Eclipse day trip / Radar Cruise Control

Yeah, I was seriously considering driving up to some city in Oregon that was in the path of totality; 700 miles one way. Glad I didn't because I read and heard that the traffic jams going in and out of the cities that were in the path were nightmarish. Next eclipse that is the closest to Fresno is in like 2040-something and I only have to drive to Sac.

 

That's where I was. It was great. I had been concerned about the smoke on the way down, but it was all good. The exit odyssey was another story. I guess if you bring in that many people over a 24-48 hour period and then have them all leave at the same time then there are going to be issues. My biggest problem was with the construction on I-15 going north. A two hour trip turned into four and a half hours.

 

I came down from the Spokane area. It was a three day trip from here. Montana did not suspend construction and it was horrible. Well worth it though. I was at the BYU campus about a block from the Temple. Well organized does not do the event justice.

 

Sounds like a spectacular event matter but highway nightmares. Glad y'all got home safe in the end.

 

I made the drive from just south of Denver to Torrington, Wyoming for the "total" experience. We stayed off the Interstate, preferring CO-83 and US-85. I'm sure that was better than I-25 through the heart of Denver and then north to Cheyenne. When we got to Cheyenne, there was a solid line of cars the 80 miles to Torrington. DRCC definitely made the slow/go tolerable. Great technology!

 

Geesh, I'm glad we just walked the dog.

About 15 minutes past our 87% max:

 

Isn't that a fox?

 

Most folks who dismiss or don't "get" this feature haven't used it, especially in a situation such as this, so they don't really understand the benefits. You would have been totally frazzled after 11 hrs of stop/go. This is what us coastal owners face in major storm evacuations. Not fun!

 

For those "not in the know", have another look at the photo posted. Notice all the arcs of sunlight on the road? The leaves on the trees act like pinhole cameras. I took a pic. of it cast from my hedge. Hundreds of partially eclipsed suns.

I didn't drive. I hauled my telescope into the backyard from the basement and watched the partial from there. I'm told the lineups to cross the border were 6 hourish. Not interested! Then there was the ridiculous hotel room charges.

 

Good news is the next one in 2024 will transect in totality right over my fathers house. He's only a few hours from me and lives off the beaten path. Even better news is it will be in early April so cool weather and typically clear skies that time of year in Texas.

 

DRCC ain't Tesla Autopilot, but indeed it is extremely convenient! I find it does have substantial limitations though, especially when lane changes are involved, either on my own P.Prime or the car in front of me. It also isn't great when the road curves too quickly. Again though, it's a more-specific function than Autopilot, and it does that function very well!

On our road trip back from Houston, at night, a couple months ago, I also found the auto-high-beam feature *very* helpful!

Great photo, by the way! I took a photo of the same eclipse effect:



iPhone ? Pro

 

Awesome MichelleStone! I was going to Astoria Oregon but feared the traffic problems so delayed my trip into September. I will be flying up and hope my real car is a hybrid. Last time we got a Ford CMax

 

Traffic varied considerably. I went to Weiser ID, with plans to camp out until the traffic cleared. The turnout was significantly smaller than expected, with various locals blaming Sinclair News for scaring away visitors with predictions of many weirdos.

The got-to-leave-now crowd was cleared by 3 p.m. I visited the city park fair until it closed, then went bicycling. Then went cycling again the next morning with a friend who was staying nearby. Later she elected to ride home with me after her intended ride indicated that he would be delayed by various unrelated matters. We faced no meaningful traffic whatsoever.

 

The Cmax had surprisingly good road manners, for such a dowdy looking car. Interior was very open and roomy with an amazing sunroof. The rental was not the hybrid version, fuel economy not great.

 

The CMax is such an ugly car and the gas mileage on the highway is worse than the 2018 REGULAR Camry. I don't know why its still made.

 

I also made a eclipse trip.
LA to Saint Louis and back home through Atlanta. The Prius behaved itself brilliantly.
1 total eclipse and 4 baseball games all in stadiums that I had never visited.
Total of 5,130 miles with an average MPG of 53.4 in the Prius that could.
Total driving time of 80.5 hours with an overall average of 63 MPH.
WHEW! What a trip...

 

We went to Andrews North Carolina for the eclipse but we were in my previous car when we went (only had my Prius for about a week now-ish). The traffic was absolutely horrendous because we were in full totality area all through western North Carolina. It normally takes us about 4 hours to get to Andrews from where we live but it took us well over 6 hours to get from Andrews to Asheville. We ended up detouring off and went around our big toe to get to our elbow to avoid traffic. When we were stuck in traffic, it was bad. Cell phone signal was nada because the heavy concentration of people in the area. It was hot and just miserable.

On the good hand though, my boyfriend of almost 3 years (it was 3 years this past October) proposed to me during the eclipse. It took him asking me 3 times before I realized what he had said/asked because I was so enthralled with the eclipse. <3

I think we are going to travel north (or west) to see the next one when it happens, so looking forward to traveling to it in the Prius!