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Solar eclipse 2017

Started by hbelkins, October 02, 2016, 08:09:44 PM

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noelbotevera

Quote from: TravelingBethelite on August 08, 2017, 12:13:13 PM
Quote from: noelbotevera on August 08, 2017, 11:43:42 AM
I've currently got 4 locations on the books:

Sweetwater, TN (hotel in Knoxville)
Red Bank, SC (hotel in Charlotte, NC)
Hopkinsville OR Princeton, KY (hotel in Shepardsville, which is near Louisville)

I was considering SW Illinois or Eastern Missouri and pick some random town along the Mississippi (and no, I'm not picking Cairo).

You better make up your mind and get booking fast. Hopefully, you can book it as soon as yesterday, or maybe last year.
I booked them a week ago. Honestly, I'm surprised we got a hotel in Kentucky, considering how scarce hotel rooms are getting in there.


Alps

My going plan is to stay with friends in NC before and after the eclipse. The only wrench in that plan would be if I have to head to Kentucky or farther west to escape clouds. That's the trouble with having a meet, is the variability of it.

empirestate

I've booked a parking pass at the Saline Co. Fairgrounds in Marshall, MO. It looks like a good, flat, open area (unlike nearby Boonville), and the climatology is favorable for that time of year. (And heck, by the end of the week we'll be able to see actual forecasts anyhow.) And for $5 extra, there's a beer garden! What's not to love? :-D

SSOWorld

I would not worry about a meet at this time. It is more important that we get a base, then fend for self to try to avoid clouds - the traffic along the path will get nasty - especially on the freeways.
Scott O.

Not all who wander are lost...
Ah, the open skies, wind at my back, warm sun on my... wait, where the hell am I?!
As a matter of fact, I do own the road.
Raise your what?

Wisconsin - out-multiplexing your state since 1918.

cl94

Quote from: SSOWorld on August 08, 2017, 10:55:39 PM
I would not worry about a meet at this time. It is more important that we get a base, then fend for self to try to avoid clouds - the traffic along the path will get nasty - especially on the freeways.

Precisely. I'm basing myself in Fayetteville. That basically gives me from the Atlantic to Knoxville to work with, hopefully somewhere in SC. If the forecast looks bad, I'll rebook further west.
Please note: All posts represent my personal opinions and do not represent those of my employer or any of its partner agencies.

Travel Mapping (updated weekly)

froggie

Quotethe traffic along the path will get nasty - especially on the freeways.

Plenty of backroads, last I checked...

hbelkins

Quote from: froggie on August 09, 2017, 06:31:26 AM
Quotethe traffic along the path will get nasty - especially on the freeways.

Plenty of backroads, last I checked...

Kentucky is anticipating gridlock on I-24 and KY 91, and very heavy traffic on the routes leading to the path of totality, including the WK Parkway, I-69/Pennyrile, US 68/KY 80 and I-65.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

jpi

I could easily see this from my back yard but I may take the back roads I know towards the Elkton, KY area, I have the day off so I am good there, Noel, you guys are probably going to be paying through the roof on lodging and be prepaired for a crap load of tourist traffic like H.B. said, I am amazed your parents have no problem with this. When I was your age it was all about Ocean City, MD ever summer
Jason Ilyes
JPI
Lebanon, TN
Home Of The Barrel

empirestate

How are people finding the hotel prices near the eclipse (both in location and in time)? Particularly the weekend before, when many people may be doing their traveling?

hbelkins

Quote from: empirestate on August 10, 2017, 01:21:52 AM
How are people finding the hotel prices near the eclipse (both in location and in time)? Particularly the weekend before, when many people may be doing their traveling?

Price gouging at its finest in western Kentucky. Several months ago, there was one room left in Madisonville, and it was $450 a night for a three-night minimum.

I recently checked when it appeared as if I might be called on to work the eclipse, and there were a couple of smoking rooms available at a Days Inn in Madisonville -- I suppose due to cancellations -- at $250 per night.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

noelbotevera

Quote from: jpi on August 09, 2017, 11:17:20 PM
I could easily see this from my back yard but I may take the back roads I know towards the Elkton, KY area, I have the day off so I am good there, Noel, you guys are probably going to be paying through the roof on lodging and be prepaired for a crap load of tourist traffic like H.B. said, I am amazed your parents have no problem with this. When I was your age it was all about Ocean City, MD ever summer
Heh. All of the hotel rooms we have booked are no more than $100 a night. Somehow I managed to find one in the St. Louis area (St. Charles to be exact), which is right the very edge of totality. My parents have no problem with this, probably because it's been 15 years since the last total eclipse they saw (AFAIK, last total eclipse that my parents might've saw before leaving for the US was in July 2002, about a year before they left). I've also never seen one, and I don't want to mess this up.

