@JohnJBurnsIII I think it's a case of bad nomenclature for state/federal aid. It's a tool to say, "Hey, uh, a one-time thing is happening, and it's going to put a lot of strain on our systems. Could we get a hand, here? We don't expect it to be a regular thing." And normally that's a disaster, but it could also be an eclipse or a Taylor Swift appearance. Spring Break and Sturgis happen regularly, so you can prep for them.
@JohnJBurnsIII It'll be interesting to see. Some counties are going to double or triple in population, which will certainly strain hotels, fast food, and gas stations. On the other hand, a lot of the country is still empty space, so there should be a lot of places to stand and look up without crowding.
What's really to bad is that this event is perfect for elementary & middle school field trips. Get those students on a bus with teacher and a couple chaperones...
Stop at rural roadside... do a lesson or two. Go back... and have students write a paper on the entire trip.
Unfortunately- not many schools do field trips now.
Folks can drive 2 or 3 hours to a spot on a country road. View the cycle. And then drive home.
We are about 3 to 4 hours -crow flies- drive from center line.
I can't "personally " imagine driving or flying into a large city with crowds, having streetlights turn on, building office lights blazing, not having a true dark sky.
Folks that can't find a dark sky location, away from city lights will make do with what they have.
@JohnJBurnsIII We’ve heard from friends that Erie County, NY has done this too. I’m increasingly glad that I didn’t fall for any of the marketing stuff I got from various favorite places in Western NY last year--I thought about it pretty seriously.
@mjibrower@JohnJBurnsIII We made reservations in Western NY, Ohio, and Niagara three years ago. We'll release two of them next week, once the weather forecast firms up.
Can you get to an area of totality from where you are?
It's interesting and all - but I'm not a bandwagon type...
To folks in any of the partial/full zones... pull out & use a colander to filter light onto concrete or paper... you will get lots of images to view without risking your eyes or your camera.
If your trees have leaked out the will do similar- but movement makes it hard to really see one image for very long.
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