Walter S

For years I've been ready to rent a car at the drop of a hat really. I just don't ever seem to find the occasion. I could have avoided it with more planning, but the eclipse will come and go without me if I don't get to the zone. If all goes according to plan, me and my rental will show up early in Dillard, GA where city parking is first come first served starting at 8:00 a.m.

Total Solar Eclipse 2017 - "Close" is NOT close enough!

For those outside the path, there is no dramatic moment of totality, no dance of Baily’s Beads around the edge of the moon’s disk, no intense darkening of the skies, no stars and planets suddenly revealing themselves against an impossible twilight, no corona flashing into view (the otherworldly beauty of which makes even veteran total eclipse observers gasp in amazement), and no primordial fear which sinks ever so slightly even the modern heart. There is no pitch-blackened disk of the sun, no discernable temperature drop, no impossible nighttime during the day, no scintillating chromosphere or glorious prominences, no 360-degree sunset effect around the horizon, no uncontrollable shouts of emotional overload from the assembled crowd, and no lingering post-eclipse sensation of certainty that you have just done one of the coolest things you’ll ever do in your life.

I-Like-To-Bike

Should be worth the trip. Hope the weatherman cooperates.

I experienced the last total eclipse while living in Oregon in 1979. What I found most powerful was the moment when the last bit of sun was hidden by the moon: the ambient light on the ground when from dim to total blackness, just as if someone flipped a switch and turned out the lights.

Mobile 155

I cannot get away or I would as well. My astronomy professor could never stop talking about the thrill.

wolfchild

Enjoy the eclipse and have a safe drive.

CliffordK

We get it a little later in the morning on this side of the country. The center of the total eclipse zone is about 100 miles to the north. So, my plan is to get up early, and ride as far as I can go. The pull over and watch

If I only get 99.9%.... well, I suppose I'll survive, or I'll have to wait another 50 years for the next one

Walter S

Neil Degrasse Tyson says "For those who [say] you’re not going to see the eclipse, there is no excuse! There’s nothing you can say to justify not going to the eclipse," he said. "I don’t even want to hear it -- just talk to the hand. There’s nothing you can tell me. We live in a day when everyone can travel. It’s not like 400 years ago when nobody had a car, nobody had an airplane. Today, everyone has access to mobility, so there is no excuse."

Walter S

Really, it's usually once or twice in a lifetime in the USA for a total eclipse. Newspapers in the 1930s hyped the eclipse then, saying there would not be one as good till August 2017. And here we are. But there will be another one stretching from Texas up to the Northeast in 2024

cooker

Hope it is clear.

KD5NRH

The 2024 path of totality should be about 30-35 miles from here, so as long as I'm still in the area and able to ride, I'll likely bike to it. Depending on my resources and responsibilities then, one of my favorite fishing lakes is another 10-15 miles into the path, so I might camp there. Been meaning to do an overnighter or a weekender there for a while, so now I have a set date for it.

Roody

On the news they showed lines of cars with people waiting inside them for hours to pull off the road. I would want to be on a bike riding right past them!

Personally, I plan to take a walk in open areas during the time of the eclipse. No totality here, but the eeriness of even a partial eclipse is pretty cool.

tandempower

I won't miss the "uncontrollable shouts of emotional overload from the assembled crowd," let alone the challenge of driving and parking in a convergence zone where drivers from both north and south will be flocking; but thanks for posting this since I did not know about the sunrise/sunset effects around the horizon. Maybe by next eclipse, employers will offer a week off to bike to the totality zone and there will be free camping along the way.

Machka 

Shrug shoulders ... Monday came and went and there was no eclipse. So much hype for nothing.

cooker

I had a glimpse just now of the partial we had here. It is interesting, but I've seen several so not a big deal by now. The 2024 total will be close enough that it would be lazy not to try for it I am alive and healthy enough, passing over the Niagara region, including the Canadian side, as well as Kingston ON and southern Quebec, just touching Montreal.

wipekitty

It got a little bit darker here in Western Wisconsin - enough that the most vocal of my cats started pacing and yowling. It would have been more interesting without the thick cloud cover.

