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Planning a trip to see the "great North American solar eclipse" on August 21st

lue42

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The best places to view it are here:
https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/best-places-to-view/

For me, coming from Ontario, Canada, my best destination would likely be around Illinois.

Anyone want to go and have a meetup somewhere?

Also looking for a corner of a room, a couch or a manger in the barn to crash on if anyone lives around a good viewing spot.

I am hoping to spend a few days around the area as well as the trip down and up again.
 
Southern Illinois viewing will be prime. Cabins have been rumored to be booked over a year in advance, campgrounds i don't know but i imagine they are getting scarce too.

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Weather permitting I'm going to ride up to one of the higher elevatio pull off's on the "Cherohala" Scenic Highway in Tennessee/North Carolina to see it!! My guess is that those pull-off's will be crowded!!
 
I decided to take August 21 off work and ride to southern Illinois to see the eclipse! It's a day trip for me, so lodging is not an issue. If anyone else is going to be in southern IL that day, post up.

If I get an early start I could even stop at Moonshine Store and get a Moonburger on the way to see the sun disappear because of the moon!
 
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I'm probably headed to somewhere near Chester,il. Close to home and should be good viewing. Best will be a little southwest of Carbondale.

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Looks like the eclipse totality passes over our North Carolina stomping grounds at KSL, the Dragon, Cherohala Skyway, etc. It sure would be good time for a meet up, except for the August heat.
 
Since the eclipse is about 1PM in the peak duration area (around Land Between the Lakes) there is no need to pay the high prices to stay close. Once could stay within a couple hundred miles and drive in that morning. Be sure to fetch some glasses or someone with eyes will have to drive you home...

Total Solar Eclipse 2017 - The best prices you'll find on CERTIFIED SAFE Eclipse Glasses!
Yep, a person can stay in Louisville, Bowling Green, Paducah Ky and be there in a couple of hours to LBL; Nashvile Tn is about 2.5 (rough guess), maybe closer. Even Cave City Ky has hotels and 2-2.5 hour ride to LBL. Mammoth Cave State Park is at Cave City-one could camp at Mammoth Cave, explore the caves, and then ride over to LBL.
 
Weather should be plenty warm/dry by then. Sounds like a good trip to employ a bit of stealth camping.
 
I'll be camping in Granite City, IL with my riding buddies. In the morning of 21st, we will pack up and ride south of St Louis to see the full eclipse.
 
My wife and I might take the bike down, an eclipse would be excellent to see!


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We would be in the Carbondale area, I'll try and keep you updated if we do make it.


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Trying to firm up some plans....

Would love to see it from Grand Teton NP but that is a looong way from Maine. Closest to me would probably be eastern Tennessee/North Carolina border. Not crazy about that area though. Lots of mountains and it won't be total until around 14:35 which is early, but not uber early like in the Tetons (11:35).

Feds expect Grand Teton NP to have the most visitors in their HISTORY that weekend...so if I pull the trigger on that area, I gotta get going soon to even get a place to park and claim a tenting area. Would be a very cool place to see it though!

I don't have to be back in school until the 28th so the NP isn't out of the question....Long ride though, about 5,000 miles round trip and I blew a ton of $$ this Summer already riding all over the place. Would have to do it on the cheap, meaning tent, jet boil stove and freeze dried eats. Not real easy to do when riding from the east coast westward.....Would be an adventure though, eh?

What are your plans?
 
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Haven't paid too much attention to this epic event, due to my TAT prep.
We start the trail in Tellico Plains on 8/17
By 8/21 we'd be continuing the Sams TAT Trail from the Ozarks, which puts us about 5 hrs from Jefferson City, MO which is almost in the center.
The max eclipse occurs around 6:15pm in the area. Duration of Totality: 2m38.5s
So dinner after the event, camp at nearby State Park and on with the ADV trail riding.
Unfortunately, we may end up skipping OK to make up time.
 
That time is UT. I think you need to subtract 5 hours to get your local time.

The good news is you will be in a place with very little traffic.

I'm still trying to figure out where I will be. I hate traffic.
 
The wife and I are driving up to North Georgia on Saturday or Sunday. The cabin is about 28 miles south of Brasstown Bald which is where we hope to view the eclipse on Monday. Brasstown Bald is nearly centered in the line of totality.

You can use a pair of binoculars to project an image of sun and moon onto a piece of white cardboard or paper. DO NOT LOOK THROUGH THE BINOCULARS! You hold the binoculars away from your eyes at all times. Point the big lenses of the binoculars toward the sun and hold the piece of paper below the small lenses (eye piece end) and move the paper to the correct distance to bring the round image of the sun into focus. The moon's shadow will appear to cross the sun's image.

Sun Viewer: Observe the Sun Safely With Binoculars: 7 Steps (with Pictures)
 
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There is a location in Woodruff South Carolina called Triple Tree Aerodrome. It's heaven on earth. I've been there 100 times for giant scale radio control airplane events (LIKE 50% SCALE BIG). They are having an event for the eclipse. It's supposed to be directly under the path.

The place is magic. 600+ acres of amazing. Free hot showers and proper restrooms. A mile long football field wide putting green grass runway. It's seriously the world's most beautiful camp and gathering ground.

Pat Hartness the owner is worth billions. He created the place and then gifted it to the radio control community and created a trust so it will live on long after he is gone.

Check it outhttp://www.tripletreeaerodrome.com
 
Our eclipse starts the whole affair for the nation on the Oregon coast, just up 101 a bit from me at Newport. It will begin to partially eclipse at about 9:05 am (left coast time). Full eclipse starts at about 10:15 am there and lasts for all of 1 minute 45 seconds.

IMG_0934.jpg

Gaggles of tourists are expected, clogging up coastal Hwy 101 heading up there. My plan is to just monitor, from home, the circus developing that weekend and then also the weather for visibility on Monday, the 21st. I'll decide that morning whether to join the circus and to ride the NC' up there. Since it's only 100 miles away it would be an easy ride. I already got my hi-tech cardboard eclipse visor.

Ray
 
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