On August 21, 2017, a
total solar eclipse would traverse across the United States, with totality starting at 10:16am PDT on the West Coast and ending around 2:44pm EDT on the East Coast. Kaleb had mentioned this event last year, but I didn't think about traveling to a location within totality until early March, with only a little over five months left for planning. There were many places across the United States to view totality, even in major cities like Nashville; I decided to go with the tiny town of Madras, OR, as historical weather data showed a high chance of clear skies, on the West Coast to reduce travel time, and had an organized gathering called
Oregon Solarfest with an official NASA presence. Of course, hotels were pretty much sold out. I was able to find room availability at the
Days Inn in Bend, OR, but the going rate of $1400 a night was insane for a 2-star motel. Interestingly, award stays were available for 15,000
Wyndham Rewards points a night. I didn't have any of those points in my possession (low on my credit card bucket list), but as Bend was an hour away from Madras, it wasn't an ideal location anyway.
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| $1400 a night for a Days Inn?!? |
I placed a request for a timeshare trade into the
WorldMark Eagle Crest in Redmond, OR, but I knew there was no chance of matching. I ended up purchasing a $50 Solartown parking pass for Sunday arrival, which allowed guests to sleep in their cars overnight.
Solartown was set up in a sod field right in the center of totality, located 5 miles away from Solarfest at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds. I made a National rental car reservation, with hopes that a large car or minivan would be among the choices in the
Executive area of the Emerald Aisle. (National's Emerald Club is free to join; I received Executive status from holding certain credit cards but there are plenty of links online that seem to give it to anyone, like
this one)
Kaleb and I left Friday evening for Portland. I used Southwest Rapid Rewards points for the flight, and his ticket was free with my Companion Pass. We were able to pack
lightweight sleeping sacks, a featherweight sleeping bag as a comforter,
camp pillows and
sleeping pads along with our clothes and toiletries into carry-ons and backpacks, no need to check in luggage! Southwest does offer two free checked bags, but bypassing the ticket counter saves time.
When we got to the rental car facility and looked at the cars available in the Executive and Emerald Aisles, a minivan was not to be found. I saw one parked at the very far end of the garage, but the keys were not inside. Kaleb also found a couple of minivans parked deep in lines of vehicles waiting to be put into the aisles. We checked them all to see if the passenger seats would collapse into the floor to create a flat bed, which they did...very convenient! I walked up to the booth and asked the attendant if I could have the van at the back of the garage, else call for someone to help free one from out of the pile. She was able to find the keys to the one I wanted and we were all set.
Tonight's stay was at the
Hilton Garden Inn near the airport, booked with
Hilton Honors points. We received two complimentary bottles of water and a breakfast voucher due to having
status. The buffet was a decent spread; you could also order omelets or eggs-your-way.
After breakfast, we drove towards
Mt. Hood National Forest and our home for Saturday night,
Resort at the Mountain. The stay was booked through the Chase Travel Portal, paid for by
Chase Ultimate Rewards points. We arrived around noon and fortunately there was a room available for us for early check in. The confirmation email mentioned continental breakfast was included but it wasn't given to us automatically. Once I showed the email to the desk agent, she provided us with a breakfast voucher.
The resort was made up of two-storied chalets that looked onto the woodsy grounds. There was a golf course and spa on-site, as well as a swimming pool and jacuzzi.
Then we were off to hike the
Ramona Falls Trail. We needed a
National Forest Day Pass for the car; the
Zigzag Ranger Station was closed so we ended up buying it from the
Zigzag Mountain Cafe on the other side of the highway.
It was about a 15 minute drive from the cafe to the Ramona Falls trailhead. A wilderness permit was needed; the forms were available a few minutes past the start of the trail, no charge. It was a beautiful hike to the falls. There was a bit of adventure getting across the rushing river as the bridge was washed out a few years ago during a flood and not replaced. There were trees spanning across, but the trunks were narrow. Kaleb quickly walked to the other side; others shimmied across. I managed to walk most of the way until the end, where it sloped upwards, but Kaleb was there to provide a helping hand. It was a bit difficult to find the trail afterwards; eventually we were able to locate some markers that others had left to point the way.
