Uncategorized

Solar Eclipse Road Trip, Here We Come!

Solar eclipse October 2014

I can’t wait to get on the road to shoot the Great American Eclipse!

The path of the moon’s shadow, where the total eclipse will be visible, goes right across the United States.  If you’re not directly in that path a partial eclipse will be visible if you have proper viewing glasses that block the most harmful wavelengths of light.  But people who have experienced totality say there’s nothing quite like it, and you should get to the path if you can.

So where should you go?  Bear in mind that totality lasts 2-3 minutes, so if you have multiple routes to take, weather can be a consideration.  The site GreatAmericanEclipse has suggested ten of the better spots across the country.  They also have state by state maps showing the path of the eclipse across the country, with lines to show the approximate duration of totality depending upon where in that path you are.

Sky and Telescope Magazine suggests a similar Top 10 Places to View the Solar Eclipse.  Another map by Xavier Jubier has superimposed the path of the earth’s shadow on an interactive Google map in case you want to find a place a little less promoted.

Crowds are expected to be record-breaking along the path of the solar eclipse coming up August 21.  Many areas are trying to implement temporary traffic control plans in the narrow path of the moon’s shadow.  I hear that even porta-potty rentals are in short supply as communities try to cope with the crowds.  Fortunately I’ll be bringing my own facilities with me!

You may thank that Jackson, Wyoming sounds like an attractive place to catch the eclipse, but the sun will be south, not west towards the Tetons when the eclipse peaks.  The Jackson Hole Astronomy Club did extensive research with local meteorologists on data from the 2005 – 2015 and determined that just about anywhere else within a 3 mile driving radius had better odds of clear weather.  I’ll be staying near there, but eclipse day is expected to be the busiest day ever for the area, so traffic jams and parking issues could seriously affect viewing plans, and I have plans to exit the area if the crowds look too daunting or the weather forecast turns bad.

If that all sounds like too much risk or hassle to be worth the trip, no problem, there’s a tool that can help you determine how much of an eclipse will be visible wherever you are on that day.

Thank you +Capital Ford for getting the +Ford Motor Company-remanufactured engine into my Ford F-350 truck ASAP so we can stake our claim to a great shooting location!  As of August 4 it’s not going to be back in time to leave this weekend, but they assure me that it’ll be done by Monday or Tuesday.  Fingers crossed!
I’ll make a separate post on viewing and photography, including some of the products I’ve bought for the trip.
Jeff Sullivan

Jeff Sullivan leads landscape photography workshops in national parks and public lands throughout California and the American West.

View Comments

  • Where ya headed? I'm lucky as it will be passing right over Charleston so I won't even have to leave home! :-)

  • +John Getchel I'm hoping to shoot within sight of the Tetons if my Ford is repaired in time! I authorized service on June 29 and the remanufactured long block has been in the shop for a week or two, so no doubt they'll have it done shortly!

  • Good luck!! Where will you be viewing the eclipse? I'm lucky, it's coming right over my head in Kansas City.

  • Thanks to Priest Shakiru for bringing my husband back to me.After 9 years in marriage with my hubby with 3kids, my husband started going out with other ladies and showed me cold love,on several occasions he threatens to divorce me if i dare question him about his affair with other Ladies,i was totally devastated and confused an old friend of mine told me a spell caster called PRIEST Shakiru who help many people with their relationship,marriage,health,financial problems with his great spell,at first i doubted him if such thing ever exists but i decided to give it a try,i contacted him through his email,he told me not to be depressed that everything will be fine,i was relieved,he helped me cast a return spell within 48 hours my husband came back knocking and started apologizing,i still love him very much,and i forgave him and watched him carefully,now he has stopped going out with ladies and he his with me for good and for real.
    contact this great spell caster for your relationship or marriage and all kinds of problem you find difficult to resolve and he will put an everlasting solution to it. thanks to the internet which seems to have made everything more easy for me to get his contact details at first when my lover left me and didn't have any idea on how to restore my relationship, but through the internet i was able to get the details of this powerful spell, contact High Priest Shakiru now on shakirutemple234@gmail.com or whatsapp at +2349059898056, imo +2349059898056

Recent Posts

Photographic Composition: Conception and Fine Tuning

This was one of those "stop the car" moments. Snowy Telescope Peak had nice side…

9 months ago

Geminid Meteor Shower 2023

The Geminids are the most active meteor shower of the year, and in recent years…

11 months ago

When Is The Best Time To Visit Bodie State Historic Park?

I was asked this question earlier today, and the more I thought of it, the…

1 year ago

Death Valley Wildflowers, Rainfall and Super Blooms

So called "super bloom" years make it easy to find wildflowers in Death Valley, but…

2 years ago

Night and Landscape Photography Workshops 2022-2023

We've reached a major milestone on our workshop program: we celebrated completing ten years of…

2 years ago

Death Valley “Adventure Series” Trip March/April 2022

Spring 2022 is shaping up to be a very busy year in Death Valley, like…

3 years ago

This website uses cookies.