• The TUGBBS forums are completely free and open to the public and exist as the absolute best place for owners to get help and advice about their timeshares for more than 30 years!

    Join Tens of Thousands of other Owners just like you here to get any and all Timeshare questions answered 24 hours a day!
  • TUG started 30 years ago in October 1993 as a group of regular Timeshare owners just like you!

    Read about our 30th anniversary: Happy 30th Birthday TUG!
  • TUG has a YouTube Channel to produce weekly short informative videos on popular Timeshare topics!

    Free memberships for every 50 subscribers!

    Visit TUG on Youtube!
  • TUG has now saved timeshare owners more than $21,000,000 dollars just by finding us in time to rescind a new Timeshare purchase! A truly incredible milestone!

    Read more here: TUG saves owners more than $21 Million dollars
  • Sign up to get the TUG Newsletter for free!

    60,000+ subscribing owners! A weekly recap of the best Timeshare resort reviews and the most popular topics discussed by owners!
  • Our official "end my sales presentation early" T-shirts are available again! Also come with the option for a free membership extension with purchase to offset the cost!

    All T-shirt options here!
  • A few of the most common links here on the forums for newbies and guests!

Solar eclipse on August 21...anyone getting excited?

PStreet1

TUG Lifetime Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
2,077
Reaction score
43
Points
48
Location
Rosarito Beach, Baja, Mex., & Phx
The places I actually know about that have sold tickets to viewing/parking spots (and I know, personally, of only 3) have been sold out for several months. Our attempt to get reservations in Idaho/Wyoming found "very modest" hotels for $1000 a night several months ago. I think you should expect bumper to bumper traffic to get to viewing spots, and I'm certain the highway patrol will attempt to keep people from parking along the edges of roads--though they can't be everywhere at once.
 

ace2000

TUG Member
Joined
Dec 17, 2006
Messages
5,032
Reaction score
152
Points
498
Maybe I missed it in a previous post, but why would any specific spot be better than any other? Are there any factors to consider? Seems that as long as you had a clear view of the sun with no obstructions, and in the path of totality, that would be it?
 
Last edited:

PStreet1

TUG Lifetime Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
2,077
Reaction score
43
Points
48
Location
Rosarito Beach, Baja, Mex., & Phx
The problem is getting to a place where you either don't have to drive and can just look up and see it, or a place where, if you have to drive, you can legally park the car and look up at the eclipse. One post said officials are expecting traffic of the sort you get in a hurricane evacuation: that means no movement. The last time my daughter was trying to evacuate from Houston, they sat in traffic for two hours and were, literally, blocks from home. They turned around and went home and waited it out because they are pretty far from the coast and have enough of a hill (a rarity in Houston) that they thought they wouldn't get flooded. If the traffic turns out to be like that, getting to a viewing spot on the day of the eclipse may simply not be possible. The West is considered prime viewing because they usually have clear skies. The midwest often has storms or lots of clouds. As was pointed out above, we may have problems on the ship due to overcast skies. The time of the actual total eclipse varies slightly--seconds of difference--across the U.S.
 

jfbookers

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
438
Reaction score
8
Points
379
Location
Norfolk, VA
I have a 2BR timeshare in Western South Carolina in the path that we plan on leaving following the event . If anyone is interested in the remainler of the week PM me.
Jim
 

Almond123

TUG Review Crew
TUG Member
Joined
May 24, 2015
Messages
92
Reaction score
50
Points
128
Location
Albany, NY
Resorts Owned
Fanta Sea Resorts, Flagship Atlantic City;
The Bay Club at Waikoloa, HGVC;
Ka'anapali Beach Resort, DRI;
I am driving on the 21st to Columbia SC and have a room in the Marriott there for that one night. I just hope I can get there without winding up in a traffic jam for hours and watching it from 95. I will be coming from North Carolina so will be leaving early the morning of the 21st. If nothing else it should be quite a trip. If I do make it there at least I won't be caught in all the traffic leaving which I think will be worse.
 

Phydeaux

TUG Member
Joined
May 20, 2010
Messages
2,760
Reaction score
311
Points
218
Location
Somewhere, USA
Sure hope you folks going to the trouble don't experience a cloudy day.....
 

PigsDad

TUG Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2006
Messages
10,072
Reaction score
7,075
Points
898
Location
Colorado and SW Florida
Resorts Owned
HGVC Elite: SeaWorld, Surf Club, Charter Club, Valdoro
The West is considered prime viewing because they usually have clear skies.
Yep. While we are in our season where we often get a quick rain cloud in the afternoon, it is rarely cloudy through Wyoming before mid-afternoon in the summer, when the clouds (if any) start to form.

