tbutler

August 21 was a happy day for eclipse viewers in Riverton, Wyoming. We stayed in the Riverton RV Park, a Good Sam park right in the town of Riverton. Riverton was not exactly on the center line of the eclipse but was well within the band of totality. We were giving up about 8 seconds of totality staying at that location as opposed to setting up at a remote location somewhere. It was nice to be able to get up, walk out the door and set up to observe the eclipse just outside the door of our motor home. At sunrise, there was a veil of thin cirrus clouds moving in from the northwest. The forecast called for occasional smoke from fires in Oregon but we never saw evidence of that on Monday. We were sharing the campground with many other eclipse observers. Telescopes were set up at many sites. It was fun to watch individuals scurrying to set up equipment. I also was scurrying. I carry a small telescope, a Meade 5" scope and a large tripod to support it. I had various camera gear, my still camera is my main tool. I've been experimenting with video and had a GoPro set up and also a regular video camera. Neither of the video efforts were useful. It's a learning process. An event like the total solar eclipse is not a good time to be experimenting. With just 2 minutes and 20 seconds for the show, there is no time to make adjustments or change things in mid stream. So I set those things up and just let them run, hoping for some level of success. There was a film crew in the campground and they had a compliment of complex, high end cameras to document the corona, the outer layer, of the Sun. Similar crews were stationed across the US in a coordinated effort to get something like 90 minutes of continuous video of the corona. There were also observers who had only the solar glasses to view the eclipse. They were relaxed, lawn chairs set up was the extent of their preparation. One couple we met was in a rental RV. They were from Belgium and had made reservations at this RV park in early 2016 as soon as they began taking reservations. As mentioned previously, we paid a premium fee to stay in the park and we were lucky to get a site following a cancellation by someone who had made reservations long ago. As part of our fee, we got a number of perks that aren't part of a normal RV park stay. A pair of solar glasses, a Moon Pie, root beer floats Sunday afternoon and a catered dinner on Monday evening helped give us more for our money and helped build a campground community. The camp owners were out and about visiting with all their guests and we enjoyed many a conversation with them and other guests. The partial phase of the eclipse began at 10:40 a.m. with a shout of "first contact" from someone in the campground. People continued to visit, wandering from location to location, discussing the eclipse, visiting as friends. Every so often, people put on the solar glasses and looked up to check the progress toward the big show. A herd of about 30 cows and calves were bedded down in the shade of some trees just across the fence from the campground. As the eclipse proceeded to about 75% the entire group got up and headed off toward the barn. We all had a good laugh. As the Sun became a thin crescent, my eye was glued to the telescope. It gave me the most precise view of the final moments before totality. As the eclipse became total, I backed away from the telescope and looked up at the eclipsed sun. The view through the telescope might seem to be a better choice but its field of view would contain only the entire Moon or Sun when at lowest power. It works fine for the partial phases but for totality, nothing beats the naked eye or a pair of binoculars. My preference is just the naked eye. Nothing is like just standing in the shadow of the Moon and looking at the amazing corona. After a minute or so, I began snapping pictures with the still camera. I wasn't making adjustments, just taking a number of photos. Looking around I was able to see Venus high overhead. I never was able to see Jupiter or any other stars. I did seem to catch a star or planet in my still photos, I haven't been able to identify it yet. As totality ended a cheer went up across the campground. The thin veil of clouds had moved off as totality began and we were able to see a beautiful total eclipse of the Sun. There followed a period of conversation among all the observers, sharing impressions and feelings about this event. I had a host of equipment to pack away but that could wait. There was a tremendous emotional charge that needed to be savored and shared. Slowly we began packing away our equipment and returning to more normal activities. Before the following partial eclipse some people began leaving the campground. Throughout the afternoon, more RV's made their way out of the campground. In mid-afternoon we left the park in the toad to go in search of eclipse T-shirts. We were amazed to see traffic backed up in Riverton. Cars would move from one traffic light across an intersection into line for the next traffic light. We took back streets to the campground in order to avoid the traffic jam. Later in the afternoon we had a conversation with a fellow camper who had left the campground for home. They got through town and then encountered a traffic back-up several miles out of town and were down to a crawl, 2 mph or so. They decided to turn around and stay overnight to leave on Tuesday. We also left on Tuesday morning. There was no traffic jam in town or on down the road. Traffic was almost certainly a little heavier than normal but on a 80 mile stretch of two lane highway we seldom had more than two or three vehicles behind us. We were never slowed down by slower traffic, plenty of opportunities to pass when we needed to do so. The next total solar eclipse will occur in 2024. That eclipse path crosses from Mexico into the US near Del Rio, Texas and cuts across the country to the northeast, exiting into Canada from Maine. Once again there will be millions of people who will gather to observe the total eclipse of the Sun. We found the remote area of Wyoming to be an easy place to get to the path of the total eclipse. We were far from large cities, the nearest were Salt Lake City and Denver. We were at least a two hour drive from the nearest interstate highway. This made for an area where crowds were manageable. We were pleased with the readiness of the small communities to serve the influx of eclipse watchers. The local merchants were promoting and accommodating eclipse crowds. There were activities in the park, a shuttle was set up to transport people from one location in town to another. Thinking of the next solar eclipse I don't think there will be a place this remote. The population of central Texas, San Antonio, Austin, Temple and Waco are all just off the line of totality so there will be huge crowds headed for west Texas to observe. To the north and east there are no good remote locations, huge population centers will be nearby along the entire eclipse path. Let's hope that some good lessons were learned from this event. Start planning for the next if you didn't get to see this one. Make reservations early and hope for good weather.

