The Great American Eclipse of 2017 - preparing for Wyoming

There's more information on this event than I ever would have guessed. I particularly like this website: www.GreatAmericanEclipse.com 

I've added hindsight comments in ITALICS.

Our car-camp gear list is at the bottom of this post. Temperatures were expected to be mid-80s during most days and in the low 50s at night - lovely camping conditions overall (but windy). The temperatures were right on but we had one really good blow where the windspeed in the middle of camp was over forty mph - woof!

A short list of cool things to look for/at during an eclipse:

- Racing shadow of the moon, Solar corona and prominences, mini-eclipses on the ground under trees (it's a very good overall article): https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/7/25/15925410/total-solar-eclipse-2017-explained

-See Mercury, Mars, Venus and Jupiter: http://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/august-21-2017-solar-eclipse-4-planets-bright-stars

-Shadow bands: https://www.space.com/37776-shadow-bands-are-a-solar-eclipse-mystery.html

-Freakish sharpness of scenery: no reference found, I remember that Ansel Adams remarked on it but forget where (probably one of his photography books)

-Animals' and birds' reactions: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/08/animals-react-total-solar-eclipse-august-space-science/

Drivesheds, drive times, crowd sizes, oh my!

watershed - driveshed, get it?

love the way the the visitor density gets so low in Wyoming - that's where we're going

Wyo-ming, over 100,000 visitors expected near Glendo (shudder)

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The BLM map of Wyoming. Dispersered camping is allowed on almost all BLM land (just can't invade a leased farm or something like that). 

go to caltopo.com to make a detailed version for the spot you've picked out for yourself

Our strategy was to go to the boonies early and come back late.

Well, going really early turned out to be mostly unnecessary. There weren't that many people in the area we chose and traffic was light going to Wyoming all the way until Sunday morning. However, leaving the day after the eclipse was a major planning win. Almost everyone else tried to go back immediately after the eclipse. A 4-5 hour drive back to the Denver area became a 10-12 hour drive. Ouch!

Here's our gear list for the trip. it applies to any not-too-hot-not-too-cold camping trip:
I've included some food items that are often forgotten and end up being needed.

Tent

Sunshade and lots of stakes and guylines to hold it down (Wyoming is windy)
Wyoming IS windy - we had a number of tents and canopies get smashed by 40+mph winds one evening (just 15-20 minutes worth). 

sleeping pads

sleeping bags

pillows (if you want ‘em)

small tarp / rug for tent entranceway—this really helps keep down kid mess

repair kit if you have it (Tear-Aid!)

We also brought a Helinox Nonadome for sheltering the cooking area

 

Camp chairs (HELINOX, of course!)

Picnic blanket (for kids to eat on)

table (for food prep)

Stove

Propane

Pots, pans, cooking utensils

plates, bowls, eating utensils (pack a few extra ), wine glasses, mugs

Salt & Pepper

Oil

Butter

Hand sanitizer —lots of it!

Paper Towels

Wipes

Garbage bags—we always leave camp cleaner than we found it

extra ziplock bags—you will thank me

Extra lighter

Soap & Sponge 

Bug spray

Sunblock

Sun hats

Sunshade if you have one

1st aid kit (bandaids, neosporin, tweezers, etc.)

Towel

Solar shower

Soap

Water

Water

Water

Did I say water? 1 gallon per person a day

Water Bottles

Things to make water tasty (lemon, EmergenC, whatever)

Backpack for day hikes

Painkiller

Painkiller/fever reducer for kids

Toilet Paper

Latrine hole shovel/pick 
Because we had a large group (38 people), we dug large holes in an out-of-the-way part of the hill below camp. It was hidden from the main group area by sage and the hill's slope but it was exposed to all the higher areas (which were a ways off). Nevertheless, everything worked out fine. Holes were dug 12-14" deep by 8-10" diameter with a full-sized steel shovel. People covered their poop as the hole was used. We ended up leaving 20 holes - all tidy and not a trace of TP or anything else to be seen. True leave no trace camping.

