Happy Independence Day, fellow Born Free owners!

[Roger H]

Here's to hoping you have a GREAT time celebrating July 4th!

Safe travels, everyone!

Born Free July 4th_720px.jpg (238.74 KiB) Viewed 11696 times

[stevek]

Speaking of safe travels. Anybody going to watch the eclipse in Aug?
Any words of wisdom to a duffer like me.
Happy trails and 4th of July.
How lucky we are !! God bless the USA !!.
God Bless our Vets !! We owe it all to you.

[Jim Hofmann]

Steve. Last January, I decided I wanted to take our coach and view the eclipse. We had thought that we would want to be away from the coast, to avoid the possibility of fog. So we decided on Wyoming (there were many factors that went into this selection, fishing being one of them). In January I called an RV park in the targeted shadow area and was told all of the sites had already been booked. To make a long story short: I called every RV Park in the portion of Wyoming we were interested in and got the same answer- no sites available. So I booked a site in Ten Sleep, Wyoming which is over 100 miles from the projected shadow.
I realize our coaches are self contained (having spent six months in our 24'RB, without hookups), but our age and health conditions of the wife have reduced our lust for the pioneering. Also, my daughter sent me a link to a NASA web site, which gave a run down of the information that they planned to make available during the eclipse. I then thought to myself- do I want to drive a couple of thousand miles (round trip) only to discover that weather conditions will not permit us to view this phenomenon? At the moment we are reevaluating our options, and may cancel our Ten Sleep reservations.
Jim

[John S.]

It is an interesting campground in Ten Sleep WY. Near a rodeo arena and walking distance to a nice restaurant. The spots are laid out in a straight line and you might have to parallel park. Nice people there and we stay on our yearly trip out west.

[perleys]

Missouri is a great option for the eclipse. St. Joseph in particular is right on the line. You can check their web site to camping. http://www.stjomo.com/eclipse2017/
I am in Columbia which is a good spot but we don't have much camping. Have to work as well since it is the first day of classes for the University.

[stevek]

So who all is going to the eclipes? Its just a few days away.
And..Thanks for all the previous comments regarding this event.

[randallrae]

New campground in York NE 2 minutes of totality .

[shilohdad]

Good luck to all of you trying to get a glimpse of the eclipse. I saw the one on the DelMarVa peninsula in 1970. I was very fortunate. The weather the day before, up to 2 AM of the day of the event was rainy, but a front was due to sweep it all out by 4 AM. My father and I made the trek down from central NJ. We were in Delaware at dawn and the sun rose in a perfectly clear sky. We spent several hours before totality in a fallow farm field with about 1000 people. The event itself was AWESOME, a term which I hate, but it is one of the few terms which is apt.

May the weather gods smile upon you as they did for me 47 years ago (yikes, that really is how long ago it was). Due to personal circumstances we will not be trying for this one, even though Lucinda has not seen one. There is another one due in 2024 that we might get to.

Joe

[whemme]

I am planning on flying to Grand Island, NE from home in Spencer, IA on Monday then follow the eclipse towards Crete, NE and then to Beatrice, NE before heading back home.

[stevek]

I hear it will get so dark, you will be able to see the stars?
Is this true?
Thanks

[Roger H]

I am planning on flying to Grand Island, NE from home in Spencer, IA on Monday then follow the eclipse towards Crete, NE and then to Beatrice, NE before heading back home.

Hmmm... Bill, have you and Carly Simon had a relationship in the past? That sounds suspiciously like a line from "You're So Vain..." <grin>

On a serious note, are you going to have someone film your exploits for posterity? That sounds like a pretty interesting trip.

[shilohdad]

Steve, yes it gets dark enough that you can see some stars. It's sort of like full dusk. The only light is from the sun's corona, which is not all that bright, but a spectacular sight. It shimmers!

What I found amazing at the eclipse I saw in 1970 was the sound of the throng as the shadow came racing across the field. All the ooh-ing and aah-ing and gasping was almost like an animal sound coming towards you along with the shadow. Quite something.