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Solar Eclipse 2017 Discussion Thread

kimmyt

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Ugh my husband wants us to drive 4 hours to camp in some field in Nebraska with a bunch of rednecks with RVs and I'm being cranky and just not feeling it.
 
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crgildart

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Ugh my husband wants us to drive 4 hours to camp in some field in Nebraska with a bunch of rednecks with RVs and I'm being cranky and just not feeling it.
Could double as a tornado chasing (running from haha)/eclipse viewing trip.
 

AmyPJ

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Have in invite to go to Idaho Falls and stay the night for free, but I have zero desire to battle the traffic that will accompany. 92% totality here in the Ogden area-I'm going to hop the gondola at Snowbasin with my daughter, take a hike, grab some lunch, and enjoy from up there.
 

Eleeski

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Ugh my husband wants us to drive 4 hours to camp in some field in Nebraska with a bunch of rednecks with RVs and I'm being cranky and just not feeling it.

Go for sure. How bad can redneck scientists be? The eclipse is pretty special.

Have in invite to go to Idaho Falls and stay the night for free, but I have zero desire to battle the traffic that will accompany. 92% totality here in the Ogden area-I'm going to hop the gondola at Snowbasin with my daughter, take a hike, grab some lunch, and enjoy from up there.

Again, do the drive. Plan to stay with your friends and avoid the worst traffic. Totality is way different than a partial eclipse.

I'm planning for Boise. Either flying Cessna or driving to the Oregon border for totality. Hoping for good weather.

Experienced one in Hawaii decades ago. It was pretty cool despite marginal weather. Looking forward to this one.

Eric
 

Guy in Shorts

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Heading to New Smyrna Beach, Fl. Have seen several cool sky events there from blimps to rocket launches. Beach chair in the water drinking a beer waiting on a shark bite. An eclipse will just add to the fun in the sun.
 

Dave Petersen

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I stopped to buy eclipse glasses at Walmart and they were out. They said they weren't getting anymore in (probably because once the eclipse is over they will have no value).

My mother-in-law is on some eclipse committee in Lincoln, NE.
 

noncrazycanuck

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is on one of my ski buddies bucket list so 4 of us heading to Madras Oregon from Vancouver, about an 8 hr drive,
hoping for less smoke in the air than what's in B.C. now.
Not looking forward to the expected traffic so its not a sports cars road trip
his idea so he can drive and we"ll pass the time sampling the locals
 

Bad Bob

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Working from a little town in WY where it is supposed to be 96%. The hotel I have been staying for 4 months is kicking me out for the night; they've been SOLD OUT for over a year.
There is a little town south of here with about 1,000 people, they are expecting 100,000 people there!
The state is activating all of the emergency systems, FEMA et al.
Wyoming anticipates having more tourists than residents that day.

All of that said Jackson is supposed to be 100%, that is where I would love to be for the day.
 

Tony

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92% totality here in the Ogden area-I'm going to hop the gondola at Snowbasin with my daughter, take a hike, grab some lunch, and enjoy from up there.
Note that 92% is not 8% less than 100% in this case. Even 99% will have 4000x the light of totality. From Odgen you are past the worst traffic getting from/to SLC and could avoid more of I-15 by going east or west, then north. People living in UT are lucky to only have to drive 3-4 hrs N to get to totality.

I'm driving 9-10 hours N to get to Bend, OR days before eclipse, then will drive about an hour NE to see eclipse (and allowing 3-4 hrs and not counting on getting food, gas, cell service, ice or using ATM). And I-5 is the only fast route almost to the OR border and who knows how many million Californians I will be sharing drive back with on Monday so my wife can work the next day. While we are mostly going for the eclipse, I also want my wife to see Bend again as she has not been there since the 80s and my son, who will go to Portland with friends after the eclipse, has never been to OR.

There will a long total eclipse in 2045 in Salt Lake City, but you better take care of yourself if you want to see it and if anything, you want to go a little further South for longer totality
 
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crgildart

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Note that 92% is not 8% less than 100% in this case. Even 99% will have 4000x the light of totality.

92% is still pretty damned cool. I'd compare it to being at Yellowstone and seeing 92% of the park but not seeing Old Faithful blow. Usually takes another hour or two to check the schedule, negotiate the park road traffic which can suck if everyone is stopped to look at stuff, park a quarter mile away, get there at least 20 minutes early to find a good spot to see it from, etc..

Some folks would rather just toss a fly in the river instead of going through all that to be members of the "I saw it" club.


