So what are you doing?
I am planning to leave Saturday early and drive 10 hours to Mt Shasta where I have a campground reserved. The drive about 4 hours on Sunday to Eugene. I have a friend there who is an astronomer who has offered me her living room for the night. Early Monday we will head up to Corvallis where we have some prime space reserved to watch and photograph. I have 2 DLSR with heavy tripods and solar filter. My Canon D5 will have a 300 mm lens and my Nikon P900 has a 2,000 mm lens.
Anyone else going to Oregon?

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I'll be there or stuck in gridlock between Portland and Salem. I'm freelancing the whole thing, spontaneous is good I hope. LOL

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Vic - that's probably the best way - you should get lots of different views and locations without having to worry about traffic, crowds, or getting caught short.

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

We have a couple that are friends with my son coming in from Washington, D.C. tomorrow to stay with us for the eclipse. We also have 4 pairs of glasses and I will make a pinhole projector as well. We will get almost the full 2min, 45 sec of totality here in the Nashville TN area. I expect it to be a profound spiritual experience. Forecast does include some cloud cover though--shades of Eddington's first adventure haunts me.

Traffic looks ok for me once I leave the LA area.

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I don't feel like getting into a traffic jam to drive to and from the path of totality, so I'll be experiencing the 96% event at the Kentucky State Fairgrounds, here in Louisville. I have a nice DSLR, but won't be taking any pictures because I didn't buy one of those expensive solar filters.

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The mind is a weird and mysterious place

I don't feel like getting into a traffic jam to drive to and from the path of totality, so I'll be experiencing the 96% event at the Kentucky State Fairgrounds, here in Louisville. I have a nice DSLR, but won't be taking any pictures because I didn't buy one of those expensive solar filters.

You mean one of these?
About $26 at Amazon.

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I don't feel like getting into a traffic jam to drive to and from the path of totality, so I'll be experiencing the 96% event at the Kentucky State Fairgrounds, here in Louisville. I have a nice DSLR, but won't be taking any pictures because I didn't buy one of those expensive solar filters.

You mean one of these?
About $26 at Amazon.

Well, somebody told me the screw-in solar filter for an SLR lens would be over $100.

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The mind is a weird and mysterious place

Have a good trip Carlos.

+1

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I went in a photography store this afternoon, and they told me indeed a 16 stop ND filter would be a "couple hundred" dollars. They sell variable ND filters that max out at 9 stops, but they said if you really want to properly and safely photograph the whole progression of the event, you need the 16 stop filter. On the other hand, if all I want to do is to photograph the peak of coverage, then I wouldn't need a filter at all. That may be true in the 100% zone, but I'm in the 96%. The guy said that's ok. I don't want to risk damaging my DSLR's sensors, so I think I'll just use my 35mm film SLR.

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The mind is a weird and mysterious place

I booked a hotel room a year ago in Corvallis, we're leaving tonight to cross the border and stay the night with family in Seattle so we can get an early start on Sunday.

Maybe we'll run in to Carlos.

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Reality Internet Personality

That would be grand Es.

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Pluto will always be a Planet to me.

Made it to Ashland last night. Staying with friends in Medford tonight and Corvallis monday morning. My Medford friends got us a spot on a friends farm.
As for professional photo lens, yes a ND100000 is the best option. Amazon has them from $60 to over $200. Get one for next time ;-)

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News reports are emerging, stating that many of the eclipse-watching dark glasses being sold and distributed for free may be dangerously defective. Even those distributed by reputable organizations and appearing to have safety certification symbols on them may not protect the eyes properly. Some of these glasses have been belatedly recalled. Personally, I wouldn't, and won't take the chance of losing my eyesight.

It's far safer, and simple to view the eclipse by projecting the image of the Sun onto a white, flat surface, either with a pin-hole aperture, binoculars, or telescope.

Some Chinese made glasses cloned American paper optics. Here is a page that will allow you to tell if your glasses are real and safe or clones and suspect.
Are your glasses safe

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The Science Channel will offer the most coverage of the eclipse-- from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time (8 am to 1p.m. Pacific). The commercial broadcast networks will offer some live coverage too. I would hesitate to recommend online sites, as these tend to become quickly oversubscribed, and inaccessible during events like this.

Don't forget to keep an eye on any pets you have if you are in the eclipse area. They might just be a little confused and freighted.

9.5 hours to go for the greatest show on Earth :-)

I suppose I'll watch what I can on-line, but I sure ain't flying over to the US for just a few minutes darkness....

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

The eclipse brings people together. Our two guests, friends of my son, arrived last night. My son went to ST John's college in Santa Fe. Wound up mostly working in coffee shops. While there in DC there was a young girl working there in the coffee shop who also went to St Johns--3 years behind my son--they didn't know each other. So: these two guests who actually met at the coffee shop, also have friends in the Nashville area. Makes for a smaller world and a wide community.