tomfuller

If it is a clear sky day, I'm planning on being in Gratwick Park in North Tonawanda along the Niagara River. If it is cloudy or rainy and not expected to clear, I'll head for Erie or even Ada Ohio where there will be another geocaching event. Thanks for the links to tips. Message me if you want to try for a GTG.

joethebear

I have been to a presentatIon at the local library. I have glasses and will be in Arkansas where viewing should be good.

Christina

I don't think I bought eclipse glasses the last time (and I was in its path), I think I just borrowed some from someone nearby for a minute or so, you don't have to look at it that long. I heard this one should be better than that one, I think it's suppose to last longer for one thing.

I have 4 relatives who live at various points in its center of totality, so I'm going to visit one, although that's a six hour drive so I can't do it without planning and staying a bit, which I enjoy anyway. I was just skiing at Stowe VT last week and they are having some big eclipse to-dos either at Stowe or Bolton ski resort, I forget, I didn't realize that was also in its path. They have some lijmited tickets for being at the top of the mountain (Ion the lift) during that, I believe.

NorthwestMale

OK it's less than two weeks away!


If you become inspired at the last minute... either fly into a semi-convenient big city and drive to the band of totality... OR fly right into a big city like Dallas or Indianapolis and do everything in your power to get away from the big buildings, and from most groups of other people (in the cases of big cities).

If not flying into the band of totality, then securing a vehicle is vital.


Lean away from significant bodies of water, because they bring elevated chances of clouds.


In a perfect world, you could find an elevated spot with a view out over flatlands, from which you can view the fast-approaching shadow of the moon.


If you are with a group of people... and not all of them are hell bent on trying to film the sky... have one person turn their camera in a direction where first the shadow, and then the darkening surrounds are obvious... if there is audio, then they can also record the excited sounds of nearby viewers. Figure out in advance how to stop the camera/phone from adjusting for the darkness - because you WANT the full impact of 'dark' in this situation.


Selecting a fly-in target which affords ALTERNATIVES based on morning cloud forecasts... such that you could drive in one direction if clear weather is anticipated, and in a somewhat different direction if that's the only option with clear weather expected.

In Dallas the eclipse begins soon after noon, and the main event at 1:40pm


In Indianapolis the eclipse will begin at 1:50pm local time, with the main event at 3:05pm.

The entire duration of a partial eclipse is about 2.5 hours in these cases... and you need special protective glasses to view any element of that except during the precious couple of minutes of totality.


You can indeed share glasses with others during the partial eclipse, but somebody somewhere needs to be sure they have the certified 'safe' eclipse glasses for viewing.

*** the ONLY thing visible through your eclipse glasses should be the sun itself !!

tomfuller

Thanks for the reminders NWM. I am NOT flying. One week from today I drive from home (central Oregon) to Winnemucca Nevada. In the evening I get on the eastbound California Zephyr. My destination is Galesburg IL. I arrive about noon (CDT) on Thursday. The Enterprise car rental that I used before is within walking distance of the Amtrak station. I reserved in January.
Once I have the rental car, I drive east around Indianapolis to an Airbnb just east of Lima Ohio hopefully before 8PM EDT. Leaving Lima I am planning on finding a couple of geocaches before getting to the small town of Ada Ohio for breakfast. A geocaching friend is planning on an eclipse event at the library in Ada on Monday.
Leaving Ada I head east on US30 to Mansfield OH to get on I-71, I-271 and I-90 through Erie PA. I'll make a small detour just east of Erie to go find the oldest geocache in PA (September 2000). From there I head for Warren PA which is just within the band of totality. I have a Airbnb reserved for 3 nights near Warren. On Monday (eclipse day) I decide at 7AM to go north to North Tonawanda or head for the shore of Lake Erie east of Presque Isle or go back to Ada Ohio depending on the weather. If the weather is clear I still hope to be along the Niagara River.

