The Point of Totality
Plattsburgh Locals and Visitors Gather to Witness a Once-in-a-Lifetime Celestial Phenomenon
Off the beaten path of Route 9 about 15 minutes north of Plattsburgh lies Point Au Roche State Park. The park is home to a bustling nature center and sandy beach with an inspiring view of Lake Champlain that North Country residents and visitors can enjoy year round.
On April 8, 2024, the park hosted a special viewing party for the much anticipated solar eclipse. With the North Country lying in the path of totality, hundreds of people from all walks of life gathered to view the once-in-a-lifetime spectacle.
Two friends, Steven Lawrence and Akousua Nyamekye, drove all the way from Manhattan to see the eclipse. Lawrence has a passion for astronomy and has been a fan of “Star Trek” all his life.
Armed with his telescope, Lawrence and Nyamekye were well prepared to see the celestial event. The duo left at 6 a.m., beating traffic, arriving bright and early to secure a prime spot across from the beach. They chose Point Au Roche because of its location in the path of totality on the day of the eclipse. Lawrence also picked the spot because it was an escape from the city, where they could get the full eclipse experience.
Not all arrived with company, however; for Sasha Aleiner, his passion for astronomy was enough to get them to take a solo trip to Point Au Roche to see the eclipse. Aleiner drove all the way from Philadelphia, 399 miles, to see the phenomenon.
Aleiner brought with him a camera, tripod and a special lens cover that allowed him to take photos of the moon as it passed through the sun’s view. Aleiner drove overnight, showing up at the park about a half hour before it opened, where a line of ten people eagerly waited.
“I really have a passion for our natural environment and its resources and its stability and well being, for our survival, for our existence,” Aleiner said.
Fiddling with his camera, he explained that focusing it on the sun was proving to be a challenge. He had to focus his camera at a spot of infinity, pointing his camera straight outward onto the lake, before shifting the camera’s lens to view the sun, as it wouldn’t focus on the sun itself. Aleiner was originally planning to head over to Westcott State Park in Henderson, New York, but abandoned the idea when he learned that clouds might block his view.
Luckily for him, the clouds at Point Au Roche State Park seemed to have taken a day off.
While Point Au Roche hosted a special viewing party for the eclipse, the park also hosts weekly events. Environmental educator Kristen Collins runs programs every Saturday for the community to enjoy. Collins works in the Nature Center, where she teaches people about nature, while encouraging them to connect with the environment in entertaining ways.
Programs include snow shoeing, bird walks and animal tracking. Each program is based on a general topic in nature. There are also special programs based around the holidays. In March, during a leprechaun hunt, staff members hide little bags of gold around the park for people to find with provided maps.
“The leprechaun hunt is a fun event, but it’s also about map reading,” Collins said.
During Halloween, the Nature Center staff brings out its collection of skulls and furs and offers activities focused on some of nature’s creepiest animals, like bats and spiders. The park blends education and entertainment so visitors can learn while having fun at the same time.
One of Collins’s favorite memories from working as an environmental educator at the Nature Center happened during a program about building campfires and making s’mores. A woman in her 30s came up to her and said that she had never been camping before.
“I just thought that was so cool because it’s such a kind of basic outdoor skill for people that grew up in the outdoors,” Collins said. “But if you’ve never done it, it’s something new and exciting.”
While people from all over the East Coast visited Point Au Roche State Park for just one day to view the eclipse, community members and visitors to the area are encouraged to explore the park year-round to connect with nature.
“I would say we’re here to facilitate connection with nature and make sure that people have good experiences and have access to some of the beautiful things that we have around us,” Collins said.Learn more about Point Au Roche State Park at https://parks.ny.gov/parks/pointauroche/details or call 518-563-0369. If you’re in the Plattsburgh area, see the park for yourself located at 19 Camp Red Cloud Road, Plattsburgh, NY 12901.
