Posted on 07/13/2017 9:13:29 AM PDT by SandRat
Everyone else, you're welcome to come and enjoy some Idaho hospitality. Just clean up after yourselves, and for cryin' out loud, don't drive too friggin' slow! Too much of that around here already...
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
They'd have to do it in Spanish, she's a language teacher...la tierra es oscura, la tierra no es oscura...
We will be somewhere on I-80 in Nebraska driving home after a wedding. We’ll choose our spot based upon weather and view. Looking forward to it!
Otherwise we’ll be seeing on TV.
Here’s to clear viewing!
Totality goes right over Redfish Lake in Idaho...which we are visiting next week! We are too early, darn it. The skies there are almost always clear in summer, too.
Drove the Baja to Cabo San Lucas in July ‘91. Saw the longest total eclipse anywhere in many, many years. Have long story about getting hotel reservations but that was 26 years ago. I probably posted the event on FR but FR only goes back to ‘01.
Me too. We’re taking a ten hour drive from Maryland to camp on the property of an organization we belong to.
Our son will miss the whole thing. He works at NASA on a satellite that studies solar weather and activity. He’s working that day and since his satellite is above the moon, he sees nothing.
I will be in Seneca. Made my reservations in September of 2015. That was the earliest the Day’s Inn would take them. Pray for a sunny day.
Is he a scientist or engineer? Even at my age, I’d almost give up the eclipse to be in his shoes.
Made plane reservations about 2 months ago. Five yo granddaughter is in Greenville, and really into astronomy.
Hoping for sun, without the heat and humidity.
Astronautical engineer. He’s still in school. Senior.
I will be in Seneca. Made my reservations in September of 2015. That was the earliest the Day’s Inn would take them. Pray for a sunny day.
Best of everything to him.
Thanks.
It’s been his goal since he was about 6 to work at NASA and build rockets.
We lived in Michigan and I lost my job in the recession. I ended up with a job in Maryland. God truly put us here, in many ways for him.
He joined a robotics team and ended up with some good scholarships at a small private engineering school we never would have heard of had we not moved here.
Thank you. We’re driving up to Idaho from Phoenix. My son is a Ph.D. astrophysicist, so he’s coming along. This is a bucket-list event for him.
We originally had possible places to stay (or at least camp in the backyard) from a friend of our daughter and a friend of our son, but both fell through so now we’re winging it. We rented a tent from REI and we’re driving up Thursday-Friday to find a BLM campground. Any recommendations?
Plenty. Hope and pray for the best, but prepare for the worst.
Bring provisions for 3-4 days, because US 95 here in Western Idaho, and I-15 in the East will probably be parking lots. Check out AAA Idaho for tips on having your car ready. Take some Pee Wee bags for having to relieve yourself. Gas up before you leave Pocatello in the East or Boise in the West, because there are very few places to fuel up between Pokey and Rexberg, and Boise and Weiser. Those few places are going to be backed up for miles, too, and some of them will run out of gas, I'm willing to bet.
Some people are predicting cell towers will be overloaded, and getting a call out or a GPS signal will be difficult. So bring an alternate form of commo, like a CB or portable ham radio. Get an Idaho Map and Gazeteer, so you can scope out side roads if need be.
If you smoke, don't dare throw your butts out the window, because the whole state is dry as a tinderbox right now. You could find yourself stuck in a parking lot, with a wildfire bearing down on you. In that nightmare scenario, have a go bag you can grab and good boots in case you have to run for your life.
God help everyone if there are medical emergencies, car wrecks, etc.
If you can find a campground, great. This late in the game, they're probably all booked up, though. So be prepared to drive in shifts if need be. Don't plan on pulling over on the side of the road to camp, because if you get out of line on the road, it'll be hours before you'll be able to get back in.
One last thing...Idahoan drivers are notoriously slow, and drive with their heads firmly jammed up their butts. It's not unusual for them to stop, in traffic, with cars lined up behind them, to let someone in a side road or parking lot out in front of them. Sometimes two or three cars, with no regard to the pileups they almost cause, or the inconvenience they're putting those behind them in. There are sure to be fights too, road rage incidents out the wazoo, so plan accordingly there as well.
Good luck. Prepare for a nightmare akin to evacuating New Orleans before Katrina or Houston before Rita. I hope and pray I'm wrong, but my Spidey Sense is tingling over this one. This is going to suuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
The shadow runs through Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina before heading out to sea over the Atlantic
HEHEHEHEHEHE,... LEAVES ME SAFE In THE SW CORNER OF COCHISE COUNTY, ARIZONA, .. . . . .HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE
We found a nice place in the non-reservation fee-free Wolf Flats BLM campground west of Idaho Falls. After overnighting in Ogden, UT we arrived here mid-afternoon Friday. Only a few of the 20 spots in the campground were taken when we arrived. It has since filled up but there haven’t been a lot of people cruising around looking for empty spaces.
The many private campgrounds nearby got very busy since we’ve been here, but there have been no traffic issues apart from the Friday evening rush hour in Idaho Falls. The big Wal-Mart was plenty busy, and it looked like they had an extra truckload of water bottles and firewood on the front sidewalk.
The locals say that the expectations set by the media were overblown - and they’re happy about it.
Looking forward to the big day tomorrow.
Make that EAST of Idaho Falls.
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