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Merged Solar Eclipse 2017!

I was just trying to prepare a "sour grapes" story for the inevitable. (I've seen only the darkening effects of a partial eclipse or two, and thought that alone was pretty neat.)

What would really suck (and is actually quite possible), is that there would be a heavy thunderstorm during the time of the eclipse, making it dark anyway, and also dangerous to be outside.
 
I have arraigned alternative plans to travel to Bend, Oregon, which is not far from Madras -- just in case weather reports are grim for Jackson. In either case it's a two day drive from the California desert.
 
Eclipse 2017 - North America

My friend and I were discussing plans about going to see totality.

I thought I'd start a thread here since some might need longer to plan than I do.

(He lives in Mount Airy, NC...I live just outside Raleigh. Columbia SC is going to expereice totality. He drives south in I-77 and I drive on I-95 to I-20 and we are going to meet at Riverbanks Zoo just outside Columbia. I thought it would be a good idea to meet there since the animals might go all "beginning of 2001 crazy" when the eclipse starts.)


http://www.eclipse2017.org/2017/path_through_the_US.htm


So...there's the path.

Get planning!


I think the next time there's totality in NA is in 2024, up by Edmonton...I think.
 
I'm heading out to Prairie City, Oregon. Western Oregon is known for being rainy, but eastern Oregon is actually fairly dry, so good odds of having little/no cloud cover.
 
The difficulty is, places along the path of totality are already filling up fast (or have already filled up) so you have to plan ahead, but no one will know where the clear skies will be until mere days before the event. Planning is necessary but so is being ready to improvise.

From Pennsylvania, I have the option of going south or a farther distance west. Dryer conditions and clear skies are generally more likely farther west. I have relatives in the Nashville, TN area, and I now have hotel reservations near Lincoln, Nebraska. My wife and I are arranging enough time off to get to either place and back by car, with an extra day to travel farther if we need to.

The question is, will I finally give in and acquire a smart phone, to help get weather forecasts and maps on the road? Or stick with a car radio, motel TV, and paper maps from AAA?
 
Back in my astronomy days, I used Baader Solar Film to directly view the sun through my telescope. It's expensive, but it works, and most astronomers use it.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
 
I'm wondering how many daycares/camps, etc., are going to be on 'lockdown' to forfend against eclipse blindness.:mad:
 
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I don't know what I'm going to do. Not only was everything booked up in or near the path, they opened campgrounds to reservations at a set date/time and all the spots were gone in less than a couple seconds.

I'll probably drive the car down, sleep in the back in a parking lot.
 
Trebuchet said:
Might be a good time to visit my cousin in Portland. Totality is just a short ways south. And August in the PNW is usually pretty doggone nice.
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If the clouds cooperate, I'm going to drive that direction if the weather is good, but otherwise I'm headed toward the John Day area.
 
I proposed a road trip to my extended family. So far, I've had some interest but no guarantees. I reserved five rooms in a city about 45 miles from the totality line (west central Illinois). Will drive down from there, probably park on a side road or in a little town along the way. It will take place in the middle of the afternoon so that should be no problem.
 
I've already been known to camp in my car before, so hotel/campground reservations aren't an issue for me. It's a PT Cruiser, so the size of the back is like a steel & glass tent if I take out the back seats, and I even have a home-made cloth thing I can hang to cover the windows all around like a curtain. But it would be a long drive in an old car that I'm trying to minimize mileage on, so I might switch to a trip to Kansas City where I can stay at a relative's home and ride with them or drive a rental car for the much shorter distance from KC to the center of the path.

A bigger issue for me than what part of the country to be in or where to sleep while traveling is what exact spot to be in at the exact time. The ideal place for me would be where there's a good natural landscape view instead of a city/town full of buildings, but I expect the famous view spots in the national & state park4s to be packed at that time so I can't count on getting in or out, especially in places where the eclipse path passes close to a major city like KC. In my own car, without being tied to any particular place & time along the way, I figure my best bet might be to just be parked or pulled over at any place I find along the highway that looks like it could be good enough and easy to get in & out of, so I might favor taking my own car on the longer drive just so I can improvize at the last minute.
 
Delvo said:
I've already been known to camp in my car before, so hotel/campground reservations aren't an issue for me. It's a PT Cruiser, so the size of the back is like a steel & glass tent if I take out the back seats, and I even have a home-made cloth thing I can hang to cover the windows all around like a curtain. But it would be a long drive in an old car that I'm trying to minimize mileage on, so I might switch to a trip to Kansas City where I can stay at a relative's home and ride with them or drive a rental car for the much shorter distance from KC to the center of the path.

A bigger issue for me than what part of the country to be in or where to sleep while traveling is what exact spot to be in at the exact time. The ideal place for me would be where there's a good natural landscape view instead of a city/town full of buildings, but I expect the famous view spots in the national & state park4s to be packed at that time so I can't count on getting in or out, especially in places where the eclipse path passes close to a major city like KC. In my own car, without being tied to any particular place & time along the way, I figure my best bet might be to just be parked or pulled over at any place I find along the highway that looks like it could be good enough and easy to get in & out of, so I might favor taking my own car on the longer drive just so I can improvize at the last minute.
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Do what I'm doing and try to find a zoo.

Don't the animals freak out during an eclipse?
 
Six months and a few days to go. I'm getting excited.

The rest of my family is not interested in chasing if the weather is bad. They are content with a nice picnic in the park and visiting the brand new waterpark next to our picnic spot. *sigh* So, now it's all about the weather.

Car rental - check
Hotel - check
20 viewing glasses - check
Park permit - check
Gourmet picnic - check
Weather - ???
 
I have relatives in the Willamette valley (Springfield among other places), so I'll be there. I'm thinking if the weather is suspect, I should be able to hop in the car in the morning and drive east. But I've never taken any of the roads there.

Google says it's a 3-hour drive from Springfield to Madras. Is that realistic?
 
BowlOfRed said:
I have relatives in the Willamette valley (Springfield among other places), so I'll be there. I'm thinking if the weather is suspect, I should be able to hop in the car in the morning and drive east. But I've never taken any of the roads there.

Google says it's a 3-hour drive from Springfield to Madras. Is that realistic?
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Realistic? I think so, to a point.

I have a feeling there will be a mass of humanity all travelling across the U.S. toward the path-line. Literally millions will be on the roads that day, all migrating to the path. And many, like you, might be thinking about chasing if the weather does not cooperate. I can just see myself deciding to chase and then getting caught in a traffic jam on an otherwise little-travelled highway in the middle of nowhere.

I would like to know if others here think traffic will be an issue and how you plan on dealing with it.
 
BowlOfRed said:
I have relatives in the Willamette valley (Springfield among other places), so I'll be there. I'm thinking if the weather is suspect, I should be able to hop in the car in the morning and drive east. But I've never taken any of the roads there.

Google says it's a 3-hour drive from Springfield to Madras. Is that realistic?
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Right now, no. But, by August we should have melted most of the snow from the mountain passes. Then, it'll be a scenic drive through rolling hills, along deep canyons, through thick forests, and across the high desert plateau.

If you make it, my plans are to be at Juniper Hills Park, out the east side of town, with a box of dark glasses.
 
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