Getting Ready for the 2017 Solar Eclipse

Here I am sitting in pleasant surroundings and in the comfort of the New Hampshire woods with mountains that make up the northeastern portion of the Appalachian Mountains, the White Mountain range, nearby. Mount Washington is but a few miles to the southeast. Actually, I cannot view any of them because of the dense forests around me. So, what am I thinking and planning? My trip next August! What an optimist. I'm winding down my stay here at Timberland Campground in Shelburne, NH and will soon travel to Belfast, Maine for the remaining week of my 2016 Summer Adventure visiting cousin John and wife, Barbara. The weather I've experienced has been perfect with temperatures in the high 70's, sunny and breezy. Perfect camping weather and comfortable night time sleeping.  I'm taking a break from reading novels and in that interlude, I've been made aware that in just 346 days, the "Total Solar Eclipse of August 21, 2017" will take place. So? What do I, with too much time on my hands, do? I checked it out and decided I'll want to go see it.

When was the last time you
saw a total eclipse of the sun?

They're already making it a big deal. The links that follow in RED are some of the tons of articles and sites that will describe what will happen, "Where and when to see it (safely)," "25 facts you should know", and that it'll "be the most awesome one seen in 99 years!" With hype like that, how can you not be interested? And yes, you'll also read that it may also bring on the end of the world as we know it.  Yes, they're still with us.  Click any of the preceding RED links and get more info. Me? I spent my afternoon working with Google Maps, checking out campgrounds, and planning the trip one year from now. Screwy, right?

Here's the 250 mile wide swath of earth that the sun will cover
once it reaches the USA. Oregon gets to see it first,
South Carolina will be the last.

Having just completed a visit in SC this past August (18-24), isn't it
ironic that I will return one year later to witness something not to be
seen again until 2024. My destination this time will be Table Rock State
Park in Pickens, SC. in the far northwestern part of the state. Don't
think you're able to see the caption I've added to the map.

Table Rock State Park  happens to lie equidistant between the two couples I visited this past August. 30 miles southeast in Travelers Rest are Marsha & Tim and 30 miles southwest is the lake house of Ken & Jane. If it all works out it will be nice to see them again. And by the way, you will be admonished constantly about the dangers of viewing a solar eclipse and the need for proper viewing devices. I found a source that, with a self addressed, stamped envelope, will provide you with what you'll need free:

1. Send us a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope "SASE" ($0.48 US)

Rainbow Symphony, Inc.
6860 Canby Ave. Suite 120
Reseda · CA · 91335

2. Inside, Specify Eclipse Glasses or an Eclipse Viewer...we need to know this!

The glasses are worn; the viewer is like a post card that's held up to the sun

3. Make sure you put a "SASE" ($0.48 US) inside the envelope you are sending to us or we will have nothing to send you the glasses back in.

Booking a site at that time....one year in future...was the easy part. The difficult part was planning how to split up the 12 hour trip into 4 3-hour drive segments. That took most of the afternoon and resulted in my future overnight visits to Shartlesville, PA, Bedford, PA, Buchanan, VA, and finally Pickens, SC. I will visit Travelers Rest, SC, Mt. Airy, NC Broadway, VA, and Shartlesville, PA again on the return trip home. Future blogs will contain my usual ramblings as I travel. See you in Maine soon.