Who is Eclipse Watchers from Teaching a Stone to Talk and what is their importance?

Annie and her husband gather with others on the top of a hill in Washington to watch a full eclipse in "Total Eclipse". The watchers come from all over the region to see the eclipse from the hills of the Yakima valley. As it is cold, all of them are bundled up in coats and other cold weather gear. Annie notes that the group lets out a collective scream as the darkness races towards them. When the darkness has passed, everyone streams down to their cars and joins the traffic on the road below, even though the eclipse technically is still occurring.