2017 Total Solar Eclipse Reminder...

[W0X0F]

A few years ago I posted that my wife and I were planning on riding north to see the total solar eclipse in August of 2017 and was checking to see if anyone else would be interested.  Other than a few snarky comments about it being too far out or some of us would be too old to ride that far, I just thought I would throw it out there again.

The eclipse occurs the morning of Aug 21.  The further east one goes, the higher in the sky the sun will be, and will occur later in the day.  The closest path of totality to AZ appears to be somewhere along the line from Casper, WY to Grand Island, NE.

I am thinking hotel reservations in NE Colorado might work as we could ride either north or east to get the best view depending on weather.

I realize it is still a long ways out, but, I am guessing hotel reservation would probably be needed well in advance.  So, once again I am just seeing if there is any interest...

[NautiBrit]

You can count me in. I don't need an excuse for a long ride, but this is as good a reason as any and probably not a sight I'll get to see again.

[Ron]

Rik and I will be in that area around July 21. Do you think you could put in a request to have the eclipse show up a month early?? I know you have some pull with the weather and those sort of events. It would really help with my planning to Glacier.

You are right you need to start booking rooms now and they are going to be a little pricey. Motel 6 in Jackson WY in July $155.00 plus tax. 

[The emperor has no clothes]

Rik and I will be in that area around July 21. Do you think you could put in a request to have the eclipse show up a month early?? I know you have some pull with the weather and those sort of events. It would really help with my planning to Glacier.

You are right you need to start booking rooms now and they are going to be a little pricey. Motel 6 in Jackson WY in July $155.00 plus tax. 

It sounds like you might be 13 months early Ron. 

[Ron]

Well if he can move it up by 1 month than 13 months will only require a little more effort.

[W0X0F]

Let me see, 1 month or 13 months. Piece-O-Cake! I'll get right on it.

But, as I used to tell the USAF pilots who complained about the weather forecasts I gave them, "Sorry, I'm in sales, not production".

[Michael K (Az.)]

Let me see, 1 month or 13 months. Piece-O-Cake! I'll get right on it.

But, as I used to tell the USAF pilots who complained about the weather forecasts I gave them, "Sorry, I'm in sales, not production".

And Mike replies, "HA!"

[W0X0F]

Hi boys and girls.  While the eclipse is still just over 11 months away, hotel rooms within the zone of totality are already pretty much sold out.  I got a room in the town of Hot Springs SD, which is about an hour ride north of the zone of totality and an hour ride south of Rapid City.  I figure if the weather is crap, I can just play tourist and go visit Mount Rushmore or ride through the Badlands.

According to Google Maps, it is about an 18 hour ride from Phoenix to Hot Springs, so I plan on an easy 3 day ride up and back. Depending on the weather, maybe even a day longer each way and meander through Summit County CO, or some of the other ski areas.

I realize there was not a lot of interest in riding to see the eclipse when I first posted.  But, if any of you were even sort of thinking about it, it you don't already have rooms lined up, well, good luck....

If anyone is interested I have my room at the Baymont Inn & Suites in Hot Springs.  They had a few rooms left.  My reservation is from Aug 18 - 21.  Totality is just before noon on the 21st.

[Michael K (Az.)]

2017? I'll be sure to mark it on my calendar!

[Big Tom 10628]

2017? I'll be sure to mark it on my calendar!

You have a 2017 Calendar already?  What a pre-planner you are...

I would love to see it but I gave up advance planning a long time ago.

Hey Tim any camp grounds in the area where a guy could pitch a tent?

[W0X0F]

Hey Tim any camp grounds in the area where a guy could pitch a tent?

It appears there are 3 campgrounds in or near the city proper: KOA, Kemo Sabay and Allen Ranch.  Some 6 miles to the southeast of town is Angostura Reservoir and there appears to be 6 campgrounds surrounding the lake.

[Big Tom 10628]

Working on it...  I now have a Tent...

[W0X0F]

Hi boys and girls!  I am not sure what the issue has been but I have been unable to get this board to work for me for the past 3 or 4 months.  The main page would come up, but no matter what link I clicked on I would get a 503 error.  It has only started working for me just recently.  Judging by all the new threads, it would appear this has not been an issue for others.

