Total Eclipse of the Sun visible in USA - plan ahead for August 21, 2017
Apr 17th, 2017, 09:11 AM
#41
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https://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/.c9nTT...+vip+flyer.pdf
The Park Service is looking for volunteers in the John Day Fossil area to help with crowd control. In return you get a campsite.
Also heard that more regular campsites are being opened this week.
The Park Service is looking for volunteers in the John Day Fossil area to help with crowd control. In return you get a campsite.
Also heard that more regular campsites are being opened this week.
We're going to Riverton. I thought it should be off most people's radar.
Apr 20th, 2017, 01:58 PM
#44
Wyoming Tribune Eagle:
"Number of eclipse visitors could match Wyoming’s population"
http://www.wyomingnews.com/news/loca...72fa876fd.html
"Number of eclipse visitors could match Wyoming’s population"
http://www.wyomingnews.com/news/loca...72fa876fd.html
Apr 20th, 2017, 07:13 PM
#45
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OK, I'm not buying the idea of Wyoming doubling in size for the eclipse.
Were it an island in the north Atlantic, AND were it the ONLY place from which to see the eclipse, THEN Wyoming could double in size for the thing.
But since a long string of states will have a band of totality, there isn't too much extra pressure likely for any one of them.
Western Oregon, maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaybe, due to much-bigger California population looking for a convenient place from which the view totality, but I just don't envision Wyoming being that much of a relative target.
Two large cities in Missouri will have totality right next door, and they are probably considerably more convenient to reach than are most spots in Wyoming.
<sigh> IF ONLY I could just predict all of you - Eclipse day would be a breeze.
I need to keep envisioning myself getting nowhere near to whatever particular target I'll have in mind, and rehearse in my mind being content with merely reaching totality (perhaps on the side of some road somewhere) and maybe remembering it long enough to share with at least one future generation.
Time will tell...
PS - a baseball team in Salem, Oregon has scheduled a GAME that morning, with an eclipse break (potentially the first in baseball history) at the appropriate time. (maybe they'll have a star chart in the game program where the scorecard tends to be)
Were it an island in the north Atlantic, AND were it the ONLY place from which to see the eclipse, THEN Wyoming could double in size for the thing.
But since a long string of states will have a band of totality, there isn't too much extra pressure likely for any one of them.
Western Oregon, maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaybe, due to much-bigger California population looking for a convenient place from which the view totality, but I just don't envision Wyoming being that much of a relative target.
Two large cities in Missouri will have totality right next door, and they are probably considerably more convenient to reach than are most spots in Wyoming.
<sigh> IF ONLY I could just predict all of you - Eclipse day would be a breeze.
I need to keep envisioning myself getting nowhere near to whatever particular target I'll have in mind, and rehearse in my mind being content with merely reaching totality (perhaps on the side of some road somewhere) and maybe remembering it long enough to share with at least one future generation.
Time will tell...
PS - a baseball team in Salem, Oregon has scheduled a GAME that morning, with an eclipse break (potentially the first in baseball history) at the appropriate time. (maybe they'll have a star chart in the game program where the scorecard tends to be)
Apr 22nd, 2017, 03:32 PM
#46
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Communities in the path are planning lots of activities for the weekend and that day. Just go online to the local tourism agency. There will be lectures, activities for kids, demonstrations, etc. We're booked into Columbia MO and they are having their activities in a city park.
Apr 22nd, 2017, 03:48 PM
#48
The 1000 "extra" sites that opened at Smith Rock State park were sold out within 2 hours.
I do know where there are some "secret" free camp spots south of Mitchell. For a great view, try the John Day Fossil Beds (Painted Hills Unit).
Get your safe viewing glasses or set up a camera obscura. Please don't hurt your eyes!
The path of totality also passes close to Jackson WY if you want to visit Grand Teton NP.
I do know where there are some "secret" free camp spots south of Mitchell. For a great view, try the John Day Fossil Beds (Painted Hills Unit).