You will find more responses on the forum. Post your question in the forum and many responses will follow. The blog is a place for stories about your travels. Blogging is a continuous activity, usually mostly one way, writers talking to readers. The forum is an exchange of ideas, suggestions and solutions.

Put this question on the forum. The blog is for continuing stories of your travels. You will get many responses on the forum. Better information on the forum....

You are obviously in a coach you love. Have you considered just updating your thermostat and it's associated sensors to the more modern equipment? When our air conditioners quit (one or all), we'll have to upgrade to a new thermostat. I don't know how your equipment is holding up but I would suggest making the change now may be the best solution.

We were in Yosemite in the Spring, before the rush. It was busy, plenty of activity. We took our bikes into the park and were able to ride around to the inner park features, lock them up and hike to falls, etc. There is basically a huge parking lot and then you take the bus if you don't have bicycles. We camped at a park near the Archway entrance (el Portal). The Archway is low clearance, under a slanted rock feature, not RV accessible. That is the heart of the park. The RV park we stayed in (Indian Flats) on Hwy 140, was cramped and difficult for a 38 foot coach. We made it in, stayed a week and then moved on. It was close to the park which made up for the tight facilities. Yosemite is a delight, not welcoming to RV's. Find the nearest park that meets your needs and then concentrate on enjoying the park. It is well worth a visit. Some of our best memories from that visit.