Kurt
 

CO skier

TUG Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2012
Messages
4,106
Reaction score
2,357
Points
448
Location
Colorado
I hope you guys are over-hyping this deal as far as the crowds. :) We live an hour away from the path and plan on taking the day off and just driving somewhere to check it out. Don't have specific plans yet... but, I'm starting to wonder if I need to make some.
The wild card is that August 21st is a Monday. The new school year will have started in many places. If the Great Eclipse occurred on a weekend, crowds would probably be double what they will be.

Casper, WY is hosting a multi-day AstroCon as part of its Eclipse Festival. There are still some rooms available for $200+/night in Sheridan, WY -- a 2-hour drive from Casper. Cheyenne, WY is a 2.5 hour drive from Casper, and it is completely booked. It is 750 miles from Omaha, NE to Rock Springs, WY. There are rooms available in those two locations, some at reasonable rates, but every hotel room offered through Expedia for the 750 miles of I-80 in-between is booked.

A lot of people are planning to miss work or school on August 21st.
 

CO skier

TUG Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2012
Messages
4,106
Reaction score
2,357
Points
448
Location
Colorado
Sure hope you folks going to the trouble don't experience a cloudy day.....
200 million people live within a days drive of the Eclipse. It is estimated there will be 23 million viewers across the country in the zone of totality on August 21st who will be hoping for a cloud free look at the Eclipse.
 

ace2000

TUG Member
Joined
Dec 17, 2006
Messages
5,032
Reaction score
152
Points
498
The wild card is that August 21st is a Monday. The new school year will have started in many places. If the Great Eclipse occurred on a weekend, crowds would probably be double what they will be.

True, and it's not like everyone's going to the same location. The path of this thing is spread across the entire state. I don't think I have anything to worry about. Busy, yes, but I'm not expecting bumper to bumper traffic where I'll be going.
 

CO skier

TUG Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2012
Messages
4,106
Reaction score
2,357
Points
448
Location
Colorado
True, and it's not like everyone's going to the same location.
For those stuck in the traffic jam on I-25 through Wyoming on the morning of Aug. 21, it might feel like everyone is headed for the same location.

I am not taking any chances. I plan to leave Aug. 20th, and weather permitting, view the Eclipse from a remote location in the Sandhills district of Nebraska.
 

paxsarah

TUG Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2010
Messages
3,771
Reaction score
2,915
Points
448
Location
Athens, GA
Resorts Owned
Wyndham Ocean Boulevard, Flagstaff, Grand Desert
We're letting the kids skip a day of school and driving 75 minutes up the road to our in-laws' house. Our home would be in about a 99% totality area, and the school district is making sure every kid has glasses and they'll do a viewing here, but it's worth a short drive and sleeping in the guest room to see it at 100%.

And even if it's cloudy (we're on the East Coast), it's not like nothing will happen. It will get nighttime dark and cool off during totality. Totally worth the effort.
 

tseebach

Guest
Joined
Dec 25, 2013
Messages
28
Reaction score
23
Points
163
Location
San Jose, CA
I heard that if you are in a place with a view of distant mountains and valleys, you will be able to see the darkness from the eclipse moving towards you.

If you have never been in a total eclipse, don't think that being where eclipse is 90-99% will be anything like totality.
The following was posted by a friend who has been to at least 10 total eclipses:
"The upcoming total solar eclipse is the first in the continental US since 1979, total in the white strip on the map below. It is a bucket list event. I don't advocate exotic travel just for an eclipse unless it's to someplace you want to go anyway. But the investment of time and $$ to get from places like Tahoe, Utah or Colorado to the August 21 path is absurdly cheap vs. any other eclipse in our likely lifetimes. Do not think you can stay home and see most of the show at 90 or 95 or 99%. A 99% eclipse is still 4,000x as bright as totality; thus you don't see the solar corona, flares, etc.
http://americaneclipseusa.com/generation-eclipse-9-99.../ - end quote. Note that link has some lodging options including tent and RV camping in OR.
 

MULTIZ321

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
31,265
Reaction score
8,992
Points
1,048
Location
FT. LAUDERDALE, FL
Resorts Owned
BLUEWATER BY SPINNAKER HHI
ROYAL HOLIDAY CLUB RHC (POINTS)
Eclipse Day Craziness Could Resemble the Zombie Apocalypse - Are You Ready?
By Nola Taylor Redd/ Space.com Contributor/ space.com

"One month from today, the total solar eclipse of Aug. 21 will make its way across the U.S. from Oregon to South Carolina. As the clock ticks down to the big day, the question is: Are you prepared?

While you may have thought to grab eclipse-viewing glasses or make hotel reservations, the massive crowds expected all along the eclipse path could present challenges you haven't considered.