Get your safe viewing glasses or set up a camera obscura. Please don't hurt your eyes!
The path of totality also passes close to Jackson WY if you want to visit Grand Teton NP.
Jun 20th, 2017, 08:50 PM
#49
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I just did a quick Expedia study of hotel/motel rooms in St. Louis and Kansas City and found that rooms are available for the coveted night of August 20, 2017 with the eclipse to follow the next morning nearby to both cities.
Rooms still seem to be offered at regular prices and that means that there is shelter nearby for those who can reach those (and surely many other areas along the eclipse path).
Of course you hear of rooms in central Oregon going for incredible nightly rates when you could get them at all, but much of the rest of the society continues to have a chance to view the eclipse within the band of totality for affordable rates.
We are two months away from the big event now, and hopefully everybody who has interest in doing something on eclipse day has taken strides toward finalizing plans.
A baseball team in Oregon is going to play a morning game complete with an "eclipse break", and that sounds like quite the novelty, though I don't know if I want to be with thousands of others when the two minutes of total darkness arrive.
(for me it will probably be 29 hoodlums on a random roadside somewhere who only seem like thousands of irritating people )
Hope most of you have eclipse-related plans.
Rooms still seem to be offered at regular prices and that means that there is shelter nearby for those who can reach those (and surely many other areas along the eclipse path).
Of course you hear of rooms in central Oregon going for incredible nightly rates when you could get them at all, but much of the rest of the society continues to have a chance to view the eclipse within the band of totality for affordable rates.
We are two months away from the big event now, and hopefully everybody who has interest in doing something on eclipse day has taken strides toward finalizing plans.
A baseball team in Oregon is going to play a morning game complete with an "eclipse break", and that sounds like quite the novelty, though I don't know if I want to be with thousands of others when the two minutes of total darkness arrive.
(for me it will probably be 29 hoodlums on a random roadside somewhere who only seem like thousands of irritating people )
Hope most of you have eclipse-related plans.
Jun 21st, 2017, 04:28 AM
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Last month, OSU (in Corvallis, OR) opened up dorm lodging for the eclipse. They have a whole weekend of events planned for this. The lodging rates start at $295 for 2 nights, so not too bad. Here is a link for more information.
http://blogs.oregonstate.edu/eclipselodging/
http://blogs.oregonstate.edu/eclipselodging/
Jun 26th, 2017, 10:52 AM
#51
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Ugh!
The potential realities of the Eclipse are starting to become clear:
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-...-the-invasion/
“Bring extra water, bring food. You need to be prepared to be able to survive on your own for 24 to 48 to 72 hours, just like you would in any sort of emergency,” said Dave Thompson, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Transportation. “This is pretty much a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it’s really worth seeing. But you’ve got to be prepared or you won’t enjoy it.”
Yet while Oregon is optimum for weather-related reasons, it just might not be practical for millions of eclipse-interested people who have options much nearer to home.
If you can still secure normal-priced hotels and motels in St. Louis and Kansas City as of late June, there just isn't much reason to descend on tiny areas in Oregon when there are sensible options for so many.
Hopefully, for some of us, Oregon approaching from the north will be less stressful than is Oregon approaching from the south - but who knows???
Indeed the skies over Oregon are slightly less likely than most any other spot along the path to be cloudy... but given the realistic numbers involved, it probably isn't that sensible to abandon a 35%-chance-of-clouds spot in central USA for a 28%-chance-of-clouds spot in eastern Oregon... when you have no true idea what will occur from 2 months out.
(I could see it if you were leaving "50%" chance of clear skies for "98%" chance of clear skies)
Who knows what those small roads in Oregon are going to be like on the morning of the eclipse?
... and does it make most sense to drive Interstate 84 to the center of the path of totality, and then go west on small roads/highways, OR should one chance-it on the smaller roads when driving in from the north or south?
I guess, ultimately, one should be prepared and willing to make the biggest priority that of reaching the area of totality, and then be flexible after that while willing to just stop (and be content) wherever the traffic gets too bad.
