We drove to totality and it was worth it.

[Harriet Vane]

ETA—

Dh found us a park in a tiny rural town. We drove tiny back roads, some gravel. No crowds. No traffic. Just a pleasant picnic at a pleasant park. It was worth it 100% — the sight of the blocked out sun with corona was startling and amazing. All the other stages pale in comparison. Thanks for urging me to do this.
 

Original post:

Folks, we're awfully close to totality. If there were no traffic, we could easily get to various points of the totality zone within 30-60 minutes. 

Here's my question--how much difference is there between being actually IN the totality versus being near it?

I'm recalling what traffic is like getting out of Chicago to head north for a weekend. The vacation traffic is often stop and go. Ugh. I'm guessing that's what eclipse traffic will be like?? And I'm not excited about that. Also I'm not someone who particularly enjoys big festivals. Never been thrilled about carnivals or state fairs, for example. BUT I do love nature and we camp a lot. I enjoy admiring the night sky up north away from city lights. So on the one hand I dread trying to deal with the hours and driving and parking and driving to see totality, and on the other hand I'm wondering if I will regret not seeing totality.

Thoughts? How much difference is there between being actually IN the totality versus being near it?

Thanks.

 

Edited April 8 by Harriet Vane

[Danae]

Do it. There is absolutely no comparison.  It’s not a gradually getting more impressive thing, it’s like flipping a switch. Totality is a whole different thing.

[livetoread]

Big difference. It's the difference between looking like the sun going behind the clouds for a bit and nighttime. Even 1% of the sun not being covered means enough light that you wouldn't even notice. I learned this the hard way last eclipse.

Editing to add you can still see part of the sun getting gobbled up which is cool.

Edited April 8 by livetoread

[Terabith]

99% totality is ho hum, this is boring, what on earth is the point?

Totality is worth traveling any distance for and is massively transcendent.  It's everything.

For what it's worth, my kids hate travel.  Despise it.  No interest in Disney or any other destination.  At all.  I dragged them 11 hours in 2017 for the eclipse.  They said, "Okay, that was absolutely worth it.  We're coming back in 2024, right?"

[regentrude]

20 minutes ago, Harriet Vane said:

Thoughts? How much difference is there between being actually IN the totality versus being near it?

It's a complete game changer.

You'll see the corona.

[gardenmom5]

dh and 2ds went to the eclipse in 2017.   We're all currently at 2dd's.  She lives in totality - except . . . they changed the range of the zone.  theoretically, we're still in it, barely . . 2ds is now looking at maps to see where we can easily get to to make sure we are in totality.   He wants to make absolutely sure, we're in 100% totality, not . . 99.99%

 

 

[Boymama5]

 Or sure about how it will be but driving in the opposite of direction this afternoon and the traffic going to totality was terrible. Bumper to bumper on the highway not moving.  I personally wouldn’t but I don’t like peopling 

[maize]

7 hours ago, gardenmom5 said:

dh and 2ds went to the eclipse in 2017.   We're all currently at 2dd's.  She lives in totality - except . . . they changed the range of the zone.  theoretically, we're still in it, barely . . 2ds is now looking at maps to see where we can easily get to to make sure we are in totality.   He wants to make absolutely sure, we're in 100% totality, not . . 99.99%

 

 

Smart choice! You definitely want to be in full totality.

My family drove 4 hours to the last eclipse and were so awed by it that we drove 20 hours for this one. 

[maize]

7 hours ago, Boymama5 said:

 Or sure about how it will be but driving in the opposite of direction this afternoon and the traffic going to totality was terrible. Bumper to bumper on the highway not moving.  I personally wouldn’t but I don’t like peopling 

There's two ways to cut down on traffic issues if driving: option 1 is jump in the car as soon as totality ends; most eclipse watchers will hang around for at least some of the after-totality part of the eclipse so you miss the rush by leaving right away.

Option 2 is to plan to stay put at your eclipse-watching location for a few hours after the eclipse,  then drive after the traffic dies down.

Our plan is to go with option 1.