Welcome to the forum. Come on down! We've been wintering in the RGV (Rio Grande Valley) since 2001-02. There are about 70 or 80 parks from Brownsville to South Padre Island and north to Harlingen, west to McAllen and Mission and North to Raymondville and Edinburg. Parks vary from very simple with minimal fees and facilities to the luxury with a full range of facilities and activities. There are parks with large dance halls and others located near prime wildlife and birding facilities. We have the National Butterfly Garden and World Birding Centers that attract wildlife enthusiasts from all over the world. You will be welcomed as a Winter Texan , not a Snowbird . They really do appreciate the $money$ we bring to the valley. The population is delightfully multicultural. You will find all the usual city businesses and flea markets. There are all the urban restaurants plus a delightful variety of authentic Mexican and barbecue restaurants. There are major shopping centers (thriving) and arts and entertainment centers. Deep sea fishing and big game hunting are all available here. Winter in the RGV starts in late November or in December. Spring begins in late February or in March. If we have more than three nights below freezing it has been a hard winter. Sometime winters are dry, others are windy or wet. We play golf all winter. There are bowling leagues specifically for Winter Texans, softball leagues and music and vocal groups also. There are so many parks that I would encourage you to come on down and spend some time exploring the other facilities before you commit to any one facility. I am not familiar with Encore Resorts but their special may provide the perfect opportunity to do just this. I would suggest that you spend some of that time visiting other resorts. There are many and the rates are quite reasonable compared to what you will find in other winter resort areas. By all means if the Encore Resorts are your cup of tea, sign up and come back next year. I would suggest that you plan to get to Big Bend National Park in mid to late March. Spring Break is their busiest time for a reason, the weather gets better then. As Brett says, the campground there is a parking lot. It is first-come, no reservations. We boondocked at a picnic area on the road in and then got up early to be one of the first few arriving and checking in. We got a spot our first try. The road to Big Bend is about 60 miles from the nearest town. Pick up supplies to keep you in groceries before you head into the park. There is a store in the park $$$. We loved our visit there during spring break, it was a wet year and the cactus were in full bloom. There are 4WD roads including one that is about 80 miles across the park along the Rio Grande. There is plenty of hiking and lots of sightseeing in the park. There are people who do spend months in the park if that is your thing. Try it out, see what it is like and then make a decision for next year.

Not on RVillage, spending way too much time on the computer already. We're in Arizona and New Mexico in early October. Mid-October we'll be in Corpus Christi and headed south to our winter retreat. Maybe next year.

I can't figure how to get dates, a schedule of when you will be at each of these locations. We'll be on the Phoenix to Albuquerque stretch, then we're headed down I-10 to San Antonio and I-37 to Corpus Christi (I think that overlaps with your travels). But I can't get time information to see if we'll be there or anywhere near where you will be. Time, it's the fourth dimension. Ships passing in the night and such...

This will be a short note to let all know where we are located and what conditions are in Riverton, WY. On Saturday we set out from Fort Morgan, CO for Idaho. We spent Saturday night at Little America, a fuel and food stop on I-80 in SW Wyoming. Sunday morning I checked weather conditions along the line of totality and found the forecast for Riverton, WY to be about the same as Boise or Pocatello, Idaho. Since Riverton was closer to Colorado where we would return, we decided to head for Riverton, WY. This morning I am up because the internet here was not accessible. As I explained to a fellow camper, the local system was probably designed to handle 1000 connections and now it is getting hit with 10,000 connections. Nothing works when the system is overloaded. Anyway, back to Sunday morning. As we left I-80 in Green River, Louise called a campground in Riverton. They had a cancellation and we got a full hookup site. We arrived about 2:30 p.m. and were welcomed to our eclipse home. There are several astronomers in camp. One couple we've met is from Belgium. Our rate for two nights stay was well over double the rate posted on the office board. The fee includes a pair of eclipse glasses, a mini moon pie (label says since 1917 how appropriate, 100 years old this year), tickets for a root beer float here in camp and also a Sunday night dinner. So we get more than just a site. The forecast here calls for clear skies but there will be patchy smoke from the fires in Oregon. I saw some of that last evening. Boise has clear skies - sunshine, no mention of smoke. Pocatello has patchy smoke. Casper, WY which was also on our option list has patchy smoke. Our other option for viewing was to stay in Colorado at Fort Morgan and then drive to Scottsbluff, NE. There the skies are forecast to be sunny. When we made the decision to leave Colorado on Saturday the forecast called for storms in Scottsbluff. We should see the eclipse, perhaps not under the best skies but it will be visible here. There are a whole set of activities going on in the city park and the town is positively humming with activity. There is even an eclipse shuttle. They were well prepared for the crowds, everyone here seems to be well informed. The casino in town has lots of dry campers and they have a program for those saying with them. There is a county-wide newspaper with a schedule of all the activities going on and information about viewing the eclipse including times for a number of locations within the county. It's going to be a memorable day.