"There are so many ways in which eclipse day is going to resemble a zombie apocalypse," Angela Speck, a researcher at the University of Missouri and member of the American Astronomical Society's eclipse team, told Space.com by email. [The Best ISO-Certified Gear to See the 2017 Solar Eclipse]

With two-thirds of Americans living within a day's drive of the eclipse, some eclipse experts have anticipated that the weekend leading up to the August eclipse will see more travelers in the air, on the rails and on the road than any other time in 2017. That could present serious problems for those viewing the eclipse, even if they don't have to travel to see it. And people who live inside the eclipse path but choose to miss the once-in-a-lifetime event will not be spared.

"There will hopefully be less bloodshed, but zombies don't need regular food, or sleep, or toilets," Speck said. Eclipse spectators, on the other hand, need all those things. ..."


Richard
 

MULTIZ321

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
31,265
Reaction score
8,992
Points
1,048
Location
FT. LAUDERDALE, FL
Resorts Owned
BLUEWATER BY SPINNAKER HHI
ROYAL HOLIDAY CLUB RHC (POINTS)
NASA Offers Safety Tips for Viewing August 21 Solar Eclipse
By Himanshu Goenka/ National/ International Business Times/ ibtimes.com

"On Aug. 21, the moon will block out the sun completely, as seen from the United States, following a narrow band across the country while the shadow of the moon moves from the west coast to the east. The total solar eclipse will the first across the entirety of the contiguous United States since June 8, 1918 — almost 100 years ago.

Understandably, there is much excitement around the astronomical event, with viewing parties already being planned in various places along the eclipse’s path, which starts in Oregon and ends in South Carolina. If you plan to watch the eclipse too, either by traveling to a place from where it is visible in its entirety, or by remaining where you are to see a partial eclipse (the partial eclipse will be visible from every state in the country), you should keep in mind some safety tips...."

solareclipse.jpg

A total solar eclipse, which is when the moon completely covers the sun, will occur across 14 states in the continental U.S. on Aug. 21, 2017. Photo: NASA


Richard
 

MULTIZ321

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
31,265
Reaction score
8,992
Points
1,048
Location
FT. LAUDERDALE, FL
Resorts Owned
BLUEWATER BY SPINNAKER HHI
ROYAL HOLIDAY CLUB RHC (POINTS)
2017 Eclipse: Officials Warn of Massive Crowds, Traffic, Food Shortages, Gas Shortages, So Stock Up
By Aaron Homer/ Science/ Inquisitr/ inquisitr.com

"The 2017 Eclipse, or “The Great American Eclipse,” as it’s being called, will be one of the greatest astronomical events of this century, potentially witnessed by as many as 200 million people. And officials are warning residents in the 70-mile wide path of totality that throngs of out-of-towners will converge on small communities ill-equipped to handle them, leading to chaos.

As Buzzfeed reported, officials in 12 states in the nearly 70-mile-wide path of totality are warning residents of gas shortages, food and water shortages, hours-long traffic jams, and other possible catastrophes. In some places, residents are being advised to stock up on food and fill up their gas tanks before the tourists empty the stores and clog the roads. Other places are deploying emergency management procedures.

The problem is that many of the better viewing spots for the eclipse are in rural areas with little infrastructure, two-lane roads, and other limitations. When 100,000 people are crammed into a county with a normal population of around ten thousand, things are going to get hairy...."

32922225835_3d12d60dff_z.jpg

The eclipse begins in Oregon, which is expecting major headaches. [Image by J. Albert Bowden II | Flickr | by CC BY-SA 2.0]


Richard
 

hvsteve1

Tug Review Crew: Rookie
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2005
Messages
529
Reaction score
13
Points
378
Location
Crossville,TN
We're in the line of totality where I am in Tennessee. Earlier posters worried about where to get special glasses. Well, now that the day is approaching you can find them in every supermarket and big box store around along with shirts, hats, etc. Some of the cities are giving their kids the day off school to watch. In our county kids will be in school so as to watch as a learning experience. We have no idea if we're going to get hammered by crowds in our town. Cities such as Knoxville and Nashville are making a big deal of it but we're just waiting to see what happens. We're not as well-known as the big cities but we are right off the interstate. In any case, I'll be watching from my deck. :cool:
 

TUGfan

Guest
Joined
Jul 14, 2008
Messages
48
Reaction score
4
Points
168
I was glad to hear our local meteorologist say it is safe to look directly at the sun during the 2 1/2 min of totality without protective eyewear. He even recommended taking glasses off to see the corona. Fingers crossed for clear skies that day!
 

sun starved Gayle

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
2,196
Reaction score
1,244
Points
523
Location
Washington State

sun starved Gayle

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
2,196
Reaction score
1,244
Points
523
Location
Washington State
Yes, I mentioned the eclipse to my husband a while ago and he wasn't interested. Then out of the blue yesterday he was all excited about it so we planned something. We booked flights and hotel but still need to arrange rental car since all the airport ones are booked. It's very late in the game to start making plans now but we managed to figure something out.