Perhaps the exact location on the ground beneath you reeeeeeeeally doesn't matter... you just needed to have something in mind as you plotted your trip (shrug).
The potential realities of the Eclipse are starting to become clear:
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-...-the-invasion/
“Bring extra water, bring food. You need to be prepared to be able to survive on your own for 24 to 48 to 72 hours, just like you would in any sort of emergency,” said Dave Thompson, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Transportation. “This is pretty much a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it’s really worth seeing. But you’ve got to be prepared or you won’t enjoy it.”
Yet while Oregon is optimum for weather-related reasons, it just might not be practical for millions of eclipse-interested people who have options much nearer to home.
If you can still secure normal-priced hotels and motels in St. Louis and Kansas City as of late June, there just isn't much reason to descend on tiny areas in Oregon when there are sensible options for so many.
Hopefully, for some of us, Oregon approaching from the north will be less stressful than is Oregon approaching from the south - but who knows???
Indeed the skies over Oregon are slightly less likely than most any other spot along the path to be cloudy... but given the realistic numbers involved, it probably isn't that sensible to abandon a 35%-chance-of-clouds spot in central USA for a 28%-chance-of-clouds spot in eastern Oregon... when you have no true idea what will occur from 2 months out.
(I could see it if you were leaving "50%" chance of clear skies for "98%" chance of clear skies)
Who knows what those small roads in Oregon are going to be like on the morning of the eclipse?
... and does it make most sense to drive Interstate 84 to the center of the path of totality, and then go west on small roads/highways, OR should one chance-it on the smaller roads when driving in from the north or south?
I guess, ultimately, one should be prepared and willing to make the biggest priority that of reaching the area of totality, and then be flexible after that while willing to just stop (and be content) wherever the traffic gets too bad.
Perhaps the exact location on the ground beneath you reeeeeeeeally doesn't matter... you just needed to have something in mind as you plotted your trip (shrug).
Jun 26th, 2017, 11:03 AM
#52
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PS - a baseball team in Salem, Oregon has scheduled a GAME that morning, with an eclipse break (potentially the first in baseball history) at the appropriate time. (maybe they'll have a star chart in the game program where the scorecard tends to be)
I LOVE thhis!!
We begin our beach week at Pawley's Island SC--the last place the eclipse leaves the US--that day.
We will be right on the very edge so will probably go 30 miles south to have a more totality.
Got my glasses ready.
I LOVE thhis!!
We begin our beach week at Pawley's Island SC--the last place the eclipse leaves the US--that day.
We will be right on the very edge so will probably go 30 miles south to have a more totality.
Got my glasses ready.
Jul 1st, 2017, 06:54 AM
#53
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Yes, I love the baseball game idea too...
(too bad it isn't in central Oregon (east of the mountains), as the cloud situation is less appealing in Salem)
OK, now, it's July 1... so the thing happens next month!
A casual perusal of hotel/motel rooms in Kansas City and St. Louis (each big cities near to the line of totality) shows plenty of remaining options for lodging on that Sunday night of August 20, 2017 (with the eclipse the next morning).
Oh, I should spell-out, that EVEN IF you can't get away to the line of totality on that Monday, much/most of the U.S. will be able to watch a partial eclipse.
But in order to gain much of anything from seeing the partial eclipse, you really need to order eclipse glasses for a nominal fee.
Everybody should get eclipse glasses, but I imagine some will be content to be in the path of totality and only look up during the brief period of totality (~ 2 minutes).
IF you are 100 miles away from the stripe of totality you've seen on the map, you will still be able to put on your protective eye wear, and look up, to see nearly all of the sun covered by the moon.
Without the eye wear, 10% of the sun will impact everyday activity by seeming only to put a little haze in the sky, so you may not sense anything significant.
But the eye wear is cheap, and you can easily order a couple of dozen pairs for your family and friends.