Toothbrush

Toothpaste

Floss

Hair brush (if you need one)

Hair ties, extra hair ties

Games

Books

Whatever entertainment you need 

CLOTHES WE PACK FOR THE KIDS—works for adults too

Please adapt to your kids habits and needs

This is for staying 4 nights

3 warm PJs

2 long pants

3 shorts

3 long shirts

4 T-Shirts

2 warm socks

4 socks

sneakers

sandals

sun hats

warm hat

2 fleece / sweater

wind/rain jacket (pants if you have ‘em)

warm jacket

sunglasses AND eclipse glasses

long underwear

5 underwear

pull-ups

Books

Games

Drawing / craft stuff

There's a state-wide fire ban so no wood fires are allowed. But conferring with the BLM Ranger revealed that our CanFire IS ALLOWED - YAY!

We had a spot scoped out that was big, smooth and tucked just a little behind some hills.

easy to see why we're bringing a big Nonadome for the cook area

How to use a Helinox chair according to N (5) and O (2)

There's nothing like a fresh set of eyes on a subject...

latest masterpiece

are you allowed in the tent with that, youngster?

seems straightforward enough - carry on

double duty: chair/table √

spaceships!

rayguns? laser spaceships! things little boys do

lounging like a pro

bullfight?

they did this rather a lot

it's all in the grip...

Visiting the new Bear's Ears National Monument - Wow! post5

A bright and sparkly morning...

the morning bed-head contest

big blue sky

Monument Valley in the distance

We went back down to the Kane Gulch Ranger Station and stumbled into our day's Anasazi adventure: Moonhouse. This is the good stuff. Only 20 people per day allowed. A serious scramble down one side of a valley and up the other side. A bunch of buildings; one with a corridor you can actually go into. Corridor??? Yee-haw!

Moonhouse ruin

Major ruins like this one have ammo boxes with a write-up of the ruin in them. They're always worth a read. Click these for bigger versions.
Moonhouse is a late period structure with a stick-and-mud wall construction of the inside rooms that was obviously much faster and easier to make than foot-thick stone walls. It also has a stone outer wall with a hallway inside and separate rooms off the hallway.

We have never seen anything like this before in our Anasazi ruin hunting. What a lovely surprise!

up into the main structure's hallway

dark rooms. thick looking smoke marks on the ceiling

walls between rooms -woven sticks covered with mud

inner room with painted decoration

looking + not touching + not going inside = excellent Moonhouse behavior

this decoration appears fairly often in this area. clan mark?

a granary further along the rim. there was lots more that we didn't have time for on this trip

back we went...

pool day!

We were hot and dirty. Time to check into civilization for a shower, email, Deuce orders and the pool. Our favorite spot for that: the Recapture Lodge in Bluff, UT.

A tour of the American Southwest 5

Holbrook is a dinosaur-happy place.

But I digress.

It was a cold morning as we checked out of the hotel. Petrified Forest National Park was our day's destination so we headed up I-40 to the visitor center. Big strategic mistake. We should have taken Hwy 180 SE to the southern entrance and worked our way north. That way we would have had time to see the whole thing without doubling back. Oh well, next time...

We came for the petrified logs but what impressed us the most, in the end was the petroglyphs. Not because of the paltry number we were able to sorta see from afar – because of the ones you're not allowed to visit but can see in the book Tapamveni. HOLY CRUD there are a lot of petroglyphs there. This was a major Native American settlement and cultural hub!

see that big block in the lower middle? that's the photo below

just one of the massive petroglyph panels you can't actually walk up to (or even get close)

Down into the badlands...

Petrified logs are much harder than the clay they're in, so they often end up on the very top of ridges...and then they roll down into the gullies.

We had to hurry back so's to not get caught by a closed highway. Snow was falling back home again.