Tourist traffic is what I'm preparing for. The way to the hotel shouldn't be too bad, since we plan on doing it at night/early morning.

Beltway

Quote from: hbelkins on August 10, 2017, 05:35:56 PM
Quote from: empirestate on August 10, 2017, 01:21:52 AM
How are people finding the hotel prices near the eclipse (both in location and in time)? Particularly the weekend before, when many people may be doing their traveling?
Price gouging at its finest in western Kentucky. Several months ago, there was one room left in Madisonville, and it was $450 a night for a three-night minimum.

I recently checked when it appeared as if I might be called on to work the eclipse, and there were a couple of smoking rooms available at a Days Inn in Madisonville -- I suppose due to cancellations -- at $250 per night.

How far are you from the center of totality?  Two hours?  If so just leave early that morning and you should be fine.
http://www.roadstothefuture.com
http://www.capital-beltway.com

Baloney is a reserved word on the Internet
    (Robert Coté, 2002)

hbelkins

Quote from: Beltway on August 10, 2017, 09:08:29 PM
How far are you from the center of totality?  Two hours?  If so just leave early that morning and you should be fine.

More like five hours, and that's in normal traffic, not the gridlock that's anticipated for that day.

But, I mentioned the possibility of working the eclipse (which is now off the table for me). That would require reporting to the EOC in Hopkinsville at 6 a.m. and staying until post-eclipse traffic has cleared. Which would have necessitated an overnight stay for me of at least one night's duration; most likely two nights.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

thenetwork

I wonder how many rooms will open up the night before when people decide what direction they are going to see the Eclipse?  I'm sure they are charging so much in advance to compensate for all the reservations that will be cancelled the day before and the day of.

Alps

Quote from: hbelkins on August 10, 2017, 09:11:46 PM
Quote from: Beltway on August 10, 2017, 09:08:29 PM
How far are you from the center of totality?  Two hours?  If so just leave early that morning and you should be fine.

More like five hours, and that's in normal traffic, not the gridlock that's anticipated for that day.

But, I mentioned the possibility of working the eclipse (which is now off the table for me). That would require reporting to the EOC in Hopkinsville at 6 a.m. and staying until post-eclipse traffic has cleared. Which would have necessitated an overnight stay for me of at least one night's duration; most likely two nights.
I feel like you won't find horribly choked traffic on the myriad backroads of Kentucky, but that would certainly impact your travel time regardless.

jpi

Just glad I can navigate those backroads fine, lots of open fields in that area, also just found Steph will have the day off too so she can now enjoy this, now lets hope the weather holds out.
Jason Ilyes
JPI
Lebanon, TN
Home Of The Barrel

Beltway

Quote from: hbelkins on August 10, 2017, 09:11:46 PM
Quote from: Beltway on August 10, 2017, 09:08:29 PM
How far are you from the center of totality?  Two hours?  If so just leave early that morning and you should be fine.

More like five hours, and that's in normal traffic, not the gridlock that's anticipated for that day.

But, I mentioned the possibility of working the eclipse (which is now off the table for me). That would require reporting to the EOC in Hopkinsville at 6 a.m. and staying until post-eclipse traffic has cleared. Which would have necessitated an overnight stay for me of at least one night's duration; most likely two nights.

How about Madisonville, TN ... how far is that from where you live?
http://www.roadstothefuture.com
http://www.capital-beltway.com

Baloney is a reserved word on the Internet
    (Robert Coté, 2002)

empirestate

How about hotels outside the zone of totality, but near it? For example, Indianapolis prices on Saturday the 19th are off the charts; but the following Friday, I've booked a 4-star room in a downtown hotel there for $70. :-D

However, the weekend after the eclipse seems to be a big weekend for hotel deals: end-of-summer/back to school and so forth. And on the 19th, Terre Haute prices were no higher than typical, so maybe there's some other event in Indy that evening?

Beltway

Quote from: empirestate on August 10, 2017, 11:51:59 PM
How about hotels outside the zone of totality, but near it? For example, Indianapolis prices on Saturday the 19th are off the charts; but the following Friday, I've booked a 4-star room in a downtown hotel there for $70. :-D

However, the weekend after the eclipse seems to be a big weekend for hotel deals: end-of-summer/back to school and so forth. And on the 19th, Terre Haute prices were no higher than typical, so maybe there's some other event in Indy that evening?

