ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

Across the country today, people put on funny-looking glasses and craned their necks to see the moon cover the sun in a total solar eclipse.

JAMES: The star was out. The moon was up. The sun was hidden behind the moon. And it was dark.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: What emotions did you feel - scared, happy, sad?

JAMES: It's kind of like a weird feeling.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: A weird feeling, yeah?

JAMES: Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Was it a good weird?

JAMES: Yeah.

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

Good weird. That was 6-year-old James who loves space. His family drove 5 hours to Harper, Texas, to watch the eclipse from a family ranch. NPR member station reporters posted up along the path of totality in Arkansas, Ohio, Texas, Maine and elsewhere. And they're bringing us reactions from observers at watch party events.

SHAPIRO: All along the path, people watching searched for the words to explain the experience. Jeff Oudsema drove down from Kalamazoo to Indianapolis with his family.

JEFF OUDSEMA: It's just kind of a spiritual experience. You know, there's not many things in nature you can plan. And if you're able to witness it, there's nothing like totality. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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