Does the 2017 have a speed limit. Our 2012 has a 65 MPH towing speed limit. That was one bug I missed before we purchased. The Trailblazer we had before had no speed limit while towed. Having to stay below a certain speed is a constant irritation when driving in hills and on mountain roads. Truckers hate me going down long slopes at 65!

It is now three days until the eclipse. In fact as I write this, in 72 hours it will be over. You either get to see it or you don't. The partial eclipse will be visible in all 50 United States and Canada. All of Mexico and Greenland will see the eclipse as a partial eclipse. Even the countries in Central America and the northern half of South America will see a partial eclipse. Western Africa, Spain, Great Britain and Iceland will see a partial eclipse. Even eastern Russia will see a partial eclipse. The only people who will see a total eclipse of the Sun are in that narrow ribbon that stretches across the US from Oregon through Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, a teeny tiny corner of Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, a tiny corner of Georgia, the western tip of North Carolina, and South Carolina. For the rest of the world it is a partial eclipse or no eclipse at all. As the eclipse begins, everyone will see a partial eclipse as the Moon takes the first tiny bite out of the Sun. It will take about an hour for the Moon to move to a position where it can cover the entire Sun. That will be the total eclipse, the Moon completely hiding the Sun. People on the west coast of the US will see that happen at about 11:17 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time. Twenty minutes later, people in western Wyoming will see this happen at about 11:37 a.m. Mountain Daylight Time. Twenty three minutes later totality occurs at about 1:00 p.m. Central Daylight Time as the shadow of the Moon sweeps past Grand Island in central Nebraska. Twenty minutes after that, the shadow sweeps over western Kentucky at 1:20 p.m. Central Daylight Time. Twenty seven minutes later the shadow sweeps off the Atlantic coast of South Carolina at 2:47 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Just ninety minutes from from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean. After the total eclipse exits the east coast of the US, there will be another hour or so of partial eclipse as the Moon slowly uncovers the Sun. The pattern for those in the ribbon of totality is eclipse starts - partial eclipse - total eclipse - partial eclipse - eclipse ends. The whole process will take about two hours, depending on where you are it can be a little shorter or a little longer. How long will totality last? Just two minutes for those on the west coast of Oregon. By the time the shadow reaches Wyoming the Moon will cover the Moon for almost two minutes and 30 seconds. On the coast of South Carolina the Moon will cover the Sun for two minutes and 34 seconds. In western Kentucky totality will last just over 2 minutes and 41 seconds. Do you have your eclipse glasses? Are they safe? There are certifications on your glasses. Mine don't have the ones publicized on the Weather Channel but they were recommended by NASA so they are good. Don't know? There are other alternatives. A #14 welding glass will work for viewing the Sun. If you can see anything through your glasses, they are not good solar glasses. You can use your solar glasses to view the Sun right now. Simply go outside, put the glasses on and look up at the Sun. What will you see? You should see a slightly bluish disk that is the Sun. You may be expecting something really big but it won't be giant in size. We think of the Sun as being very large and it is, 109 times the diameter of Earth. Think of a necklace. Now imagine a necklace with beads made of Earth size beads. There would be 109 Earths on that necklace and it would stretch not around the Sun but straight through the center. If the Sun was a fishbowl one million three hundred thousand Earth's could fit into that fishbowl. When you use your eclipse glasses you will be looking at a disk that appears to be about as large as our Moon. In fact it will appear exactly as large as our Moon which is why our Moon can just cover up the Sun. If you don't have solar glasses you can still watch the eclipse using a small mirror like a compact mirror. A mirror two or three inches in diameter works just fine. The mirror can be square or rectangular and will work very well, just as good as a circular mirror. Hold the mirror in direct sunlight and reflect the sunlight onto the side of a building or an RV. A white or light colored vehicle or building will work best. If you stand close to the building the image will be bright but small. If you stand further back, the image will be larger but not as bright. The geometry of t, his is that the light should be shining on the mirror and the reflection should be falling on the shaded side of a building or RV. At a distance of 100 feet you should have an image about 4 feet in diameter. If you get tired of holding the mirror, tape it to a tripod, a fence post or other support. Don't look into the mirror, that is just like looking directly at the Sun. Using this technique, you may even be able to see sunspots if there are large ones on the Sun's visible light surface. The method everyone knows is to use a pinhole to project an image of the Sun. In the example above, the mirror is doing the same thing as a pinhole but on a larger scale. Big pinhole, big image. A big pinhole will yield a blurry image. The mirror method will yield a slightly blurry image but this is not noticeable when viewed from twenty feet away. With a true pinhole viewer, you will get a tiny image of the Sun. You can make it longer by making the box you are using longer. The typical diagram shows something like a shoebox. The image will be about 1/8 inch in diameter. Lengthen