The way we chose a spot, we considered:
- minimal travel time for us (for us in Vegas, virtually any plan requires flying then driving) since we have a young son
- where would we enjoy spending a weekend?
- where is likely to have good weather for viewing?

On that last part I googled: https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/best-places-to-view/

We decided we will fly to Portland and drive to Madras.

VegasBella, you might want to consider at least one way taking I-84 to The Dalles, taking the Dufer (great name huh ?) exit onto 197 which connects to 97 into Madras. That is the way we always go when we pass through Madras on our way to Bend, Oregon. It adds about 30 miles but you do not have to deal with the traffic going over Mt. Hood, which I have a feeling is going to be horrendous. Traffic will probably be bad on this route also, but not as bad as Mt. Hood route. Maupin is known for it's white water rafting day trips which might be a memorable stop for your son. If he is too little for that, there is a nice shady park there which is a good stop to use the rest room, have a picnic and get wet in the Deschutes River to cool off. On I-84, you will also be driving through the Columbia River Gorge, which is very lovely.
 

MULTIZ321

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
31,265
Reaction score
8,992
Points
1,048
Location
FT. LAUDERDALE, FL
Resorts Owned
BLUEWATER BY SPINNAKER HHI
ROYAL HOLIDAY CLUB RHC (POINTS)
I was glad to hear our local meteorologist say it is safe to look directly at the sun during the 2 1/2 min of totality without protective eyewear. He even recommended taking glasses off to see the corona. Fingers crossed for clear skies that day!
I hope you are in a location to be able to view the total eclipse. If you intend to do this without safety glasses - here is what NASA says:

"Sky-gazers should be very cautious—looking directly at the sun can permanently damage your eyes. NASA has an entire portion of its website dedicated to tips for watching the eclipse. According to NASA, looking directly at the sun during an eclipse is never safe unless during the brief total eclipse, when the moon’s disk blocks the sun’s entirely (this only occurs within the path of totality, and only for a few minutes). Otherwise, you should be using proper safety viewers for any kind of eclipse viewing...."

To see the complete link, see: Total Eclipse of the Sun: A Complete Guide to the 2017 Solar Eclipse
By Molly Rubin/ Once in a Blue Moon/ Quartz/ qz.com

Richard
 

Sandy VDH

TUG Review Crew: Elite
TUG Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
9,848
Reaction score
4,227
Points
648
Location
Houston, TX
Resorts Owned
Wynd VIP Plat GF, HGVC Elite, WM, HICV, +
I'm excited, as I managed to rent my two units I had at Wyndham Nashville.

I even managed to rebook them at half price and and free upgrades, than cancel my original bookings. So rented at a premium and even got points back. Bonus. But hey I got them free upgrades, so they are both happy campers, and I made out very well thank you.
 

Glynda

TUG Member
Joined
Jun 8, 2005
Messages
3,781
Reaction score
2,552
Points
599
Location
Charleston, SC
Resorts Owned
Bluegreen Points Lodge Alley Inn.
Brewster Green (two weeks).
I heard our Charleston, SC, NBC Weatherman state this morning that though it is still a little too far out, current patterns suggest that we may not have a good day for viewing the Eclipse!!! Also hearing about National Geographic's plan to film here, setting up at, or near, HWY 17 North a little above the Isle of Palms Connector which will just about shut down traffic on HWY 17. Al Roker of NBC's Today Show is going to be aboard the aircraft carrier Yorktown at Patriots Point in Mt Pleasant and will be broadcasting during The Today Show as well as during the eclipse later that day.

It would be awful if so many people come here to view the eclipse and then weather prevents a good sighting. :( I haven't acquired any glasses yet but hear that there are a lot of fakes out there illegally using the logo. Also heard that a lot of libraries in the path are giving away glasses.
 

Carol C

TUG Lifetime Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2005
Messages
3,875
Reaction score
266
Points
418
Location
USA
Sure hope you folks going to the trouble don't experience a cloudy day.....

It is freaky how rainy it has been this entire week. Almost a monsoonal pattern for SC. Will it be clear Aug 21 in the mid-afternoon? Sure hope so. Bought my glasses from one of four companies recommended on NASA's site. If traffic is crazy I can walk to an open viewing site along the marsh where I live in SC. Or I'll stay in my own yard. Don't forget to wear mosquito repellent if you're coming to SC for this event; with all the rain the skeeters are taking over!
 
Top