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| peaceful trail |
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| filling out the permit |
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| crossing the river |
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| lovely day |
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| Mt Hood in the background |
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| follow the arrow |
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Others were lost too, and while we were locating the trail again, we ended up connecting with a cute couple, Rachel and Samantha. Normally Kaleb and I keep to ourselves while hiking, but they were so friendly that it was hard not to have a conversation! Plus, it was nice to have other people help take pictures of us when we reached Ramona Falls.
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| Ramona Falls |
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| obligatory selfie |
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We had lunch at the falls; one of the ladies pulled out an
avocado keeper - what a great way to carry one without getting it squished in a backpack!
360 spherical photo of Ramona Falls, taken with the
Ricoh Theta S:
Ramona Falls - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA
Kaleb and I decided to continue on up to
Yocum Ridge and bid the ladies goodbye. The trail was getting a bit too steep for my taste, so Kaleb continued on for a short while to condition himself more for the long hike on the
High Sierra Trail to Mt. Whitney (the highest point in the contiguous US) he'd be doing with friends a few weeks later. I rested on a log awaiting his return, then we hiked back to the trailhead and drove back to the hotel. We didn't feel like going out for dinner, so we purchased food from
Hoodland Thriftway and used the in-room microwave to prepare it.
The next morning, we had breakfast at
Altitude restaurant on-site. The vouchers we had received at check-in were good for continental breakfast (the $8 selection) but we were able to apply the value towards any of the other choices.
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| breakfast menu |
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| Joe's scramble |
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Then we were off to Madras, after purchasing foot-long sandwiches at the Subway shop in town. It was about over an hour's drive to get there, with no traffic. As we got closer to our destination, the landscape changed from lush forest to dry grassland.
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| Mt. Hood still visible in the distance |
Upon reaching the outskirts of Madras, traffic got heavy. I missed the left turn towards the Solartown parking area and had to drive further towards town to make a proper u-turn since we were still in the middle of nowhere on a two-lane road. Eventually we made it to the parking lot, which was half a mile away from the Solartown camping sites and facilities. Vehicles were directed to park in neat rows. A school bus shuttled people between the parking lot and Solartown. After riding the shuttle once, we figured out that it was faster to walk.
360 spherical picture of the parking area as cars were coming in, taken with the
Ricoh Theta S:
Solartown DayTripper parking - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA
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| parked in a sod field |
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| line for the shuttle to Solartown |
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| standing in a school bus! |
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| Solartown camping area |
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There wasn't much to Solartown. There were a few food and beverage stands set up, ranging from BBQ to Mexican. The longest line was for the shave ice stand, as the weather was in the high 80's. Since we were armed with Subway sandwiches, energy bars, fruit and plenty of water, we didn't purchase any more food, though Kaleb got a cold beer to beat the heat. We did buy two eclipse T-shirts from the merchandise tent, courtesy of the organizers. I talked about purchasing a $50 overnight parking pass in the beginning of this blog post - a month before the eclipse, I checked prices again at the Solarfest website and noticed the price of the pass went down to $25. I was a little annoyed by that, especially when the FAQ threatened that prices would go up/availability would be limited as the date got closer, encouraging folks to buy early, but I didn't complain to anyone. Apparently someone did, as I got a mass email a week later from the sponsors, explaining the reasoning behind the price drop, and got a $50 merchandise credit to make up for it. That was a nice customer service gesture.
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| large fields for running around and playing frisbee |
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| line for shave ice |
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| eclipse merchandise |
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| in the beer tent |
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Afterwards, we walked around the camping area. With sites costing $150, there was a lot of money made in a sod field. Showers were available for a small fee.
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| looked like our parking lot, but with tents |
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| mobile shower stations |
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We walked back to the parking area and set up the minivan for privacy. I had packed fabric and safety pins to cover the front and back windows. The side windows were tinted dark already. Then we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening sitting in the minivan, reading our Kindles and eating the food we brought. There was little to no cellular data available. The wind picked up late in the day, blowing dust into the vehicle. When it was time to sleep, the passenger chairs folded into the floor, creating an almost-flat surface. I brought wet wipes to clean our faces. There weren't enough port-a-potties for all the cars that were parked here, creating long lines.