this to a longer cardboard box and you get a larger image. A sheet of white paper where the image falls will make the image appear brighter. If you can find a refrigerator box, you can carry this to an extreme. Cut a small hole in the box so people can insert their head into the box. This will keep the box dark. Put paper on the opposite end from the pinhole where the image will fall. Cut a one inch hole where the pinhole will go. Cover that hole with a piece of aluminum foil. Use a pin to puncture the aluminum foil to get a nice pinhole. If the box is really dark inside, you will have a nice size image that be seen. If not bright enough, make the hole slightly larger using a pencil point or other similar size object. The pinhole is toward the Sun. Turn the box so that the light coming through the pinhole falls on the paper at the other end of the box. Turn the box so the paper is completely shaded from direct sunlight. There should be a small dot on the white paper. That is an image of the Sun. A natural variation of the pinhole projector occurs when sunlight filters through the leaves of a tree. Look in the shadow of a tree and you may notice that the spots of sunlight coming through the tree take on a crescent shape as the eclipse proceeds. These are images of the Sun. Sometimes with trees you will see hundreds of images, some overlapping. This works best where the shade is falling on a flat smooth surface like a sidewalk, a parking lot or a porch or deck surface. The third method is much less desirable in my judgment but it does offer a guarantee of seeing the total eclipse no matter where you live. If you are unable to see the total eclipse in person, this represents the next best thing. You will be able to watch the eclipse and hear it described for you in some cases. The Weather Channel will cover the eclipse from beginning to end from a variety of places along the line of totality. Local TV stations are likely places to get live coverage of the eclipse. The internet will no doubt have many images and perhaps some live coverage as well. You can also look at images of total eclipses by searching the internet. You can see pictures from long ago and from many locations on the Earth. There will be no comparison to the excitement and the drama of standing in the Moon’s shadow and watching the actual eclipse. It would be like going to the library and looking at a book of birds and then claiming that you had a “Big Year.” Setting a record for the number of birds seen in a year. Shoot, why not go for a “Big Day” and see all the birds in the world in one day? I have no doubt that given the resources of the internet, it could be done. This is why I’ve encouraged those who can to get to the path of the total eclipse. It will never get easier or less expensive than when it comes to us here in the US. Now, for those who are going to see the total eclipse some special instructions. These apply only to those who are within the ribbon of totality described above. Once the Moon completely covers the Sun you can remove your glasses and look directly at the dark "hole in the sky." My first impression of my first total eclipse was that someone had pulled a cork out of the sky leaving a deep dark hole where the Sun used to be, an intense dark spot where the Sun used to be. Around it will be the corona of the Sun. The corona is the outer atmosphere of the Sun. It is safe to view the corona without viewing glasses or other eye protection. The corona may be a uniform circular veil around the eclipsed Sun, fading with distance until it is no longer visible. Depending on solar activity, sunspots and solar prominences the corona may be quite irregular with spikes and gaps. I’ve already described in a previous post the planets Venus to the west of the Sun and Jupiter to the east of the Sun which will be visible during totality. For those with a partial eclipse you can look for these planets by blocking out the sun near its maximum and looking to the west and east of the Sun for Venus and Jupiter. Those viewing the total eclipse will get the bonus of seeing a number of other bright stars in the sky. Orion’s bright stars, Rigel and Betelgeuse, Sirius, the dog star and Pollux and Castor in Gemini may all be visible to the west of the Sun. East of the Sun you may see Spica in the constellation Virgo, Antares in the constellation Scorpius, Vega in Lyra will all be to the east of the Sun. Here are a few of the things you may notice during the eclipse. In the beginning, the changes will be slight and if you are far from the center line of the eclipse you may not notice much at all. As the eclipse deepens, the nature of the light will change, shadows will become less sharp, the bright light fades and the shadow seems less dark. The temperature will drop, birds will sing like they do in the morning and evening before going to roost. Some birds will go to roost in areas where the eclipse is near total or total. The wind speed may drop and possibly become calm. The reverse will happen as totality ends and the Sun returns to the sky. As the totality begins and again at the end you may see Baileys Beads as sunlight dances through the valleys between mountains on the Moon. The first direct glimmer of sunlight as the Moon covers or uncovers the Sun is called the diamond ring. It will be a fleeting moment, it signals that you must look away and put your glasses back on. Take a breath and reflect on two of the most amazing minutes of your life. You have stood in the shadow of the Moon and seen the Sun like few other people have. To ancient people it had various meanings, often described as fear and dread. It was frequently thought of as an evil omen. Ancient people feared the Sun might never return. Now, we understand what is happening. We can enjoy the eclipse as a unique and rare natural occurrence. Such are the benefits of the age of enlightenment.

