August 21, 2017 Last updated: 8/26/17 2:00pm PT
We went to Salem, Oregon to see the total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017. I had booked a hotel room a year in advance (not in Salem because I was too cheap, but in the suburbs of Portland – about a 50 minute drive away).
We were wondering for a long time where we would go in Salem to view the eclipse. I guess if I would have booked a hotel in Salem, that would have answered the question. Since I didn’t, we had to find a place to park the car that had a view. We figured the city parks would be packed, as Salem allowed overnight camping for the weekend. We thought about going to a grocery store, but were worried that the lights in the parking lot would automatically turn on because it got too dark. We thought about just parking on a side street, but we planned on getting to Salem early and, while we could bring our own food and water, we couldn’t bring our own bathroom (didn’t rent an RV, didn’t want to knock on some random door). We discovered that the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes (a minor league baseball team) was having a special game starting at 9:45am. The first sporting event in history to have an ‘eclipse delay’. For the price of tickets, we would have a guaranteed parking spot, a place to sit, access to food and bathrooms, and be in an open area where they would turn off the lights and have no trees blocking the view. Other than being on top of a rural mountain, it was the perfect spot.
We left our hotel at 4:30am, the baseball stadium opened at 5:00. The baseball club brought in people from NASA to give small presentations. Once the partial eclipse started, we all donned our glasses. Even the ballplayers were watching the eclipse. At the end of the first half of the 1st inning, they paused the game. Totality happened at about 10:15am. The weather was perfect. Comfortably cool, zero clouds.
It got slightly darker as the moon covered more of the sun, but it is amazing how much light is generated by a tiny sliver of the sun. The temperature definitely dropped, at least 10 degrees. But it wasn’t until totality that it got dark. I kept watching the field waiting for the dark line of the shadow to rush by, but there was no clear demarcation of the moon’s shadow across the grass. Seconds before totality, you could tell it was getting darker. You can’t notice the dimming of light at a normal sunset, but here you could see it get darker, like someone was slowly turning a galactic dimmer switch.
As soon as the sun was completely covered, you could take the glasses off. I was blown away. A partial eclipse is nothing compared to a total solar eclipse. I can’t think of how to describe it other than amazing. This is a must-see event. Denise and I thought of all the natural wonders we’ve seen so far on our travels, and this has to be the best. Too bad it only lasted a little less than two minutes. We are already contemplating 2024.
Now the bad part, the drive home. The announcer at the game at one point said I-5 to Portland was a 2.5 hour drive (normally an hour). We hung around Salem until about 4:30pm. It wasn’t any better. We only went 20 miles in the first 2 hours. Yes, that’s right, 10 mph. Google maps told us it would take 5 hours to get home, normally a 4 hour drive. We kept waiting for it to open up, figuring it couldn’t be this crowded the whole way home. It did open up at times, but it took just short of 10 hours to get home.
No pictures of the eclipse, there would be better pictures by professionals online, and it is more impressive to see it in person with your eyes, not through a phone.
At the ballgame. 
Even the ballplayers enjoyed the eclipse 
Totality 