251 replies to this topic

[chvvkumar]

Anyone else going to Texas? I will be North of Uvalde and planning to stay there from the 6th through 9th to beat traffic. I have to be in Dallas by 9th evening for a flight. I hope the traffic dies down by next day.

[112aug]

My wife and I will be driving down to camp near Hondo, Texas, which is roughly an hour north east of Uvalde. We are hoping to get in early to beat the traffic and head out late as well.

 

Hoping for clear skies and good traffic!

[chvvkumar]

My wife and I will be driving down to camp near Hondo, Texas, which is roughly an hour north east of Uvalde. We are hoping to get in early to beat the traffic and head out late as well.

 

Hoping for clear skies and good traffic!

I'll be North West of you in Leakey - about 60 miles away.

[RNSpeed]

Traveling with my wife and kids to Texas on April 2nd, staying in San Antonio but planning to see the eclipse from Ingram. 

 

Regards

 

Ray

[jesse 3]

I will travel to Texas. Will Waco be crowded? People from Dallas and Austin can go to nearby places.

[sbsbbugsy]

Heading to Concan Texas from the 5th to the 9th.

[kfiscus]

When the eclipse is over, I think the travel stories we hear from those in Texas will be more interesting than the eclipse was.  There will be stories of heroes and stories of horror.  Good luck to those MILLIONS.

[Bigred77]

When the eclipse is over, I think the travel stories we hear from those in Texas will be more interesting than the eclipse was. There will be stories of heroes and stories of horror. Good luck to those MILLIONS.

It's definitely going to be interesting

[Bigred77]

I will travel to Texas. Will Waco be crowded? People from Dallas and Austin can go to nearby places.

I think it's pretty much all gunna be crowded everywhere along the path

[Bigred77]

I heard something interesting yesterday in an online meeting with a bunch of central Texas officials.
The Texas Parks & Wildlife department opened up the 55 tent camping spots in the park at Enchanted Rock in late November.
(Enchanted Rock is very near the center of the path)
They offered the reservations for these 55 campsites by phone reservations only, due to some limitations of their websites.
As of the end of December, the parks and wildlife department call center had fielded over 98,000 phone calls asking about those spots.

Was very indicative of how many people are still planning on heading to Texas yet don't have finalized plans yet.


They open up the april 8th day parking reservations in the park on March 11th, again phone reservations only.

[sbsbbugsy]

Bell County has an Emergency Declaration for the eclipse. Mainly it deals with private landowners that are hosting more than 50 people.

[sbsbbugsy]

About 250 miles of Interstate 35 will be along the path of totality. That makes it prime territory for travelers.

 

Expect shortages of food and fuel during the days just before and after the eclipse, since millions more people will be heading to Texas than is normal for that time of year, with many of them heading to rural areas that already have limited supplies.

 

If you are still looking for camping areas, HIPCAMP is useful.

 

Travel Texas web site linking to useful information.

[stargazer1]

We're staying with friends in Pipe Creek. They're in the path of totality, but we're planning to get up stupid early and move closer to the centerline. 

[bonjorno]

I'm flying in from Oregon to Oklahoma City Apr 6 and heading out to McAlester, OK where I reserved a room for 3 nights at reasonable rates. I plan on getting up early on the 8th and drive down to Clarksville, Tx area and set up my photo gear there. Not sure what to expect but my plans look good on paper.

 

Also going to check out a couple of wildlife refuges for bird photography hoping to get shots of birds I haven't seen before.

[OK Apricot]

Flying to Austin from blighty 4th April, that is if Virgin can get me there after all of the chopping and changing of flights that have occurred between themselves and Delta! Picking up an SUV hire car and then driving 3hrs west to San Angelo where I have a 3 night booking.

Ideally I will find a spot "roadside" as in not private land to watch the event from. A few spots look good on Google earth but we all know that means almost nothing. I have a few days to scope out somewhere appropriate then once I've found one, I will aim to get there 7am the morning of.

I said I will drive 24hrs to NE states if need been but the closer the time gets, the less likely I feel that I actually will. We will see. Before and/or after the eclipse, I'd like to bag some severe convective weather, and some proper darkness from Big Bend. I leave 10th April so will float from Motel to Motel as needs be.

[71North]

Flying from North Cape, Norway to Dallas April 5. Staying in Dallas and the plan is to use a rental car heading for Sulphur Springs well before sunrise monday morning(if weather/clouds are challenging we might head south instead).