Any how, I just got back yesterday from my ride to see the eclipse.  Sorry if others were interested in joining, but, as I said, I could not get the Valk web site to work so I did not know how to contact anyone.

My significant other and I had a fabulous 12 day ride, which covered 3555 miles.  Amazingly, in 12 days we did not get wet, and in 3555 miles we did not get one flat tire (bike or trailer).  Sorry to hear Ron keeps getting screwed.  I do believe 3555 miles in a single trip is a personal record for me.

Our route took us from Mesa to Farmington; Farmington to Carbondale, CO; Carbondale to Laramie; Laramie to Hot Springs, S.D.  We spent a couple of days in Hot Springs riding the Black Hills, visiting friends from Sturgis and Rapid City, seeing the Crazy Horse memorial and Mt. Rushmore. 





While riding around the area we did the Needles Hwy, Iron Mtn Road and Custer State Park.  While in the State Park a herd of bison decided to migrate across the road.  It took us close to an hour to get through the herd.  One bison decided to take exception to the trailer and started to head butt the rear of it.  It got interesting to say the least....



Sunday, the 20th, was sort of a down day.  We did laundry and then walked over to a site where they found 61 fossilized mammoth skeletons.



On the 21st we rode bright and early down to Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Agate NE, to view the eclipse. Nebraska really knows how to throw a party.  They had 5 or 6 parking areas set up with shuttle service to the visitor center.  They took pity on me and let me park in the lot right next to the center. They provided free eclipse viewing glasses to anyone who needed them.  They had food and drink vendors and plenty of potties at the visitor center as well.  We got there about 5 hours before the show but people had lined up to get in at 5 AM, when the gates opened.  I am guessing there were a couple thousand of our closest strangers attending the eclipse party.  We chose this spot based on the weather forecast.  The forecast was iffy regarding clouds, but, when I got up at 1 AM to look at the satellite data, there was not a cloud within several hundred miles.





After the eclipse was over, we rode up to Sundance, WY to spend the night and then visited Devils Tower first thing in the morning.



Afterwards we rode over to the Little Big Horn Memorial and saw the national cemetery, the indian memorial and the crosses depicting where Custer and his officers were found.



We spent the night in Red Lodge, Mt, and the next morning ran the Beartooth Hwy down to Cody and Lander, Wy.



From Lander, Wy, we headed down to Moab, UT, but first we stopped in Dinosaur, CO, to see the fossils at Dinosaur National Monument



Of course we stopped at Arches National Park and spent several hours seeing the sites.



After visiting Arches, we rode on down to spend the night in Chinle.  We had planned on seeing Canyon de Chelly but the Navajo Nation was holding a big shindig in Chinle and they were shutting down the only road out of town at 9 AM for a parade.  I guess the parade was a big deal because hundreds of people camped out over night along side the parade route.  We made sure we got out just after sun up.

Again, absolutely no issues during the entire trip.  My wife took hundreds of photos while sitting on the back of the bike.  I am putting a digital album together but it will take a while to sort through that many photos. I will post a link when finished.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Looks like a great trip 

[Ron]

   Looks like you had a great time.  The viewing of the eclipse in Phoenix was not so good. The first one I saw was on my honeymoon in July of 1981 in Hawaii. Didn't even know back than it was going to happen, so it was a shock when we were sitting on the beach when it occurred. I didn't know whether it was a good omen or not for my pending marriage. Well since I have been married for 36 years I guess it was a good one.   

[W0X0F]

Well since I have been married for 36 years I guess it was a good one.   

I should say so! 

[The emperor has no clothes]

  Looks like you had a great time.  The viewing of the eclipse in Phoenix was not so good. The first one I saw was on my honeymoon in July of 1981 in Hawaii. Didn't even know back than it was going to happen, so it was a shock when we were sitting on the beach when it occurred. I didn't know whether it was a good omen or not for my pending marriage. Well since I have been married for 36 years I guess it was a good one.   

I've got to admit, if the Sun disappeared on my honeymoon. I would have a sense of doom come over me. 

[Ron]

Between the eclipse and the Navy shelling the island of Kahoʻolawe just off the island of Maui I knew my marriage was going to be one wild ride.   The Navy no longer uses Kaho'olawe for target practice I believe they stop in the early 90's.