Request for Bucket List Info

[HenryC]

I am considering going to observe the total solar ecliose of the sun on 21 August, 2017.  It will be my first, and probably my only.  I'ts now or never for me.

I plan to fly to Raleigh-Durham, NC (I live in S FL) and meet up with an old school chum the day before and then drive down to SC with him and watch the eclipse the next day.  The path of totality crosses the entire continental US, from coast to coast, and S Carolina lies directly between us. After the event, we will drive back to Raleigh-Durham and I will fly back home from there on the 22nd.

One site that looks perfect for us is the I-95 bridge across Lake Marion, south east of Columbia, SC.  The path of totality goes right over the bridge and it looks like a place that is easy to get in and out of, and not too close to a big town and big crowds. 

Is anyone familiar with that area who could provide me with intelligence--campsites, restaurants, hotels, state parks, etc?

Everyone living in CONUS will be just a few hours drive of this eclipse.  If you've never seen one, this is probably your last chance.  It is supposedly a life-changing experience. 

See https://www.greatamericaneclipse.com/

[Catawampus]

I would recommend some other place. Too much traffic on I-95. You might consider the villages of St Stephen or McClellanville instead.

[Catawampus]

There's a state park north west of that I-95 bridge on the south shore of Lake Marion, but I imagine it's fully booked by now. Santee State Park http://southcarolinaparks.com/santee/introduction.aspx

[HenryC]

THanks, Catawumpus.

My friend concurs with you about the congestion on I-95.  He suggested Lexington, near Columbia, instead.  He is trying to find hotel reservations in that area. We will arrive the day before, and spend Sunday afternoon scouting the area out.  I will pass on your suggestions for his consideration.

HC

[Catawampus]

Lexington is near me. We call this area the Midlands. Columbia has been making a big deal about the eclipse. However, some meteorologists have been warning folks away from the Midlands, saying that we have a higher possibility of thunder storms and clouds in August. They recommend choosing a viewing spot closer to the coast where ocean breezes are more likely to keep the clouds away.

[HenryC]

I've heard the same  weather warnings about the Midlands that you bring up.  But we have an additional criterion to factor in.  We will be driving from Raleigh-Durham, and round trip driving time is going to be critical for us--I'll have a plane out of RDU on Tuesday AM to catch.

It would be great to watch from some idyllic, rustic site, but a solar eclipse can be just as easily seen from a Walmart parking lot or a Holiday INN balcony as anywhere else.  Its a multivariate problem, and I probably wouldn't even be dealing with it except for a chance combination of factors, not all of them astronomical, meteorological or geographical:

1) I was an astronomy major, and I've never seen a total solar eclipse. Neither has Chris. This is our last chance to witness the ultimate spectacle.

2) Chris was my best friend and roommate from my college days, when we had just come back from our military service. And together we climbed to the bottom of Meteor Crater in Arizona and back, 47 years ago.

3) I'll turn 70 a week after the eclipse, Chris is even older.  Like I said, This is our last chance.

Even if we're rained out, it will be an ad*******venture.  Two old hippies taking their final trip into the ozone.

I will forward your intelligence to him for consideration.  Thanks.

[Catawampus]

I wish you two the very best of adventures. Those wishes are from another old hippie, me.
I also envy your meteor crater adventure. A visit there is on my bucket list.

[Catawampus]

I will also make some restaurant suggestions:
Lunch: Hudson's Smokehouse, 4952 Sunset Blvd, Lexington, SC 29072
Dinner: Hunter-Gatherer, 900 Main Street, Columbia, SC 29201
Upscale dinner if you want to really celebrate:
Motor Supply Company Bistro, 920 Gervais Street, Columbia, SC 29201
(803) 256-6687

[HenryC]

Thanks for the help and suggestions.

Chris and I visited Barringer Crater in April, 1970.  The night before we had arrived in Winslow and as we drove down the main drag we stopped at the only honky-tonk that was blasting out the blues (as opposed to C&W) into the night. It turned out to be a soul joint, and we strolled in expecting to find kindred spirits.  Well, one thing led to another,  and we wound up barely making our escape alive (the brothers didn't cotton to no honky long-hairs there).  The bartender covered our backs and held back the patrons with a cue stick while we beat feet out the front door.

We wound up in the desert at 3 AM, outside the entrance to the Meteor Crater Museum, sleeping in my VW beetle.  There was ice on the inside of the windows the following morning. When the museum finally opened, we had it all to ourselves, and the curator told us of a secret trail down to the bottom of the crater, blazed by spray paint can markings.  We would never have found our way down without it, the slope of the crater wall was a jumble of car-sized boulders and you really had to know the route well to navigate it safely.  It took us a couple of hours to scramble down the twisty trail and we spent a couple more strolling around the smooth, level bottom.  It is an eerie place. 

There were some ruins down there, the remains of a drill rig that had been erected years before in an attempt to find the meteor.  The crater floor was littered with little pieces of aluminum from the crash of a light plane that had gone down there.  It is moister in the crater than it is in the desert above, and the flat, sandy ground was covered with a spongy sparse turf that cushioned our boots, almost like a poorly watered golf green.  All around us towered the walls, with the southern cliff still sheltering snow in the shady spots. And it was silent, utterly silent. Not a bird or insect to be heard.  We spoke in whispers, perhaps out of respect for what had once happened there. A beautiful, breathtaking, but very creepy place.

It took us twice as long to climb out the same trail as it did to climb down.  The rest of our trip we kept on breaking out spontaneously into the old Eagles tune

I was standing on the corner
in Winslow Arizona,
such a fine sight to see.
There's a girl, my lord,
in a flathead Ford
slowin' down to take a look at me.

We may lose, or we may win
but we'll never be this way again
Don't let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy.


Many years later, my new bride and I stopped at the crater
on our way to find our fortune in California. 
The fellow at the museum told us they had closed the trail to hikers
for insurance reasons.

[kahpho]

I was fortunate to see the last total eclipse in Oregon 1979. I would recommend an elevated viewing position if at all possible, for full effect. Sure you can see the eclipse from a Walmart parking lot and you should if that's your only option. From a hill or other elevated position you can better see the moons shadow racing across the earth both coming and going. Truly dramatic.

I could describe the event as I saw it in 1979 but I don't want to spoil the experience for this years viewers. Suffice to say it is unique and well worth the effort for anyone interested. I plan to not miss it.