Traffic getting to the eclipse does not seem to have been much of a problem for most people. We noticed very little delays getting into Madras, OR the night before and there were plenty of people who reported very little issues arriving early in the morning the day of. A neighbor in the field we parked in brought a telescope and set up a projection - no special filters, just point the telescope at the sun (use the shadow for alightment) and point the eyepiece at a blank sheet of paper (requires frequent adjustment). This turned out to be a much better way of observing the partial phase of the eclipse than eclipse glasses. Views of Mt. Jefferson made Madras a special place to see the eclipse. Before the eclipse clouds obscured the top of the mountain. As totality approached, the mountain got dark and the sunset effect provided a clear view of the mountain's profile. Before totality ended for us we could see the light returning to the mountain.
After the eclipse, traffic was horrendous. We visited the Ericson Aircraft Collection (with air conditioning and flush toliets, the groupon $12 admission for 2 was worth it before seeing the museum) after the eclipse while the street in fromt of the museum moved very little over several hours (I estimate less than a quarter mile in 2+ hours). When we returned to our car, we realized there must be annother way out of the field, as many more cars had vacated the field then had passed the museum. After eating supper (canned soup warmed in the back window of the car all afternoon), we exited through the other end of the field and explored some backroads which got us several miles further out of town before joining the congested highways. After about 4.5 hours in the car we arrived in Vancouver, WA to visit my sister. They had stayed put with 99.2% eclipse and were able to observe many of the prelude signs (including shadow bands).
Advice for future eclipse chasers:
- Plan to stay put the night after the eclipse to avoid traffic
- Don't plan on there being enough portapotties - we're told that Madras would have brought in more, but could not get them
I tell people that our trip was to visit family and friends but timed to catch the eclipse (7 days visiting family and friends, 1 day chasing the eclipse, 1 day just for touristy things on our own). The eclipse chasing cost us about $20 in gas, $28 for parking, $24 for 25 eclipse glasses (mostly given away to family that stayed home and friends that hosted us on our trip, sold three pair for $2 each), $12 for museum entry to wait out some of the traffic (net $78 for the day). DW's oldest sister lives in the path of totality for 8 April 2024, we're lobbying for a family reunion there (we'll visit even if the other siblings don't make plans to come).