Where will you be on 08/21/17, Total Eclipse?

[John E Davies]

Extra supplies and gas! If you plan to travel to a viewing site in a more remote location, consider bringing lots of extra water, food, supplies and gas. If a small town is inundated with thousands of visitors, the market(s) and gas station(s) may run dry, and you could get stranded if your vehicle tank is low. Try to top up the fuel before entering the viewing area.

 

I normally carry five gallons of gas for my generator. I am going to triple that for the Eclipse, in case I need to top up the truck. I also plan to return home via back roads since I suspect the main highways will be pure chaos.

 

Happy viewing....

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[Raspy]

It should be an interesting few days.  I'm used to preparing well and traveling to remote areas.  There's beauty and fascination in all types of settings.   I've spent most of my camping time in the desert and most of that way out in the desert.  Another large percentage of time was on the Big Island studying volcanoes.  And at sea on my boat.  Lots of trips to Death Valley and a few to Mexico.  Now, we're all over the eastern Sierra.  It's all fascinating in it's own way and being self contained is important.

 

This is more of a trip to see the eclipse than anything else and I don't have a lot of time to wander much farther, right now.  It might be the last trip for the summer and then it's back to work for me.   Next year will be the beginning of much more camping time as I finally retire.

 

Camping in an overcrowded situation is not appealing at all for me and this trip was beginning to look like it could be a zoo.  So we figured out how to avoid the hassles and still do what we wanted.

 

I was at sea in 1970 when a total eclipse occurred.  We weren't in the path of totality, but it was still memorable and I want to see just how dark it will get.  I'll have my lounge chair and welding helmet ready to go.  Then, after the dust settles and the crazies all speed away, we'll wander for a week and see some other sites.

 

I'd like to stop  near the ghost town of Rochester in Northern Nevada.  In 1973 and 74 I was doing some prospecting out there and left some equipment behind after we blasted and worked the area.  There are a number of interesting sites out that way where I used to play when I was a ranch mechanic in Lovelock, Nevada.

 

Having Ollie has suddenly made the trips easier and more fun.

[John E Davies]

This is very cool.... a graphic showing what you will see at your particular zip code, even far away from the Path.

 

https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/7/25/16019892/solar-eclipse-2017-interactive-map

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[trumpetguy]

We will get only an 80 percent blockage but Fort Pickens National Seashore is where we will be.  Only 30 minutes from our home and we scored a site in A loop for two nights.

[Raspy]

John,

 

Thanks for posting that link.  Cool

 

Trumpet,

 

Enjoy your trip.  Do you two ever get out to the West?

[Raspy]

We were North of Sun Valley, Idaho, about 5 miles in, on a National Forest road.   Very near totality and about a mile from  the closest other camper.  Ollie all tucked in at a great vantage point.  Excellent trip.  Totally comfortable and all the power we needed from the big batteries.  We're getting used to how well Ollie works and like it more and more.  Rough, steep and narrow gravel road coming in here, but we've been on this kind of trail before with Ollie and it's no problem.  Four wheel low and just cruise along.  We're on our way back now via Twin Falls and Ely Nevada.  Just got back from visiting the old charcoal kilns near Ely and the fantastic railroad museum at Ely. Here's my report about the eclipse:

 

We're on our way back from the forest north of Sun Valley/Ketchum, Idaho, and the eclipse. Sitting in the forest up there, pitch black except for the Milky Way and uncountable stars, a mile or more from anyone at nearly 7,000', I was reminded of how the animals live in the forest. Late at night I was sitting outside and listening to distant calls from unknown animals. Sometimes faint and sometimes closer. Echoing in the night. Was it a bird? A lion? Don't know. What was that rustling sound over there? A blush of cold air moves by. The pines hiss in the slight breeze. Very dark and unforgiving up there. Way out of my element. Sitting outside, taking it all in, with a bit of unease and catching a glimpse of how insignificant I am.

 

Our dog Gogo is very alert in the night. She perks up and growls. Then listens and does it again. Minutes before, she was content and covered in a blanket, not a care. Now she's on duty and aware of something I can't perceive.

 

As I come into the trailer for the night and bring Gogo in, I wonder, should I lock the door?

 

The morning brings the eclipse. Camera and welding helmets ready. Watch the clock. What percentage is it now? Make some notes. Etc.

 

About 20 minutes before total, the light is dimmer, but not softer. More gray instead of yellow. Less light, but not like evening with a yellowing of the color. Then it begins to get a bit cooler.

 

Then the change accelerates. Every minute brings reduced light and cooler temps again. The insects disappear. A look through the welding helmet reveals about 7/8 coverage.

