Sunday Drive

The August 21 eclipse had been on my radar for awhile and since the line of totality was very close to SE Washington, I had been looking at websites and maps for places to see the total eclipse. The Madras, Oregon, area is one of my favorite places and I love the drive down Highway 97, but that seemed to be eclipse central. The party atmosphere would have been fun if we could take a week off from the business, but that wasn't going to happen.

Our daughter and her family had made reservations long ago for Lincoln City, right on the coast. But mornings are often cloudy with a marine layer that doesn't burn off until noon, and the drive was too far for me. But there is Highway 395 running N/S through Eastern Oregon, south of Pendleton, that looked appealing to me. This area has few inhabitants and a lot of Forest Service land to do some dispersed camping.

Early reports before the eclipse showed miles of traffic headed to the Totality, and even reports that gasoline supplies were running low. But we kept watching the webcams on the highways and it just didn't seem to be that bad, especially down 395. But of bigger concern was the trip home when traffic surely would be one long conga line.

Sunday after church, Gary and I decided to get ready for an overnite in the Expedition and just drive down 395 and see what was going on. The weather was beautiful and there was no heavy traffic at all. The plan was to go down a little past Long Creek and head west on a tiny local road, but when we got to the top of Ritter summit we found a wide turnout with a marvelous view to the east that would be perfect for eclipse viewing.

Our eclipse viewing spot! 

Deciding that we wouldn't find anything better than that, we parked with several others already camped at the edge of the turnout. More people joined us throughout the night and early in the morning, and the atmosphere was like a tailgate party at a football game

Morning coffee - I can do without a lot, but not morning coffee!!

Experiencing the totality of the eclipse really was amazing and I feel blessed to have been able to see it!

Just a few minutes after the sun reappeared, we got right on the road to home near the front of the conga line!

Once we got to Pendleton, we decided we didn't need to rush home for work. So we skipped the interstate and headed to Walla Walla where we decided to drop in on Reininger Winery. The manager of the tasting room was very engaging and we learned a lot about their wines and back story. Better yet, their wines are excellent! August is Washington Wine Month so they are running several specials, and we came home with six bottles of 2011 Helix Merlot. I wanted a bottle of the 2007 merlot that was incredible, but it was more economic to age the 2011, lol!

This was a most memorable and enjoyable trip! I think we are going to plan some more weekend drives and camping in the Expedition.