Casper Solar Eclipse, Yellowstone, Glacier 8/6-10/4, 2017
Click to enlarge any image.
One of our fellow Blue Birders had the foresight to reserve most of the RV spaces at the Central Wyoming Fairgrounds in Casper, a couple of years in advance of the August 21, 2017. We made our plans a year or so in advance, and also got our friends Michael and Georgia Day to join us there. Following the eclipse we traveled together up to Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks.
On the way to Casper we passed Indepence Rock, which we had also passed back in 2005. Shortly after that, a passing RV kicked up a rock that did a number on the driver's-side windshield.
We had a very good turnout at the fairgrounds, which is not surprising as it had been sold out for such a long time. Michael and I had a lot of cameras for the event, with some of our tripods here in front of our coach. Theirs is the white Newell on the left. The drone video is not mine, but is from one of the other Blue Birders. The one below that is mine.
The eclipse itself was everything it was predicted to be. My videos below show the crowd reaction and the eclipse itself. The eclipse is 4K, and made up from 499 still images shot with a tracking mount.
We don't find as many good swimming holes as we used to, for whatever reason, but Nikki was able to go swimming in the North Platte at Casper, where Holly also swam in 2005.
On our way from Casper to Yellowstone we spent a night in Thermopolis, which is noted for its hot springs along the Big Horn River.
At Yellowstone I was able to take this video of Old Faithful erupting.
At Columbia Falls, outside Glacier National Park, we ended up next to a Blue Bird M450. I think this is the first time we have ever been parked next to a Blue Bird, not at a rally. The owners of this one were also at Casper for the eclipse rally, but we did not know they were headed this way. The 450 and 380 look the same from the front, but they are 45 and 38-feet, respectively, and the 450 has a third axle.
Traveling up the Going to the Sun road in Glacier was a very smoky trip. Only at the top (Logan Pass), at the visitor's center, was it fairly clear.
We had plans to attend a rally at Hood River (which we did last year) on our way home, but the entire Columbia River Gorge was close due to fires so we had to detour over to Seattle and then down to Portland. While staying at Sandy River, on the East side of the Portland area, we did drive up around the South side of Mount Hood. That was the end of this 2 month adventure.
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