Headlamps were essential as it was pitch black as expected in the middle of nowhere. Sleeping in the car wasn't the most comfortable, but it was fine for one night. If we had more people with us, I would have stayed at a campsite.
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| walking back to the parking lot |
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| covered the windshield |
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Then it was the morning of the eclipse! The port-a-potty lines were so long that Kaleb and I walked a quarter mile to the campgrounds where the ratio of potties to people was higher. Surprisingly, the toilets were kept pretty clean and stocked. Trash was building up at the designated garbage stations, but at least it was piled in a neat manner.
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| van camping |
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| good morning! |
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The eclipse was beginning when we walked back to the parking area. Everyone stood around looking at the sun through eclipse glasses and setting up telescopes and special cameras. We took a couple of floor mats from the van and crossed over an irrigation ditch to enjoy the event in an empty field. I was surprised more people didn't do this, though the wooden plank that was laid across the fast moving water was a bit unstable.
360 spherical picture of the parking lot and the huge line for two port-a-potties:
Solartown DayTripper parking the morning of the eclipse - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA
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| cars parked along the highway |
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| no one wanted to cross the irrigation ditch |
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| plenty of space here to enjoy the show |
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| the sun through the glasses |
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As the moon continued to cover the sun, the temperature started to drop, a breeze picked up and the light started to dim with unnatural hues. Gnats appeared in the air as if it were evening. Then at 10:19am, the entire area erupted into cheers as the moon and sun aligned to create totality. The sky turned abruptly into the color of dusk. We were able to look directly at the sun without safety glasses for almost 2 minutes, which went by too quickly. No clouds blocked the view; you could see Venus and other stars during totality. The sun's corona shone around the circumference of the moon.
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| total eclipse! |
360 spherical picture of the eclipse, drag your mouse to look around:
Total eclipse at Solartown - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA
27-second video of the eclipse (click
here if you cannot see the preview below):
11-second spherical 360 video; drag your mouse around to look (click
here if you cannot see the preview below):
Video of eclipse at Solartown - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA
Once the eclipse was over, people got in their cars as quick as they could to try to get out of the parking lot. It was evident that the lines of cars that formed were not moving. Kaleb scouted the area to find the best exit route as you could drive however you wanted on the sod field. With a plan in mind, we got into the van and drove towards the shortest line-up at the exit. Many people were waiting to turn left, the quickest way in terms of distance to get back to the highway. We decided to turn right and drive on parallel rural roads to cut past traffic. The National Guard put barricades on the closest cross-streets, forcing us to drive a bit further away, but fortunately, we found one that took us to the highway, shaving off 2.5 miles and probably saved us an hour or two. I booked our return tickets with 8 hours budgeted for driving to the airport, which was enough as it took us 6 hours versus the normal 2.5 hours. It was tough to be in traffic for so long, but we were grateful for strong bladders and automatic transmission.
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| no traffic on the other side |
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| cars stopped for potty breaks |
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| Mt. Hood on a clear day |
After dropping off the rental car, we had time to kill before our flight. The Alaska Airlines lounge was too busy and was closed to Priority Pass members, but we were able to use the card's benefits to get a meal at
Capers Cafe Le Bar, with $28 per person deducted off the bill (including alcohol). The food was all right.
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| ate my risotto too quickly |
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| carrot cake |
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Our eclipse adventure came to an end. It was definitely worth seeing. I would recommend everyone to view a total solar eclipse at least once in their lifetime. The experience is hard to describe and pictures don't do the event justice - you have to be there. The next American eclipse will happen on
April 8, 2024, with totality crossing from Texas to the East Coast. Where will you be then?
What's next? A girls' weekend in Napa...stay tuned!
***
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Another disclaimer: The intention of this blog was to remind Future Me in full detail about where I went and what I did. I could have made it private, but I frequently get questions from family, friends and internet folks about how I planned things, got deals, etc., so instead of repeating the story over and over, I direct them here. If you are offended by anything I say or do, save yourself the discomfort and kindly click away from my blog. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day!
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