Not much work was being done on Monday as hundreds of people from all walks of life gathered in Missoula's Kiwanis Park to see the first full solar eclipse to cross the USA in 99 years.

The Missoula Public Library hosted the event and handed out special 'eclipse glasses' to a huge line of people until they were all gone.

The eclipse began slowly, as larger and larger 'bites' of the sun turned dark, until just after 11:30 a.m. when the moon completely blocked the sun, then, as the minutes passed the sun reappeared.

A few of the people at the event shared their experience with KGVO News, such as Susan Hay Patrick, CEO of Missoula's United Way, UM Head Basketball Coach Travis DeCuire was there with his family and his staff. Businessman Matt Gibson was at the park and he encouraged his staff to take the morning off to enjoy the once in a lifetime moment, and there were hundreds of others, many of whom shared the limited number of 'eclipse glasses' with those who arrived too late to receive a free pair.

Missoula's always up for a party, and the 2017 solar eclipse filled the bill quite nicely.

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