There are no ordinary camera filters that will protect your camera or your eyes. Neutral density filters do not reduce the UV or Infrared radiation from the Sun. Use only filters that are specifically solar filters for photographing or viewing the partial phases of the eclipse. For the total phase of the eclipse which will last a little more than 2 minutes, depending on where you are to view the eclipse, no filters are necessary for your eyes or your camera. If any tiny bit of the sun is directly visible, eye and camera damage can occur. Leading up to the total phase of the eclipse and following the total phase the sun will be partially eclipsed. Keep your solar eclipse glasses on when looking at the partial phases. The same with your camera. The total eclipse is a spectacular event, nothing else compares. A partial eclipse is a poor substitute. If at all possible, get into the narrow strip of totality to see the real thing. Check my, blog for more details and to see where we plan to view the show. I have given a number of links in my first and following posts. Some of the links deal with exact maps of the path of totality. Others have information on proper viewing, safe filters and how to photograph the eclipse. Good luck to all.

Thanks Bill, great tips to add to my info. I'll have to put the drive to Telluride on my to do list... Had a nice Zin with dinner tonight. Going exploring in the mountains above Fort Collins tomorrow. We'll be off chasing the eclipse over the weekend. Tom

Yes Carl, I've been to Nanaimo. I've even had Nanaimo bars. In fact we have friends at Sandpipers who make their own Nanaimo bars for us once in a while. Love them. We had lunch at the Dingy Dock Pub in Nanaimo! Highly recommend for the food and the experience. We never boondocked on Vancouver Island but on mainland BC we did overnight on some vacant parking areas. Got one hostile attitude at the mining museum north of Vancouver. We parked Sunday evening planning to visit on Monday morning. We went in to buy tickets and tour the museum and got greeted with basically, "Get that thing out of here." She did tell us where we could park nearby and we did. She told us we should park in an RV park. I told her there was nothing nearby that would accommodate our rig. After that experience we didn't encounter any resistance to parking on empty ground as just an overnight. We've done it periodically throughout Canada, never more than an overnight. Even found Walmart stores in Newfoundland that allowed overnight parking! All that said, I can't make a specific campground recommendation. It was 2006 on our way to Alaska when we were last camping there. I did check and AllStays Camp and RV has dozens of RV parks on Vancouver Island. A little bit of exploring the possibilities should help you find more reasonable accommodations. We have friends on Vancouver Island. They moved onto private land and work as house and dog sitters when the landowner is away. You might find a kind of workkamper arrangement. I know you can't work for pay in Canada but perhaps you could exchange some clean-up, gardening, landscaping or other work around the campground to help reduce your camping fees. From the AllStays Camp and RV web site I found the Stamp River Provincial Park. It looks to be a very nice Provincial Park on Vancouver Island. It has vehicle accessible sites for $18 and a senior rate in the off season (before June 14) for $9. Some of the sites can be reserved, others can not be reserved. Just one example. AllStays also has many inexpensive city parks and free parking places not necessarily on Vancouver Island but in many other areas.

