse all those gas guzzlers? If they do, think of all the impromptu block parties that may develop around that reassuring sound.
The moon covers the sun for a total eclipse above Cataract Falls State Park in Spencer, Indiana on April 8, 2024. (Rich Kremer/WPR)