Wherever I am for the eclipse, I will be showing the Smokey Bear flag that I just got. Transportation-check, eclipse glasses 10 with some to share-check, Lodging-check. Geocaching friends-check. I found a geocache on top of Sutton Mountain in August 2017 minutes after totality. I'll have to look for the amazing picture that I took at that time
Smokey Bear's 80th birthday Is on August 9 2024. I was informed that there will be a birthday flag on that date at the Paris Olympics.

tom_mn

I always re-check car rental prices to compare with existing reservation, in Texas for eclipse weekend for 4 days, a Camry is now $3242.

Vttraveler

I would really caution people about planning to get to a location very close to the eclipse time based on weather conditions.
I live in northern VT in the path of totality and the emergency management services here are expecting significant traffic problems for people trying to get to an eclipse site on April 8.
People are told to fill their cars with gas or to charge electric vehicles and to have food and water supplies in their cars.

The long range forecast here is starting to show cloudy skies on the date of the eclipse which is not a big surprise for April in this area but will certainly be disappointing if true

NorthwestMale

I... acknowledge your... written thoughts/offerings... but I will add that communities literally "across the USA" had the same warnings/uncertainties in 2017.


The human reality was that people showed up EARLY... and planted themselves in make-shift overnight camp sites all weekend long... SUCH THAT those driving in at the last moment had remarkably smooth sailing.


I myself left my motel digs in/near Pendleton, Oregon at 3 or 4 in the morning (on Eclipse day 2017)... and drove the first HOUR without seeing so much as a single car... with only the eyes of DEER visible in the way of living things with feet/hooves.


Once dawn broke, and I got nearer to Oregon's Painted Hills... there began to be small and insignificant clusters of cars... (at one point they all went left {to wherever they were heading} and I went right, as one would do at that point when going toward the Painted Hills).

Eventually it became clear that people had been perched in their roadside spots all weekend, waiting, and not wanting to miss the big event.


Places outside of totality won't be too crowded pre-eclipse, and with everyone having what will usually be a wide range of possible destinations, the eclipse-goers will spread themselves efficiently.


The bedlam won't occur until AFTER the big event is over... and thankfully when very few are in a hurry.


Everyone won't exactly "... leave at once..." BUT the largest groups will depart their viewing spots as soon as Totality has concluded.


those waiting to watch the full rest of the event will find getting to their cars a tiny bit more easy, and the immediate driving fairly easy as well... BUT they will in great numbers catch up to the slow-down in areas other than those fully designed for much greater travel (such as a large metropolis).

IF finessing your way back where you came from, it might be useful to opt for a driving path that parallels the band of totality... (for as long as it would suit you before you HAVE to turn off, to get to your {hometown?} {airport?} {hotel?} ). The vast majority will be driving east-ish or west-ish from the band of totality from the (minute totality ends), and in lots of places they will bog down in the car for what could be hours. (one stop sign in Washington State, greatly exacerbated an eclipse back-up/delay for miles and miles into Oregon post-eclipse)

OF COURSE people should "fill their cars with gas" (or fully charge the idiotic EV's)... and have food in the car.


BUT that has zero to do with deciding your eclipse vantage point based on the weather.


Madras, Oregon (pop. 8000) had a big shindig planned long before, for Eclipse Weekend 2017... and it drew upward of 50,000 to the area for the weekend.


Surrounding roads and infrastructure were taxed... but the height of it was when everyone was leaving... and it didn't impact those planning their Eclipse experience on the fly.


Be aware that no Eclipse-viewing spot has greater than a "75% chance of clear skies" at any given point... and that alone should strongly suggest monitoring cloud cover and then making your choice of viewing spots on eclipse Monday itself.