So IF you are inclined to watch the eclipse away from the path of totality, you can still gain a unique experience for it.
(too bad it isn't in central Oregon (east of the mountains), as the cloud situation is less appealing in Salem)
OK, now, it's July 1... so the thing happens next month!
A casual perusal of hotel/motel rooms in Kansas City and St. Louis (each big cities near to the line of totality) shows plenty of remaining options for lodging on that Sunday night of August 20, 2017 (with the eclipse the next morning).
Oh, I should spell-out, that EVEN IF you can't get away to the line of totality on that Monday, much/most of the U.S. will be able to watch a partial eclipse.
But in order to gain much of anything from seeing the partial eclipse, you really need to order eclipse glasses for a nominal fee.
Everybody should get eclipse glasses, but I imagine some will be content to be in the path of totality and only look up during the brief period of totality (~ 2 minutes).
IF you are 100 miles away from the stripe of totality you've seen on the map, you will still be able to put on your protective eye wear, and look up, to see nearly all of the sun covered by the moon.
Without the eye wear, 10% of the sun will impact everyday activity by seeming only to put a little haze in the sky, so you may not sense anything significant.
But the eye wear is cheap, and you can easily order a couple of dozen pairs for your family and friends.
So IF you are inclined to watch the eclipse away from the path of totality, you can still gain a unique experience for it.
Jul 2nd, 2017, 02:03 AM
#54
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Everybody should get eclipse glasses, but I imagine some will be content to be in the path of totality and only look up during the brief period of totality (~ 2 minutes).
Within that stripe of totality only the center has totality of 2+ minutes. Totality decreases going out both ways from the center decreasing to 30 seconds on the edge of the path. Just an FYI. Our beach place is on that edge so we are going about 45 miles south to see it better. And since St. Louis was mentioned, this is especially true--it is on the very edge--Columbia is in the center of totality.
And if you don't have eclipse glasses (which will really be fun) you can do the pinhole projection of the image of the sun with a bite out of it.
But at near totality you must still NOT look at the sun when there is any sun showing.
Within that stripe of totality only the center has totality of 2+ minutes. Totality decreases going out both ways from the center decreasing to 30 seconds on the edge of the path. Just an FYI. Our beach place is on that edge so we are going about 45 miles south to see it better. And since St. Louis was mentioned, this is especially true--it is on the very edge--Columbia is in the center of totality.
And if you don't have eclipse glasses (which will really be fun) you can do the pinhole projection of the image of the sun with a bite out of it.
But at near totality you must still NOT look at the sun when there is any sun showing.
Jul 2nd, 2017, 02:20 PM
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I didn't know the eclipse glasses actually did anything. Saw them st REI and now I may need to buy some for my parents.
Just popping in to say that there is still hotel vacancy in Baker City, even though the prices are hilarious.
Just popping in to say that there is still hotel vacancy in Baker City, even though the prices are hilarious.
Jul 13th, 2017, 04:45 PM
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For anybody still trying to figure out what to do for eclipse viewing, the current issue of "Astronomy" magazine has an impressively detailed summation of locations, maps, lists of items you might want to have with you, and what to expect as the moment arrives on August 21.
Among many other things, the magazine lists and endorses 20 viewing spots along the path of totality, from the Pacific to the Atlantic.
Even if you can't find the magazine locally, you could order it online for about $10 total cost:
https://www.myscienceshop.com/product/asy170701-c
(a link found through www.astronomy.com)
Because this eclipse affords SO many people SO many alternatives, a bit of a guide like this might be really useful to some whose options are many, but who need to pick one.
Among many other things, the magazine lists and endorses 20 viewing spots along the path of totality, from the Pacific to the Atlantic.
Even if you can't find the magazine locally, you could order it online for about $10 total cost:
https://www.myscienceshop.com/product/asy170701-c
(a link found through www.astronomy.com)
Because this eclipse affords SO many people SO many alternatives, a bit of a guide like this might be really useful to some whose options are many, but who need to pick one.