I've had paint jobs done at a variety of locations while we were full time. I've never had what I would call a bad job. Paint matching seems to be a given these days and the quality I've received have been very good. I just had a number of the storage doors that had been chipped or scratched repainted. The coach looks much better.

Yesterday Louise and I played golf. As we started the back nine, I noticed the last quarter Moon high in the western sky. You can see the Moon in the morning sky before sunrise. It will be visible in the morning sky and even in the afternoon for the next few days. As it creeps closer to the Sun, it will be more difficult to find, a smaller crescent in the brightest part of the sky, near the Sun. On Thursday morning the waning crescent Moon will be above and to the right of a bright object in the pre-dawn sky, the planet Venus. Look again on Friday morning and you will be able to gauge how far the Moon travels in it's orbit in one day. The Moon will still be above and right of Venus but much closer on Friday Morning. By Saturday morning, the Moon will be almost directly below Venus. You would have to look very closely on Sunday morning to find the thin waning crescent Moon. Not only will the Moon be just over 1 day's travel in it's orbit from the Sun, you would only be able to see it in the light of dawn if you had a near perfect eastern horizon. Any hills, buildings or trees will block your view. On Monday, eclipse day, if you are in that narrow ribbon where the total eclipse will be seen, you should be able to find Venus to the west of the Sun. Even those seeing a near total eclipse (partial eclipse) may be able to find Venus as the maximum eclipse occurs at their location. If you know where to look, the planet Venus is visible in full daylight if it is far enough from the Sun in the sky. If you can find the Moon during the day on Thursday you may be able to use it as a guide to viewing Venus during full daylight. There will be another planet easily visible during the total eclipse. That planet is the largest of the planets in our solar system, Jupiter. Jupiter is visible in the evening just above the horizon in the western sky. So Jupiter is east of the Sun. During the Eclipse you should see Jupiter east of the eclipsed Sun. Those with a deep partial eclipse may also notice Jupiter to the east of the Sun, not far away. If you are looking for the planets during a partial eclipse. Take off you eclipse glasses, block the sun with your hand, a piece of paper or another object. Be sure to keep the Sun covered as you search the sky near the Sun for Venus and Jupiter. Never look directly at the Sun without eclipse glasses. We are camped on the high plains in Eastern Colorado. Our weather has featured fairly frequent afternoon and evening storms. This has been pretty consistent since we arrived on August 1. Areas where we plan to go had thunderstorms early this morning. The forecast for now seems to be improving for those areas (Casper, WY or Scottsbluff, NE). As eclipse day approaches I'll be watching the weather, on my smart phone and tablet as well as on the weather channels (WEA - The Weather Channel and WN - Weather Now). For the moment, we are planning on a car trip from our current location but if we have to travel further for clear skies we may leave the campground on Saturday or Sunday. Given two days we could roam from western Oregon to eastern Missouri. That is what I want, maximum mobility and the clearest skies I can find. I wish clear skies and good viewing to all.

