2017 Oregon Solar Eclipse

I am thankful to my good friend Richard Ressman for forcing Susanna and I to attend the 2017 solar eclipse. Had it not been for him I am sure we would have either stayed in Portland or Bandon and watched what we could see from there. But we were off for totality. First, it was to be Madras and I still approached the coming event with a certain amount of ambivalence,  but as time went by it became quite apparent that at least 1/2 of the Western US was going to Madras also. So I initiated an earnest search for a spot where we would have a good view of totality and have a reasonable chance to getting there and back without a huge traffic jam as well. We settled on Long Creek, a small 200 citizen town in South East Oregon, 90 miles down HW 395 from Pendleton, OR. Fortune was with us and not only did we  land a 24ft MinniWinni RV but more importantly a RV spot with an excellent view of the East.

8:00 am found Richard and I with our two tripods each, parked in front of the fence practicing our shots and making sure everything was in focus. One camera for closeups and the other for wide angle. We had excellent company around us who were mostly from Canada. For us, the eclipse started at 9:04 am and it reach totality at 10:22 am. I must truly admit that none of the images can do justice to the experience of seeing an actual total eclipse. When the sun went into totality, there was a universal and audible exclamation of "WOW." A truly amazing sight and one of the best natural events I have had the pleasure of experiencing.

We stayed till the the sun came completely clear of the moon and then made it back to Portland. I actually think everyone thought it was going to be bad on Monday and stayed where they were for an extra day. Other that Richards drive to Pendleton, we had clear sailing all the way to Portland. However, on Tuesday, Portland traffic was the worst it has been in years.

Riding in an RV was an experience but I think I can speak for all of us that we will not rush out and become avid RVers.