The Road to "Totality"

Garrett

Garrett

Adventurist
Here begins the planning for the journey to "totality". A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness. Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface. On August 21, 2017, we have the opportunity to experience totality.

whole-us.jpg

​
We are planning to experience totality. We have not yet decided on where. Our two desired options are three states apart!

1. Lincoln City, Oregon
2. Grand Tetons National Park, WY

Each destination creates a different roadmap and journey. Stay tuned as we decide where we want to be and the subsequent planning for how to get there! We do plan to camp and have a grand adventure with La Casa Lata, Frankie the Adventure Dog and Lucy!

And for a little humor...meanwhile in space:
safe-endangered-dude-quit-melting-my-ice-caps-dont-blame-4348612.png
 
Last edited:
I would expect the Grand Tetons National Park to be wall to wall people for the eclipse.

I am looking at Stanley, ID myself. Population 63. In the middle of the Sawtooth National Recreational Area, at the intersections of three scenic byways - Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway, Salmon River Scenic Byway, and the Sawtooth Scenic Byway. Best of all, it's not too far away from Craters of the Moon National Monument, which will fit right nicely into the theme of this trip.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sawtooth_National_Recreation_Area

Stanley.jpg


PS: DON'T WAIT TIL THE LAST MINUTE TO ORDER YOUR ECLIPSE GLASSES OR FILTERS!
 
One large consideration for route #2 through Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon NP, Salt Lake City and the Grand Tetons is that national parks are not dog friendly.
 
I can feel this becoming a sort of AAV Eclipse Rendezvous 2017. I'm not volunteering to coordinate it or anything but the patches, stickers, and shirts would be awesome! That's actually my regular vacation time so I'll be planning a trip somewhere to go see this, most likely. For those of you interested in Craters of the Moon NM, it was interesting but a bit underwhelming to me this past August.
 
^^^^We could be in for something like that Doug. Always so much easier when someone else plans it and all we have to do is show up!:rolleyes:
 
Optimistic Paranoid said:
I would expect the Grand Tetons National Park to be wall to wall people for the eclipse.

I am looking at Stanley, ID myself. Population 63. In the middle of the Sawtooth National Recreational Area, at the intersections of three scenic byways - Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway, Salmon River Scenic Byway, and the Sawtooth Scenic Byway. Best of all, it's not too far away from Craters of the Moon National Monument, which will fit right nicely into the theme of this trip.
Click to expand...

We're 2hrs away from Stanley and planning on being there ourselves.
 
Dave said:
Great question. 36 Hours of Uwharrie is August 10-12

I bet Frankie would have at least included the dates of this "totality" in the OP... he's so much more detail oriented than his human

:stir
Click to expand...
The date is Monday, August 21st. It will start at the OR coast at 17:15 Universal (aka "zulu" or "GMT") or about 10:15 am local and end on the SC coast about 2:49 pm local.
 
Optimistic Paranoid said:
Another angle to keep in mind is what are the chances of there being weather that will prevent observing it. There are no guarantees, of course, but there are historical data for all the locations as to whether it is LIKELY to be clear or cloudy during a particular month. Here's a good site:

http://eclipsophile.com/total-solar-eclipses/total-solar-eclipse-2017-august-21/
Click to expand...

Crap! I hadn't thought of that as another variable in planning. I'm glad you did as I start to look at distance, time, crowds, nearby camping, route planning, etc. Now it feels like I need multiple options or maybe route planning along the line of totality to be able to adjust for weather. This will be a fun exercise in planning. Trying to add 100+ rigs to the planning effort almost simplifies it. You'd have to pick a spot and stick with it, ignoring some of the variables. Hmmm... maybe a small group of 5-10 rigs for flexibility.
 
RoamingRobertsons said:
Crap! I hadn't thought of that as another variable in planning. I'm glad you did as I start to look at distance, time, crowds, nearby camping, route planning, etc. Now it feels like I need multiple options or maybe route planning along the line of totality to be able to adjust for weather. This will be a fun exercise in planning. Trying to add 100+ rigs to the planning effort almost simplifies it. You'd have to pick a spot and stick with it, ignoring some of the variables. Hmmm... maybe a small group of 5-10 rigs for flexibility.
Click to expand...

And one more impossible-to-predict variable - smoke from nearby forest fires. A VERY flexible planning process is best . . .
 
Glendo State Park in WY is right under the centerline of totality. The Wikipedia entry for this park includes the following:


On Monday, 21 August 2017, a total solar eclipse will be seen in North America, with the center of the moon's shadow (the maximum occurrence of the solar eclipse) to pass directly over Glendo State Park. At Glendo State Park, the midpoint of totality of the eclipse will occur at 17:46 UTC (local time: 11:46 a.m. MDT), with totality lasting for 2 minutes 28 seconds at this location.

By driving distance, Glendo State Park is the closest midpoint eclipse site for the major cities of Colorado. The park is adjacent to Interstate 25 and is approximately 200 miles (325 km) driving distance from the Denver metropolitan area. On the eclipse date and the weekend prior to the event the Glendo area is expected to be very congested with traffic and
visitors.

Lets face it, this is gonna be a BFD, and attract a ton of people to all the usual suspects . . .
 
Exactly. Finding an unusual suspect with enough space for a large group in an area I'm unfamiliar with will be a challenge. I'm hoping someone with some local knowledge will chime in at some point with so lesser known suggestions, or maybe even a ranch along that line that won't show up on Google maps as a large green spot everyone will be looking for. I've got family in Greeley, CO. I'll hit them up to start asking if they know someone along the route who has some private property that could be used, or maybe some not so obvious public lands that could be reserved or used for a small or large group.
 
I think private property would be the best answer. I'd be willing to pay to play to avoid the crowds. The weather is the weather, if it interferes that's the way it goes.

The Rendezvous events are a great example/proof of how well this group behaves and respects the land. Hopefully they would be enough to sway a landowner allowing us on their property with no worry that it would turn into Woodstock or Burning Man!
 
Dave said:
Great question. 36 Hours of Uwharrie is August 10-12

I bet Frankie would have at least included the dates of this "totality" in the OP... he's so much more detail oriented than his human

:stir
Click to expand...
Wouldn't matter anyway, 36hrs isn't far enough west.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom