My gf booked our Yellowstone campsite last August. We wanted to stay near Jackson but everything was already full!
We'll be camping in Grant Village and driving into Grand Teton for the eclipse.
I highly recommend the Beartooth highway/US route 212 going into or out of Yellowstone. IMO it easily rivals Going to the Sun!
We have debated going, but if the cost of hotels is crazy, that might discourage us, though if we can stay close enough to drive in in the morning, that should work.
You should go for it.
Turn around, if every now and then you get a little bit tired...
Staying in Butte, the night of the 20th, and will roll down early morning of the 21st, somewhere NW of Idaho Falls, for the show.
Accommodation in Butte was reasonable ~$120CAD, but will have about a 2.5 hour drive on the morning of the 21st.
Hoping to make it up into Washington State for the evening of the 21st (Walla Walla area), then spend the 22nd in Sandpoint on the beach, before returning via Going-to-the-Sun Road.
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Location: Close enough to make a beer run during a TV timeout
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Originally Posted by 4X4
Also, am I crazy for ordering eclipse watching sunglasses from Amazon? I assume they're coming from China. Something tells me that last question is where most of the replies are going to come from.
I questioned those myself, and really didn't want to trust my eyesight nor a once in a lifetime show to something so questionable. I ended up buying #14 welding lenses from Acklands Granger. I picked up some #10 and #12, but doing a quick test by looking at the sun through them, #14 doesn't give me the instinct to look away. In fact I was able to make out a couple of sunspots using the #14s.
My gf booked our Yellowstone campsite last August. We wanted to stay near Jackson but everything was already full!
We'll be camping in Grant Village and driving into Grand Teton for the eclipse.
I highly recommend the Beartooth highway/US route 212 going into or out of Yellowstone. IMO it easily rivals Going to the Sun!
Beartooth pass is pretty awesome. We took that route into Yellowstone and it was a greaet drive although I wouldn't recommend it when pulling a trailer. We had a 24 foot trailer and it became pretty scary a few times.
Will be relocated to Chicago by then, and will be driving Sunday with 9 year old daughter to Nashville (about 7 hours), to meet up with my parents (who have chased eclipses around the world for a long time now).
Really looking forward to this fantastic nerd adventure!!!
I'm thinking of going to Helena on Saturday, spending the night there. Then on Sunday going to Yellowstone, touring around. Sleeping in the SUV near Driggs/Victor or a Walmart parking lot in Rexburg, then going somewhere in the Snake River Valley Monday morning. Still trying to get time off work...
When I was in college and studying writing, I read this essay by Annie Dillard, about seeing a total eclipse in Yakima, Washington in the 1970s. As a piece of writing it blew me away (it's still one of my favorite essays), and ever since then seeing a total eclipse has been on my bucket list.
I booked a camping spot in eastern wyoming, a couple hours away from the eclipse path in Bighorn National Forest. Not sure if we'll head down to Casper or the slightly more scenic Boysen State Park.
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If you're going to Idaho Falls and miss the chance to go to INL, you're missing out. They do tours and they even have the EBR-1 atomic museum!
I've got some friends who work there, one of them is a young woman who is also a member of Mothers for Nuclear. They're always looking for chances to meet up with young people, especially other girls, to promote nuclear technologies and careers in STEM... so if your daughter has any interest in that kind of stuff, let me know and I could put you in touch to see if they could do anything cooler than usual for you guys.
The science center store used to sell the eclipse glasses, might be a cheap place to get them. I've used them. 12, 13, and 14 welding filters are said to be safe as well.
I questioned those myself, and really didn't want to trust my eyesight nor a once in a lifetime show to something so questionable. I ended up buying #14 welding lenses from Acklands Granger. I picked up some #10 and #12, but doing a quick test by looking at the sun through them, #14 doesn't give me the instinct to look away. In fact I was able to make out a couple of sunspots using the #14s.
I think I paid about $2 each for the lenses.
The in-laws bought some eclipse glasses online but they seem so flimsy. So I just went over to Acklands Grainger also and ordered up this #14 shade, were the ones you got the 2" x 4-1/4" size? They are bringing them down from Edmonton and cost is just under $2 each so I figure they are what you got.
The in-laws bought some eclipse glasses online but they seem so flimsy.
Well yeah...they're cardboard and thin plastic! They aren't meant to be something you keep after the eclipse. At least that's how I took it. I certainly won't be hanging on to mine until 2044.