The eclipse always makes me think of Thales (the early Greek philosopher whom is credited as the first Western philosopher in part due to his prediction of an eclipse.)

Walter S

I enjoyed the eclipse in Dillard! We almost got covered up by clouds popping up around us. The sky had been clear but by 12:30 there were thunderstorm type clouds approaching from the east as far as I could see. There were times during the eclipse that you couldn't see the sun at all. I was geared up for being thankful nonetheless and go home glad I came. Then a big patch of blue sky moved over us a few minutes before totality, so it was pretty damn splendid! I was staring at the eclipse and didn't see the world around me. Then looked down and it was like whoa it's dark out here. Street lights and neon at the gas station etc made it instant night. The sky kept some blue to it for sure though. But it was a different kind of light from the corona. Not just less intense. I expected the corona to be thinner than what I saw.

Getting home was a lot of sitting and creeping. People were leaving us behind walking. It took some seven hours to go 100 miles. It was a speed limit drive though once I finally hit I-85. Got home and my dog Apollo faired OK. He was jumping in the air like a spring for a minute - then out the back door. Great day.

I would have enjoyed the trip more on my bicycle for sure. But it's a two day ride and I didn't have time. It was amazing anyway

Walter S

You're either blind or on the wrong continent

fietsbob

I walked to my front porch with my Eclipse Glasses . 90% was good enough for me.

CliffordK

Apparently no eclipse in Australia... And to think Machka didn't ride one of these to North America. What about all that adventurous long distance cycling?



I was actually amazed at the difference between a partial eclipse (or what was viewed prior and after the total eclipse), and a total eclipse.

Even at 99% obscured, one might not notice any difference with the sun's light beyond what one might have seen with a cloud passing across the sun's path.

CliffordK

I rode about 65 miles north yesterday morning to near the center of the solar eclipse in Oregon. Traffic was heavy heading north, but appeared to be flowing well, with many people starting very early in the AM, or even a few days early. And the cars mostly stayed on the freeway

After the eclipse, everyone hopped in their car at the same time and headed south (I'd imagine northbound to Portland and Seattle was as bad or worse).

traffic, southbound after eclipse.jpg

Unfortunately, so many people jumped off of the freeways onto the secondary roads that they were pretty bad too. And the government seemed to encourage it Of course, that was probably necessary to alleviate the bottleneck on the freeways. But it was hard to get away from the cars. Although there were a few back roads that they hadn't found

Sign.jpg

I should have jumped on the freeway... slipped in for some "truckage" when the traffic was moving, and then hopped over onto the shoulder when it stopped Maybe next time.

Total ride was about 140 miles RT.

Route.jpg

Oh, and the eclipse was good, for about 2 minutes. I was amazed at how much darker it was during the total eclipse period. And that spectacular ring, no fancy glasses needed. Unfortunately, the eclipse was about the max of what my phone camera could handle.

Eclipse2017.jpg

Walter S

True. Close is not close enough. The total eclipse is transformative. It's not just a "more covered up" Sun. You don't need eye protection and in fact can't see if you use it. At the moment of totality it was hard to contain myself. Seeing the Sun disappear like that is a moving experience.

Walter S

Thanks for sharing that - nice pictures!

cooker

Glad it worked out!

Machka 

Australia didn't see an eclipse because it happened at the wrong time of day and wrong angle.

Roody

My son and i walked downtown and bought subs and ate them in a big grassy park while the partial eclipse happened. Fortunately the clouds parted just in time. You could tell that it was a little darker and even a little cooler on this hot and humid day. However, it was more exciting to watch a guy flying a big dragon kite than to watch the eclipse. Oh well, we still had fun.

Walter S

It did exactly as predicted in 1932 newspapers. Just right