Dirt road adventure to Idaho to see the eclipse without getting stuck in I15 traffic?

reddman

Fabber
Location
SL,UT
I still have 5 Jerry cans in the TLC, just in case the drive home involves any dried up or price gouging gas stations. Feeling pretty good about all of this. Maybe it's just the bloody Mary in my hand...
 

Greg

I run a tight ship... wreck
Admin
I think I'm going to run up past Flaming Gorge early tomorrow morning, find a dirt road to get away from traffic and setup to watch the eclipse.
 

Tonkaman

Well-Known Member
Location
West Jordan
I'm outside of Idaho Falls in Ammon. Everyone up here says it's been dead, and a big let down compared to projections. Traffic up was definitely busy but never slow. We shall see what tomorrow brings
 

Tonkaman

Well-Known Member
Location
West Jordan
And it begins!
ebfc8acc8a0108f42315cb225830c348.jpg
 

rholbrook

Well-Known Member
Location
Kaysville, Ut
I spent the weekend near Stanley Idaho and and once you got over Galena Pass from Sun Valley, they had viewing areas setup with porta-potties but there wasn't as many people as they made it sound. I came home yesterday afternoon but even at that time I wasn't seeing the crowd. There were lots of empty campgrounds. The coolest thing was all the little airplanes at Smiley Creek with their tents setup next to the planes. The single track trails in that area are amazing. I would be willing to be a trail guide if anyone wants to get a group and go up. I think its better than Idaho City now because Idaho City has been overrun. We didn't see anyone else on the trails in the 3 days we rode.
 

reddman

Fabber
Location
SL,UT
That was crazy cool. I would do it all again without hesitation. It was surprising how sudden and complete the darkness was.

We were beyond fortuitous. I walked over to the only other camp near us this morning to ask if they had a precise timeline, and they told me that the partial started in two minutes, and handed me a couple of glasses before I even had a chance to ask them. We had struck out on all of our attempts at glasses prior. They fell into my hands literally at the last possible moment.

We had camp torn down and all loaded an hour before, watched it, and hit the road. Traffic was not an issue at all for us, but I think those who didn't get such a good start are in for a treat. We made better time on the way home than the trip up there.
 

Tonkaman

Well-Known Member
Location
West Jordan
6.5 hours on the road and I'm finally home! That's one hell of an epic traffic jam! I've got a few crappy pics I'll share once I've had a chance to look at them myself. It's been nonstop all day
 

RogueJeepr

Here!
Location
Utah
I kept checking on it every once in awhile at work.
It was interesting from our lil view, even though it wasn't complete. The position seemed to rotate (Tonkamans pic) it started at the 2o'clock position and when it ended, it was at the 7o'clock position (counter clockwise) rotation.

Sent from my H1611 using Tapatalk
 

ID Bronco

Registered User
Location
Idaho Falls, ID
We were fortunate to watch it from our yard. It was much, much cooler than I imagined it would be. Here in Idaho Falls we had a wonderful view. Zero clouds in the sky. I haven't looked at the data, but the temps dropped considerably and it got quite dark. We were able to see the crescent shaped shadows and such. The one thing I cannot explain was how different the light was when it began to darken. It was a different look than you normally see when the sun goes down. It was almost "greyer"? It was cool.

The crowds were not bad since there was so much area to spread out in. But, the freeway by our place was packed, going less than 10 mph for about 5-6 hours south bound. Our family waited and left in the evening and really had minimal problems. It was a very cool experience! My photos suck, but I'm sure the NASA ones are sweet.
 

frieed

Jeepless in Draper
Supporting Member
Location
Draper, UT
We're used to warm colors at sunrise and sunset. That color is caused by the longer path the light takes through the atmosphere which scatters the blue end of the spectrum. During the eclipse, the light is not travelling through a lot of atmosphere and remains a higher color temp, just dimmer.
 

cajack

Member
It was worth the travel. I was not sure, but after seeing it, I'm glad we went. It was really a great experience. Decided to avoid the interstate in Idaho and came back on 40+ miles of gravel road through the eastern foothills. Hardly saw a car until Soda Springs. Fun times.
 

cruiseroutfit

Cruizah!
Moderator
Vendor
Location
Sandy, Ut
Sorry, just seeing this... hope you found a good place to watch. We ended up in Wyoming, camped completely alone and dealt with very minimal traffic along a fair bit of dirt and some highway.
 

Tonkaman

Well-Known Member
Location
West Jordan
We were fortunate to watch it from our yard. It was much, much cooler than I imagined it would be. Here in Idaho Falls we had a wonderful view. Zero clouds in the sky. I haven't looked at the data, but the temps dropped considerably and it got quite dark. We were able to see the crescent shaped shadows and such. The one thing I cannot explain was how different the light was when it began to darken. It was a different look than you normally see when the sun goes down. It was almost "greyer"? It was cool.

The crowds were not bad since there was so much area to spread out in. But, the freeway by our place was packed, going less than 10 mph for about 5-6 hours south bound. Our family waited and left in the evening and really had minimal problems. It was a very cool experience! My photos suck, but I'm sure the NASA ones are sweet.

It was CRAZY how cold it got! The wind quickly changed direction and we all felt the change.

We're used to warm colors at sunrise and sunset. That color is caused by the longer path the light takes through the atmosphere which scatters the blue end of the spectrum. During the eclipse, the light is not travelling through a lot of atmosphere and remains a higher color temp, just dimmer.

Wow that's good to know. The monochrome light was just bizarre!
 
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