[teachermom2834]

It never would have occurred to me to drive for it but last time we had 100% right in our backyard and it was amazing. I said then that I understood and would travel for it next time. By the time it got here I didn’t have any interest in driving for it but I do remember how cool it was so if it is something you think you would be interested in (I really wasn’t) then I think it would be worth it for you.

However, don’t underestimate the traffic. Last time the interstate through our town was an absolute stand still for several hours. Like a parking lot, something you would see in a disaster movie. So, while i do think a trip to see it is rational, I think the crowds and traffic you will experience are no joke and definitely need to be accounted for. 

[maize]

OP, you said you enjoy nature. A total eclipse is by far the most awe-inspiring natural phenomenon I have ever experienced. I'm with you on the beauty of a night sky far from city lights--I've been awed by that spectacle. The 2017 eclipse far surpassed the starry sky experience. 

[gardenmom5]

3 hours ago, maize said:

Smart choice! You definitely want to be in full totality.

My family drove 4 hours to the last eclipse and were so awed by it that we drove 20 hours for this one. 

Dh and 2ds drove four (five?) hours for the last one.  This time, we flew (at highly increased ticket prices!) to 2dd's.  At least we had companion fares for two of them.  and don't have to pay for a hotel, or rental car (dsil rented one on his work account from an off airport location. - it was normal price.  The airport (in Jan) wanted $1200!!! for four days!!!!  and it was a 'mystery' car.)

Here's one of my pics from 2017
I think that was as much as I got since I wasn't in totality.
Used dh's 20x binoculars to project onto a screen.

[chiguirre]

What's your weather like? I'm VERY glad I didn't reserve a hotel in Austin and brave the traffic because it's going to be so cloudy that we're not going to get much of an eclipse experience in Texas. It's really a shame because nephew's school and the CC are doing big eclipse events, but it's raining with low cloud cover. 

[gardenmom5]

Fort Worth - overcast/white sky.  Yes, we can still easily see the sun through the clouds, and shadows, etc..  dh is setting up his "contraption" for viewing.  Binoculars reflected into a box.  He'll have a smaller "screen" than I did in 2017, but the edges will probably be sharper.   we also have eclipse glasses.

Thunderstorms are in the forecast . . . I just hope I don't have to deal with them overnight when I'm taking the male members of the family to the airport.  And . . I hope the traffic isn't nightmare central.     

[Kassia]

28 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

Thunderstorms are in the forecast . . . I just hope I don't have to deal with them overnight when I'm taking the male members of the family to the airport.  And . . I hope the traffic isn't nightmare central.     

Dd lives in Dallas and I'd be concerned about flights based on the forecast.  Hope all works out.  

[gardenmom5]

3 hours ago, Kassia said:

Dd lives in Dallas and I'd be concerned about flights based on the forecast.  Hope all works out.  

It's all who does the forecasting, some just say rain . . . 

they're booked in pairs, so hopefully, if they have to cancel flights . . 
I'd booked through premium class, so when my flight was cancelled for the ice storm, I was automatically rebooked.  But we were glad for the delay.

[Terabith]

My pictures suck but the experience was amazing!

[wintermom]

We did something very similar to the OP - drove the back roads to a nice, uncrowded place to watch the total eclipse. It was worth it to see the completely covered sun and corona. The coolest part was the frogs that suddenly started croaking when it got dark. 🐸 They kept croaking for a while after it became sunny. I was also surprised at how quickly it became light again. It happened too fast. 

[Ausmumof3]

Wow! Jealous…

[KSera]

2 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Wow! Jealous…

Same! That’s awesome you were able to do that, @Harriet Vane

[Terabith]

It’s also very possible that the earth is the only planet in the galaxy where total eclipses can occur. Our moon is ridiculously large in comparison to our planet. And the odds that the moon, which is 400 times smaller than the sun, which is exactly 400 times further away than the moon are absolutely astronomical. It’s really, really crazy that it works out that way.  There’s certainly nowhere else in the solar system where this occurs. 

[fraidycat]

My DD got a great video and some good photos. All she had to do was walk outside her dorm.
 

Lucky duck was in the path of totality and I didn't even realize it until yesterday.

I knew she was close, so had ordered her some glasses (didn't arrive, grrrr) thinking she'd watch the partial, but thankfully the school had glasses.