Lastly, this eclipse won't happen until after noon... where the 2017 eclipse was before noon in many areas... so that makes for more time for daylight driving options. Luckily, too, there are so many random wide spots in the road in central USA that not everyone will be flocking to some single point near the center of totality.

tomfuller

On October 21, 2017 I observed the total solar eclipse on the top of Sutton Mountain outside the small town of Mitchell Oregon. I hiked nearly an hour from where I parked to get up there. There were more than 50 people up there which is probably more than had been up there in the previous year. I did see the rapidly moving shadow approaching (over 1500 MPH). Right after the end of totality, I found the geocache up there that was hidden by one of my best geocaching friends. I was about 5 miles east of where NWMale watched the eclipse.
I see that the area from Erie PA to Buffalo to Rochester NY is getting an inch or so of snow today. Let's hope that there will not be a repeat next Monday. From my cheap lodging near Warren PA (less than $230 for 3 nights) I will head for the best choice weather wise about 7AM. I have my choice of 3 different geocaching events for the eclipse. Choice #1 is Gratwick Park along the Niagara River in North Tonawanda NY. Choice #2 is a park on the shore of Lake Erie about 10 miles NE of the city of Erie. Choice #3 is at the library in Ada Ohio. Wherever I end up, I will be watching out for a news photographer to display the Smokey Bear 80th birthday flag.
Tomorrow morning I leave home for Winnemucca Nevada. The eastbound California Zephyr leaves shortly after 7PM. Barring delays, I'll be in Galesburg IL about noon ET on Thursday.

NorthwestMale

Somebody should display a FLAG for the 50th anniversary of Hank Aaron's home run at the same time.

PrairieHikerI

I viewed the last one and was underwhelmed. It was boring.

k_marie

Now, after months of anticipation and arranging, we will not be able to make the drive to the path of totality. Here at home we will see a partial eclipse. The endless days of overcast skies and rains will have cleared and we should have a good experience.

P_M

I live in the path of totality, but the forecast isn't good. But that's OK, we can still experience the darkness.

tom_mn

Not sure what that says about a person when they say a 3 minute event was boring.

tom_mn

I have bailed out of Texas, flights, hotels, car, everything, due to persistently poor weather forecast, and am now driving to Illinois.

Vttraveler

The weather forecast for Monday in our area of VT has been alternating between "sunny" and "partly cloudy" which is quite good for this time of year.
There are lots of warnings about the logistics of getting around the state before and after the eclipse with the governor warning us to think of conditions as like a "peak foliage weekend on steroids."

NorthwestMale

LOL - recently I met a new-to-me-ish neighbor... who is from Vermont...

and I mentioned that my ONLY "Vermont" story... involved driving along some rural road and experiencing a traffic delay because the Olympic Torch Relay was ongoing in the area.

(and that we chose to stick it out because, with so few other road options, we couldn't know whether they'd be clogged too at the next moment)


Hopefully eclipse time will find everyone already in their spots, and not clogging the roads.

Nelson

A year ago I booked a nice looking BnB near Fredericksburg, TX and added on a week in Big Bend NP. About six months ago I decided that this time it would be a madhouse down there and decided to cancel.

We had such an amazing viewing of the 2017 eclipse in Wyoming that I figured nothing could live up to that. Sometimes it's best to just live with the good memories. No regrets on cancelling this one.

Here's to clear skies for all who are hoping to see it. Good luck.

k_marie

Now that we are no longer planning to go to an event in the zone of totality, we have been trying to decide on a local spot for experiencing our 90% partial solar eclipse. Today, after seemingly endless days of gloomy clouds and rains, we scouted out a few spots in our town. Clouds were overhead but the sun broke through at just the right time. We were looking for easy access with route alternatives upon exiting; no tall trees or buildings to obstruct the view at the target hour; no street lights or parking lot lights that might automatically turn on as darkness descends. Added plus: access to rest rooms.

We are set. I think we will plan to arrive early, take our own chairs, blankets and a picnic for a late lunch.

Does anyone know a website or radio station that will be streaming appropriate music for the occasion? Dancing in the Moonlight, Total Eclipse of My Heart, Here Comes the Sun, etc? I have seen playlists but I think I am unable to download the actual music. I don’t subscribe to any music service, just would like to have the opportunity for a bit of musical accompaniment. I promise I’ll use earphones and won’t disturb anyone who might be nearby.

Skiergirl

I have been waiting patiently for seven years for this! I’m taking my ten year old niece to Lake Placid where we hope for clear, full totality. We are very excited and it should be a fun bonding time either way.