 

If anyone sees obvious flaws to this plan I would much appreciate any input, harsh or kind :-)

[bunyon]

Flying from North Cape, Norway to Dallas April 5. Staying in Dallas and the plan is to use a rental car heading for Sulphur Springs well before sunrise monday morning(if weather/clouds are challenging we might head south instead).

 

If anyone sees obvious flaws to this plan I would much appreciate any input, harsh or kind :-)

 

I think the plan to get to centerline sounds fine assuming  you have rooms booked. The key to peace of mind will be not having any particular hurry after the eclipse. Put water and food in the car and fill the tank every opportunity. 

[jrussell]

For those planning on traveling to places like Uvalde, Concan, etc. keep in mind that once you start getting west of I-35 and south of a line running roughly NW from San Antonio through Kerrville and out to Junction you start getting into remote areas with a lot of ranch and farm land but not much in the way of towns. So the advice to make sure you have food and water with you, and to gas up when you get the chance would be wise to follow, especially if your plan is to "find a country road somewhere to pull over". A lot of people that aren't from Texas or other Southwestern/Western states really underestimate just how far it can be from point A to point B (even in more populated areas like Dallas/Ft. Worth). Also keep in mind if you plan on using your phone's map (or other) apps that in some areas cell service may be weak, spotty, or non-existent.

 

That's not to make it sound like you're going to be traveling through Death Valley in the middle of summer, it's just as I said, a lot of people really underestimate how far distances between two points here can be, and that's without the added influx of people that's expected.

[Cajundaddy]

We have chosen 4 possible viewing sites based on probability of clear skies and will get to our chosen site very early AM.  After the eclipse we break out the grills and have a proper Texas BBQ to bask in the glory,  hang out, and swap stores while everyone else is heading for the exits.

Edited by Cajundaddy, 29 February 2024 - 11:03 AM.

[jrussell]

Just remember for authentic Texas BBQ the flavor is in the meat, not the sauce.

[Cajundaddy]

Just remember for authentic Texas BBQ the flavor is in the meat, not the sauce.

Confirmed.  Meaty smoky goodness without all of that sweet stuff they use in St Louis or North Carolina.  My daddy was from Amarillo TX and taught me well.

[chvvkumar]

For those planning on traveling to places like Uvalde, Concan, etc. keep in mind that once you start getting west of I-35 and south of a line running roughly NW from San Antonio through Kerrville and out to Junction you start getting into remote areas with a lot of ranch and farm land but not much in the way of towns. So the advice to make sure you have food and water with you, and to gas up when you get the chance would be wise to follow, especially if your plan is to "find a country road somewhere to pull over". A lot of people that aren't from Texas or other Southwestern/Western states really underestimate just how far it can be from point A to point B (even in more populated areas like Dallas/Ft. Worth). Also keep in mind if you plan on using your phone's map (or other) apps that in some areas cell service may be weak, spotty, or non-existent.

 

That's not to make it sound like you're going to be traveling through Death Valley in the middle of summer, it's just as I said, a lot of people really underestimate how far distances between two points here can be, and that's without the added influx of people that's expected.

Having traveled through DV in the summer, no kidding. Always keep your gas tank half empty at most. That way you can go back to the last gas station you filled up at. And carry a 24 pack of water bottles in addition to the water you have for emergency. Remember, you can live a few weeks without food but only three days without water.

[sbsbbugsy]

If you plan to go to a remote area or down a dirt road, let someone know where you will be and your planned return time. That way, they can call the authorities if you are missing and at least have an idea where to start looking.

 

If you have an RV (like me) stock it well with food and fresh water. I can easily last a month with what I plan to bring.

 

Bring an emergency radio with a built-in flashlight and a dynamo crank handle. Some of these can also charge smartphones.

 

WATER! WATER! WATER! Bring more than you think you should. You may find someone in need and it would really suck if you did not have enough to help them.

[AstroSSM]

My wife and I are flying down on the 6th through the 9th into/from Houston. We got lucky in finding one of the few remaining cheap flights and booked a hotel about an hour outside path of totality. We haven't decided if we will be going into Waco or somewhere else, but in that general area most likely. Curious to see who all ends up in the same area

[Messierthanwhat]

I'm being unusually optimistic (for me), but I attended a presentation on the eclipse a few weeks ago, wherein the presenter told us that 31% of the U.S. population resides in the path of totality, almost twice the figure for any TSE in history. And he guessed the figure for Texas may be as much as twice that. Except for Houston and El Paso, every city in Texas of 500,000 or more is wholly or partially within the path. With that much of the state population having no need to travel for the experience, I'm holding onto some hope that roads away from the major cities won't be as congested as some seem to fear. Fingers crossed, anyway.