[Janeway]

I loved it!! It was amazing!

[JustEm]

I'm so glad you decided to go!!!

[Eos]

Transcendant. 

[Bootsie]

We live in the path of totality and found it all a bit anti-climatic.  We experienced 90+% in 2017 and 95+% during an eclipse about 2005, the crescent shaped shadows, odd coloring cast on things, and erie bird/wildlife behavior were more dramatic those two times than this time when we were in totality.  

[Scarlett]

We drove to family’s house Saturday. Left there around three after totality. It is normally a 4 hour trip. We are 5 minutes from and it has turned into a 7 hour trip. 

[maize]

On 4/7/2024 at 8:27 PM, Harriet Vane said:

ETA—

Dh found us a park in a tiny rural town. We drove tiny back roads, some gravel. No crowds. No traffic. Just a pleasant picnic at a pleasant park. It was worth it 100% — the sight of the blocked out sun with corona was startling and amazing. All the other stages pale in comparison. Thanks for urging me to do this.

I'm so glad that you went and got to experience it!

We were at a park and there was an astronomy-buff fellow there with a big telescope fitted with a solar filter; he was being really generous letting everyone look through the telescope. I got this picture when there were some wisps of cloud in front if the sun:

 

[Ginevra]

@Harriet Vane, I’m so glad you did go see it. I’m also a first-timer for totality. I also do not like heavy crowds and carnival-atmosphere things. I drove 5.5 hours, took off two days from work, and spent $200+ on my mid-level, booked-last-year hotel for eclipse viewing. My friend’s husband is a meteorology buff and ran several models of where to view for the best chance of clear sky. He chose well! It was clear for totality and it was absolutely far more amazing than any previously-experienced partial eclipse. 
 

A family near us had the homemade shadow-scope thing. They permitted me to take pictures twice.
 

It was also my birthday. So that was fun! 
 

 

[gardenmom5]

There were a lot of patchy clouds, could usually see the sun through them as the moon progressed across the sun.
Then a nice break for our two minutes of totality, and the very lovely corona (which you won't see unless it's 100% eclipse)

dsil took a lot of photos, so hoping to be able to get some.  He'll usually send them to us.

I got dh and all three 'boys' off to the airport this morning.  You could see the lightening, but there was only rain while we were going to the airport and dh was driving.  It stopped for my drive home, which I really appreciated.

[Eos]

3 hours ago, Ginevra said:

@Harriet Vane, I’m so glad you did go see it. I’m also a first-timer for totality. I also do not like heavy crowds and carnival-atmosphere things. I drove 5.5 hours, took off two days from work, and spent $200+ on my mid-level, booked-last-year hotel for eclipse viewing. My friend’s husband is a meteorology buff and ran several models of where to view for the best chance of clear sky. He chose well! It was clear for totality and it was absolutely far more amazing than any previously-experienced partial eclipse. 
 

A family near us had the homemade shadow-scope thing. They permitted me to take pictures twice.
 

It was also my birthday. So that was fun! 
 

 

Happy Birthday! What a special coincidence!

[Beth S]

Agreeing that experiencing the Totality was a lifetime memory.
Our grandkids will be 25yo for the 2044 one! 
We drove about an hour from our house, & were able to avoid the horrid exiting traffic.

We were in our favorite Southern Illinois state park, sitting near folks from MS, WS, GA, MN, AL, Chicago . . . and a family who lives 2 miles away from us!

Edited April 9 by Beth S

[saraha]

Most of us were stuck near home because of work, but dd19 and ds13 took off for a small town an hour and a half from here. She planned all back roads, packed a picnic and they saw totality in a strip mall parking lot with a few other people, bought ice cream sandwiches and came home. No traffic, no fuss, but all sitting around Shari g our varied experiences last night was super cool

[annandatje]

10 hours ago, Scarlett said:

We drove to family’s house Saturday. Left there around three after totality. It is normally a 4 hour trip. We are 5 minutes from and it has turned into a 7 hour trip. 

We drove from our Southern city to Jonesboro, Arkansas for totality.  It was totally worth it, but the trip home was a nightmare in all directions.