 

Then only a sliver remains and it's time to get ready for the main event.

 

Then the pace quickens even more and it gets dark! Not totally dark, and we were close to the center of totality, but about like a full moon night. Middle of the day and it's as dark as a full moon night. And it all comes on so fast at near total. A sunset proceeds at a linear pace. Not this.

 

I look west. Miles and miles away I can see an orange glow. As I look west, it's the same affect as last light after sunset, but before total darkness. Dark where I am and a faint glow from the west, miles away.

 

The sun now is just a ring. Prominences flame outward and appear beyond the moon's diameter. A black disk with an uneven ring of white. I fumble with my camera. I look around and burn in a memory of this night, err, this event.

 

Then the diamond ring appears. As it does, the special darkness is about to end. My "extra" night is a short lived one. Then, there is more light, again, it's not a yellow light from a sunset or a sunrise, it's a dim light. A dim gray that quickly begins to brighten. Some giant in the sky has his hand on a dimmer and he's slowly rotating it to "bring up the light" in this particular theater.

 

Soon, it's brighter still and the advancing sun reaches about 1/4 uncovered. By then the light looks nearly normal and the temperature begins to warm up. Soon after, the insects resume their work and the power of the sun becomes more apparent.

 

The power of the sun is way beyond my comprehension. I've worked with it for years as a heat source and still marvel at it's power. My arm rests in the sun as I drive and feels too warm. I grab my hat before heading out to protect myself. And sitting in my chair I feel the temperature drop as the moon shades the earth. At 93,000,000 miles away, the sliver of light that lands on me is an incredibly small percentage of the energy projecting in all directions from that source, but it's enough to burn me and warm me and allow me to see, even at that distance!

 

So, we got some nice pictures and had a fun trip to see this phenomenon. We truly experienced it. It's the second one I've been in. The first was way out at sea, somewhere in the Pacific in 1970 or '71. Not quite total, but memorable.

 

We went about 300 of the 600 miles back today. Went through a rain storm south of Wells Nevada on the way to Ely. Lightening bolts striking the ground and curtains of rain. Tonight the air is fresh and we're in Ely for the night. Very quiet. Just got back from a walk marveling at the expansive desert. After dinner and a cookie, Gogo burrowed under her blanket and disappeared.

 

I began to hear sprinkling rain and went outside to check it out. Yes, the rain caught up with us and is making things even more interesting. I love summer rain and we get a lot of it in Nevada. Bring it on! As I stood there in the darkness, after rolling up the windows, a brilliant white flash! Love it! Then seconds later the rumbling thunder talked about it. Guess I'll spend some more time out tonight, enjoying the power of the high desert in summer. It never gets old.

 

Oh yeah, you can see some pix of the sun and the camp on Facebook. My page is John Roemer.

 

 

[Raspy]

Here are a couple of pix:

 

 

[Raspy]

And  couple more:

 

Quality eclipse pictures are not that easy to get, but these give you the idea.

 

 

 

 

[John E Davies]

One year ago, we were camped out in the Idaho Panhandle north of Boise. The total eclipse ranks up at the very top of the list of cool things I have experienced in my 65 years.... Here is a great article about a once in a lifetime picture mosaic by a professional photographer, whose flight crew put the airliner through half a dozen 180 degree turns pretty much right over the spot we were watching from..... so he could get his 1200 shots in just two minutes,

 

 

https://www.inc.com/bill-murphy-jr/a-southwest-passenger-took-a-truly-stunning-photo-from-a-southwest-airlines-737-heres-amazing-story.html

 

We hope to see the next one in 2024, maybe from Arkansas, but I suspect that the viewing conditions will be a lot worse there than from the high desert... or from 39,000 feet.

 

https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEgoogle/SEgoogle2001/SE2024Apr08Tgoogle.html

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[rideandfly]

One year ago, we were camped out in the Idaho Panhandle north of Boise. The total eclipse ranks up at the very top of the list of cool things I have experienced in my 65 years….

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

 

 

John,

 

Fine video and hats off to Southwest Airlines and Bill Murphy Jr. for their efforts.

 

Agree, we enjoyed camping in TN for eclipse viewing and looking forward to the next Eclipse, too!

 

Enjoyed learning about the eclipse and preparing for different shots with a point & shoot Canon Powershot camera with serious zoom using a 6' step ladder for a tripod.

 

 

 

 

 

[BackofBeyond]

It was all fake, I tell you - the earth is flat - don't you know - The E clips was just another deceptive government scare tactic - be safe - wear your tin foil hats at all times.      For the less skeptical among us, however,  it was something worth watching here in Middle TN. Great pic Bill. John as usual, really enjoy your sources.