If you head west on I-90 you can literally do a drive through of Badlands National Monument. The main road parallels I-90 and there are numerous places where you can pull out to get out and stretch, view the scenery and then continue on your way. Stop by Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Monument near Custer, SD. The monument is under construction and there is a nice Native American history museum on the grounds and a restaurant as well. While in the area you may want to drive through Custer State Park. Most of the roads in the park are motor home friendly and you may find yourself driving through herds of Bison. From there you can drop south on smaller highways toward Scottsbluff, NE where you can pick up a little of the Oregon Trail and Mormon Trail history and early prairie history as well. Drive south from there on smaller highways and you'll come to I-80. From there, the easiest way to Utah will be on I-80 across Wyoming. Coming into Salt Lake City on I-80 you will have an extended curving descent to the valley floor. Use your engine brake and stay within recommended truck speed limits. Then go south out of Salt Lake City to I-15 and then I-70. That will take you right to Zion National Park. Camp nearby, don't try to take the motor home into the park. From there you can visit the north rim of the Grand Canyon. We stayed at a Forest Service Campground at Jacob Lake. No hookups but nice large sites, come with full water empty waste and plan to run the generator. This is the less visited rim of the canyon. Tourist activity on the south rim is a summertime mob scene. I wouldn't discourage you from a visit to the south rim but it is very busy. Bryce Canyon from there would be a good choice. There is a road from Zion to Bryce, Hwy 9, goes through a curving tunnel with an arched roof. Large vehicles have to travel the center line to get through so they require reservations, there is a fee and you are escorted through at a scheduled time. From Bryce we enjoyed the drive toward Capital Reef National Park. Continuing on east will take you to the area around Moab, UT and Canyonlands National Park, Arches National Park and a host of others. You can access I-70 from there but you will experience some serious mountain driving on your way east into Denver. It certainly isn't impossible but will require all your attention, stay with recommended truck speeds even when the trucks are passing you. I would recommend a visit to Mesa Verde National Park in SW Colorado. There are spectacular cliff dwellings here, some require a bit of walking and in a few cases, climbing ladders to get into and out of them. Tours are ranger escorted in most cases. We stayed in a park that is right across the highway from the entrance. Not far from there is the Four Corners monument, a small fee, marker at the junction of Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. There are many Native American vendors there including some artists with quite nice carvings and other work. We came away with some interesting works purchased directly from the artist. Just east of Mesa Verde is Durango, CO, the home of the Durango to Silverton Railroad. From there you can make your way through Colorado with some mountain driving or continue on east on US 160 to I-25 at Walsenburg which involves little driving that could be described as mountain driving. One alternate would be to stop by Great Sand Dunes National Park and then continue on north coming into Denver on the SW side of town. That route has some mountain driving but the pass really isn't that high. I-25 through Denver is very busy and a real challenge at rush hour. Take the bypass on the west side to I-25 on the north side of town. Another alternate of taking I-25 north into Wyoming and returning that way would be to turn east at Pueblo, CO and take US 50 into Kansas and across southern Kansas, visit Dodge City, Wichita on your way to I-35 north. I haven't recommended much in the way of campgrounds. We use RV Park Reviews on the computer and the AllStays Camp and RV app on smart phone/tablet to find the kind of parks that we like. Summer travel can be a challenge near the National Parks and the more popular they are, the busier the nearby campgrounds. Weekends tend to be busiest so we always try to find a park near where we want to be with an arrival on Thursday and stay through Saturday or Sunday night. Traveling to and from, you will have less difficulty if you aren't near a popular recreation area. Given that you are traveling with two large coaches you may want to make reservations in advance to get the sites that you want.

Always glad to see another face on the forum. Welcome, and don't hesitate to join in, the more the merrier.

Monaco customer service phone number is 877-466-6226. Call, ask for the parts department. Be ready to give them your coach number. Your coach number is the last six digits of the coach serial number. That is not the VIN. Look on the label on the wall behind the driver's seat. Find the serial number and write down the last six digits. That is the key. They can look up all the specifics of your coach and if parts are available they can supply them. If parts are not available, the salvage yards are a good choice. The price will be better, condition may be good or OK. There are many salvage yards located throughout the country and they do ship materials. The link above is an exhaustive list of salvage yards. Bookmark it for future reference. It is an invaluable resource for those of us who are maintaining older coaches.