Businesses in the path of totality reaped the financial benefits of eclipse crowds and hope it has a lasting impact on visitors.

All eyes were pointed at the sky at about 3:30 p.m. Monday for the total eclipse. But for a group of students and faculty from the University of Maine, the big moment came nearly two hours earlier.

Across Wabanaki territory, which is now known as Maine, tribal nations were recognizing and reflecting on Monday's eclipse in their own ways.

The small town of roughly 6,000 isn't typically a top destination in Maine, but it heavily promoted itself as an ideal place to watch and planned a three-day festival.

With perfectly clear skies, people from across the country and world traveled to Maine to witness totality.

Democrats on the legislature's appropriation committee passed amendments in the pre-dawn hours Saturday that aim to repurpose $11 million in surplus transportation funding this year, and $60 million in subsequent years, but the Mills administration fiercely opposes it.

With the solar eclipse this afternoon, some Maine roads are seeing slowed traffic from travelers.

Paul Motts, a naturalist and eclipse chaser from Bethel, says the sky and the natural world will transform during an eclipse.

With large crowds expected in Aroostook County for today's solar eclipse, local officials have spent months coordinating law enforcement and first responders.

Event organizers and business owners said an influx of eclipse chasers was a welcome end to a disappointing winter tourism season.