Eclipse only happens once every 30 years across a big strip of the nation. Old Faithful happens every few hours but only in one tiny spot on the planet. Both are exclusive and expensive to see for those not in the right place at the right time otherwise.
 
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AmyPJ

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Note that 92% is not 8% less than 100% in this case. Even 99% will have 4000x the light of totality. From Odgen you are past the worst traffic getting from/to SLC and could avoid more of I-15 by going east or west, then north. People living in UT are lucky to only have to drive 3-4 hrs N to get to totality.

I'm driving 9-10 hours N to get to Bend, OR days before eclipse, then will drive about an hour NE to see eclipse (and allowing 3-4 hrs and not counting on getting food, gas, cell service, ice or using ATM). And I-5 is the only fast route almost to the OR border and who knows how many million Californians I will be sharing drive back with on Monday so my wife can work the next day. While we are mostly going for the eclipse, I also want my wife to see Bend again as she has not been there since the 80s and my son, who will go to Portland with friends after the eclipse, has never been to OR.

There will a long total eclipse in 2045 in Salt Lake City, but you better take care of yourself if you want to see it and if anything, you want to go a little further South for longer totality
I hear ya, but there is a TON of road construction in Idaho between the border and Idaho Falls. 100,000 people in Jackson alone? No thanks. I just don't do crowds like that.
 

Philpug

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Might be worth a bit if a road trip in the Miata, just head north.
 

Tony

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Scientific American says the following:
"A Partial Eclipse Is Interesting; a Total Eclipse Is Mind-Blowing
Photos don’t do it justice—it’s perhaps the most spectacular natural phenomenon you’ll ever see"

I said "Even 99% will have 4000x the light of totality", but article linked above says "it gets about 10,000 times darker when the moon covers the last 1 percent of the sun's surface!".

@Philpug and @Tricia, John Day, OR or Weiser, ID are both about 7 hours from Reno and have over 2 minutes of totality.
 
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crgildart

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It gets pitch dark every single night unless you are close to the poles. Seeing the iris is pretty cool all by itself. If you're able and can afford a day off, definitely travel an hour or three for a better view. Would suck to book a room and invest a thousand dollars in travel and work vacation to have it rain or just be mostly cloudy at the time of the event.

FWIW we'll get 94% here. Last one I saw was 85% and that was like about a half hour before full sunset.. about as dark as it gets when mom calls the kids inside for the night.
 

Tony

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Might be worth a bit if a road trip in the Miata, just head north.
Do you have room for camping gear? I also found this Scientific American blog
that says "Faced with nowhere to stay and potential gridlock, people are now making terrible decisions. I want to keep off the road and I'm happy with seeing a 90 percent eclipse" and goes on to say
"But those close to the path of totality have won the celestial equivalent of Super Bowl tickets. So why are they planning to stand outside the stadium? If you’re among them, you should ignore the warnings and go see the total solar eclipse anyway. This event is rare, and so special—and there’s no excuse to miss it if you make peace with one simple concept: camping."
 
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KevinF

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My parents lived in Maine before I was born. There was a total solar eclipse that passed near them, so they went to see it.

As my Dad tells it, the clouds were rolling in from one direction, the moon was coming in from the other direction and they saw the "total eclipse" for about two seconds before the clouds obscured everything.

Those two seconds and being cheated out of the "full show" is enough for my parents to be traveling to Oregon in a few days to get another crack at seeing this. I guess they're figuring the deserts of eastern Oregon are a good bet against the weather?

The closest I've come is there was a 99% event in Pennsylvania (where I grew up), but again, the clouds obscured everything and we saw nothing other then it got dark(er). Everything I've read and heard says the same thing -- a total eclipse is simply the most stunning natural event of them all. If there's any way you can get in the path of this, GO.

I won't be able to make it for this one, but April 2024 blesses Northern New England with our shot. It's already on my calendar.
 

Philpug

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Do you have room for camping gear? I also found this Scientific American article
that says "Faced with nowhere to stay and potential gridlock, people are now making terrible decisions." and goes on to say
"But those close to the path of totality have won the celestial equivalent of Super Bowl tickets. So why are they planning to stand outside the stadium? If you’re among them, you should ignore the warnings and go see the total solar eclipse anyway. This event is rare, and so special—and there’s no excuse to miss it if you make peace with one simple concept: camping."
Just gonna go up 395 to get a bit closer...No need to camp.
 

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