The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Down Range Cafe => Topic started by: billt on July 30, 2017, 07:59:03 PM
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Does anyone live in the path of totality, or close to it? Here in Phoenix I don't think it will be more than 65% or so. But I'm sure TV will have good coverage coast to coast. I wonder if the International Space Station will get a view of the Earth as it darkens from space? It should be something to see.
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Planning on driving north of here to see the total eclipse. Once or twice in a lifetime thing. There was one when I was a kid years ago and then when I worked offshore in the mid-80's there was one south of the Louisiana coast.
It's worth seeing.
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It's supposed to be 90% here. The best eclipse I recall seeing was while stationed in Louisiana. It must be the one from August 10, 1980 that I see mentioned online. I remember looking right at it through a welder's mask.
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Planning on driving north of here to see the total eclipse.
Just be really careful on the road. Every asshole and his brother is going to be out there. And most will be paying attention to everything BUT their driving. They're saying hotels and motels within 250 miles either way of this thing are booked solid. And have been for well over a year. Not to mention EVERYTHING, including gas will be held for ransom at scalpers prices.
This thing passes through a lot of rural towns and cities. And while it's a once in a lifetime occurrence. It's also a once in lifetime chance for these people to turn a fast buck. Roadsides will be filled with vehicles and people walking around everywhere. The area of totality is only a 50 to 80 mile wide band. And that doesn't cover very many roads in rural areas. I wouldn't even attempt to view it from a large city.
I remember back in 1980, I wrote to NASA and got a pass to see the 4th launch of the Space Shuttle. The guy at the Howard Johnsons I was staying at in Cocoa Beach told me to get there no later than midnight. (The launch was at 11:00 AM). There were over 1 MILLION people there. The worst part is they parked you, "first in = first out". So I was really glad I took the guys advice. The last people who got there were stuck for hours in 90 degree heat and sweltering humidity. There was only a 2 lane road out of the viewing area I was at. It was a mess. I'm thinking in many areas this will be a whole lot worse because it will be, "every man for himself". And like a Shuttle Launch, it only lasts a few minutes. Then everyone tries getting out at the same time.
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I bet all the hotels are sold out along the path but thankfully, I'll be going in the RV so hotels won't be a problem. Fuel scalpers will have to look elsewhere since we hold 150 gallons of diesel.
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yep on my bday.
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I live just a few miles off the center of the path in Oregon, about 55 miles south of Portland. Unfortunately everyone that wants to see it in its full glory is heading up and down I-5 to our general area. I've heard 100,000 to 2 million people are traveling to one part of Oregon or another. It is going to be a miserable traffic mess for the better part of a week.
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Anyone heard of a run on blue Nike sneakers, kook-aid and cyanide?
Oh! Wait, that was a comet!
Never mind...but don't forget to stare right at it! It's great therapy for the corneas...
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<snip>
Never mind...but don't forget to stare right at it! It's great therapy for the corneas...
I bet that would make the macular degeneration a secondary concern... :'(
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Ya missed my Freudian slip on Kool-Aid!
I've seen an eclipse but the Aurora Borealis in Iceland has that beat by a long shot!
Enjoy your trip, K!
T
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Ya missed my Freudian slip on Kool-Aid!
<snip>
I caught it. Heaven's Gate?
I'd like to see a real aurora one day. I did see an oxygen activated one once where the sky glowed orange but never one of those dancing color thing-a-ma-bobs.
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I'd like to see a real aurora one day. I did see an oxygen activated one once where the sky glowed orange but never one of those dancing color thing-a-ma-bobs.
That show, "Life Below Zero", on I think Discovery Channel shows them all the time. I know it's TV, but they have some really good shots of them on most every episode.
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I caught it. Heaven's Gate?
I'd like to see a real aurora one day. I did see an oxygen activated one once where the sky glowed orange but never one of those dancing color thing-a-ma-bobs.
Think Pink Floyd light show on steroids!
Great stuff when it's dark for five months... now