Change of plans....we're not going to the lake. I have a place on the creek. My mom wants to see it (never seen eclipse before) and my girlfriend's dad wants to see it, so I'm loading up the truck and the SxS, took the day off, and headed to the sticks, down on the creek-which sits in a pretty significant valley. Beautiful place. We're planning on a lil picnic and such, if cloudy, we're just gonna go out there and watch it get dark and observe the critters acting stupid. Then head on over to the restaurant alongside the river for a good lunch. Make a day of it. Mom's never been out there. My brother might even go but I ain't got room for 5 in my truck, so he'll have to drive his own.
I was at the lake last week (plan A), and asking the attendant how many people are camping out for the event. She said it has been sold out for at least 2 years, and they're expecting a TON of boaters. Since I have little use for crowds on them parts, we resorted to "plan B" which "should" be a LOT less crowded. We just have to watch out for the bears, snakes, and mountain lions. No plan "C" as I'm about 99% certain we won't see a single other human out where we are going. Private land (GF owns it), hard to get to, need SxS or horse to get where we are going. SxS only gets us close, we have to walk the rest of it but it's absolutely STUNNING down there this time of year.
I know it's not a big deal really (the eclipse itself) BUT it's more than that. Watch the things that happen. Wildlife go kind of crazy, the little eclipses on the ground under the trees, etc. There is just some weird, unexplained things that happen. Wind blows too as the hills cool at different rates. It's just weird, but you have to pay attention to that stuff to notice it.