Try getting a room about an hour from the center of totality, that is what I did.  Then first thing next morning drive to the center of totality.
http://www.roadstothefuture.com
http://www.capital-beltway.com

Baloney is a reserved word on the Internet
    (Robert Coté, 2002)

tdindy88

Quote from: empirestate on August 10, 2017, 11:51:59 PM
How about hotels outside the zone of totality, but near it? For example, Indianapolis prices on Saturday the 19th are off the charts; but the following Friday, I've booked a 4-star room in a downtown hotel there for $70. :-D

However, the weekend after the eclipse seems to be a big weekend for hotel deals: end-of-summer/back to school and so forth. And on the 19th, Terre Haute prices were no higher than typical, so maybe there's some other event in Indy that evening?

GenCon, a gaming convention that is Indy's biggest event after the 500. Yeah, prices will be high for that weekend.

froggie

tdindy beat me to it.  GenCon is the nation's largest gaming convention and it's been hosted in Indianapolis for years....no surprise that hotel prices are through the roof that weekend.

empirestate

Quote from: Beltway on August 11, 2017, 12:43:42 AM
Quote from: empirestate on August 10, 2017, 11:51:59 PM
How about hotels outside the zone of totality, but near it? For example, Indianapolis prices on Saturday the 19th are off the charts; but the following Friday, I've booked a 4-star room in a downtown hotel there for $70. :-D

However, the weekend after the eclipse seems to be a big weekend for hotel deals: end-of-summer/back to school and so forth. And on the 19th, Terre Haute prices were no higher than typical, so maybe there's some other event in Indy that evening?

Try getting a room about an hour from the center of totality, that is what I did.  Then first thing next morning drive to the center of totality.

Oh, I ended up going with Terre Haute, not appreciably farther from the eclipse zone than Indy. Lots of options there for crappy motels at $50-60, but I ended up taking a Hotwire deal for the Holiday Inn at $72. (Side note: I've found it surprisingly easy to guess what hotel a Hotwire deal is going to be for. I think they're purposely making it easier than it used to be, without technically violating their business model–rather like how credit unions make it possible for almost anybody to be a member.)

Quote from: tdindy88 on August 11, 2017, 01:23:01 AM
GenCon, a gaming convention that is Indy's biggest event after the 500. Yeah, prices will be high for that weekend.

Ah ha, that definitely explains it. Now, can you imagine if Indianapolis were in the zone of totality!

cl94

The Fayetteville, NC area is still pretty cheap last I checked. About an hour and a half from the center of totality. Most normal people won't be willing to drive more than a few minutes to see the thing, they'll want to see it from their hotel or campground.
Please note: All posts represent my personal opinions and do not represent those of my employer or any of its partner agencies.

Travel Mapping (updated weekly)

Sctvhound

My house is inside the totality, probably 30 minutes from the center just N of Charleston. There are almost no hotel rooms available in metro Charleston, other than a couple Motel 6s and a Homewood Suites charging $469. Walterboro and Beaufort do have rooms, probably an hour or less away from totality.

hbelkins

Quote from: Alps on August 10, 2017, 09:44:00 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on August 10, 2017, 09:11:46 PM
Quote from: Beltway on August 10, 2017, 09:08:29 PM
How far are you from the center of totality?  Two hours?  If so just leave early that morning and you should be fine.

More like five hours, and that's in normal traffic, not the gridlock that's anticipated for that day.

But, I mentioned the possibility of working the eclipse (which is now off the table for me). That would require reporting to the EOC in Hopkinsville at 6 a.m. and staying until post-eclipse traffic has cleared. Which would have necessitated an overnight stay for me of at least one night's duration; most likely two nights.
I feel like you won't find horribly choked traffic on the myriad backroads of Kentucky, but that would certainly impact your travel time regardless.

True. Lots of folks won't know how to process a four-digit route in the 2000- or 3000-series.

Quote from: Beltway on August 10, 2017, 11:48:12 PM
How about Madisonville, TN ... how far is that from where you live?

Also about five hours. And unfortunately, there's no "68 TENN" triangle marker there anymore to photograph during the eclipse.

Quote from: empirestate on August 11, 2017, 12:18:31 PM
Oh, I ended up going with Terre Haute, not appreciably farther from the eclipse zone than Indy.

Where are you going to try to travel to from Terre Haute? There's a large group of people who are planning to drive down to Hopkinsville from Evansville. They're leaving around 5 or 6 in the morning and they have concerns they may not make it in time. There are some estimates that what is normally a 90-minute drive could take 4 or more hours, they're expecting THAT much traffic.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.



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