I just got home from the most grueling — albeit worthwhile—trip of my life. A longtime buddy and former roommate of mine, Micheal, had been trying to get me to go on a trip for a while. Both of us being nerds, when we found out about the Great American Eclipse, we were all in, no hesitations. We planned a moderate route, gave ourselves a flex day, and on August 17, we set off.


Thursday Aug 17

We were off to a late start, but all in all things were going well. We stopped and pitched our hammocks for a bit of rest at a church in a small town in the Texas panhandle for about an hour, before it started drizzling and the nearby train became too much to bear.


Friday Aug 18

We stopped well before either of us was totally exhausted, so we took up our hammocks, and made another ~70 miles to a truck stop, where we got about 5 hours of sleep—fortunately enough for both of us—and once again we hit the road.

We made it to Denver with ease. Micheal needed to go by the bank because he had gotten locked out of his account for out of area purchases, but that was quick and easy to solve. With a fresh card in hand, we found the nearest dispensary with good reviews and headed that way. When in Rome, eh?

Goodies in hand, we headed to the hotel room I had booked during our parade of downtown Denver, and we had a jolly ‘ol time. We were in high spirits; it was my birthday, things were going smoothly, and we were mostly back on track regarding time, Colorado is beautiful, we had bought and were enjoying legal weed, and had a ton of delivery food. After the fun, we slept. No surprises there.

What was a surprise was the fire alarm going off at 2AM. We got up, grabbed our bags (we’re the backpack type by the way, and thank goodness for it…), and went downstairs. We passed some frustrated fireman, who informed us that someone had just ran around pulling all of the handles. Dick move, but whatever. We used the time for a bit more self-medication, and once the alarms were off we went back to sleep.


Saturday Aug 19

We woke up, had a good laugh about the fire alarm, and set on our way. We made it just to the Colorado/Wyoming border, where we disposed with the rest of our goodies (aside: the state of marijuana law in this country is absurd) and got some lunch at a country store.

At some point, Micheal lost his brand new card but honestly I prefer to pay for things up front and settle up later anyway—Discover rewards are no joke—so it was no big deal.

We crossed into and through most of Wyoming feeling great. We had made it really far from our start in Dallas, making good time, and we had gotten to buy legal weed. Great times.

But, alas. 17 miles outside of Evanston, WY, the engine redlines at 60mph and smoke starts pouring out of the engine bay. I pulled over as quickly as possible, popped the hood, and peeked under. I saw it had a CVT, and my heart sank a bit as I saw what appeared to be transmission fluid covering the block, with a trail behind us as far as I could see.

Fuck.

Micheal, knowing precisely nothing about cars—but having had his checked by a mechanic prior to departure in his defense—deferred to me, and I made the decision to limp into town. It was mostly downhill, and I was able to coast in neutral, albeit very slowly, most of the way. There was an AutoZone conveniently placed next to the exit, so we pulled in and asked for advice.

They had little input aside from what I suspected, that the transmission was kaput in one way or another (by the way, it’s a CVT. These are absolute garbage in passenger cars in my opinion. I hated them before, and I hate them more after. Avoid at all costs.).

But, it’s Saturday. After 6PM. In a small town.

Expectedly, everything is closed, and will be closed until Monday.

The eclipse was on Monday…

Dilemmas. We had made it so far. But a partial eclipse is not a total eclipse, not even close. I hadn’t experienced it yet, so I didn’t know how true was, but I had read it enough to know that we were going to make it to totality. So how do we get there? We were still quite a distance from Boise, ID where were were aiming—Micheal had connections with a room there, although we were still going to have to travel farther to totality and didn’t have a car.

Regardless, we needed a place to stay, and we were starting to get exhausted. Remember, we are in Evanston, Wyoming, population 12k. There is no LTE. There is no 3G.

There is McDonald’s WiFi. We trek, we connect, Micheal sends out lifelines to his—quite impressive—circle, and I book another hotel.

We’re on foot again. We ran into a herd of deer walking down main street. Twice. I can not make this up. Apparently everyone except the alfalfa farmers like them around. That did perk us up a bit, I can’t lie.

For a minute. Because, we arrived at our hotel on the GPS, except in real life, it’s a field. An empty field.

Fuck. Again.

We walk to the closest visible hotel, an Econolodge, and ask the clerk if she knows where it is. “Right up the road, can’t miss it.” Perfect.

Well, right up the road was actually quite a bit up the road. I don’t think she realized we were on foot. And, this wasn’t our hotel. We had a Super 8, this was a Motel 6. Once again, can’t make this shit up.

We start walking back, aimlessly at this point. Micheal calls the hotel, and they’re actually like 3 miles away. It’s dark. That’s not happening. We walk into the closest motel, the Vagabond Inn, and get the dirtiest hotel I’ve ever been in my entire life.

Micheal gets a reply from an old friend in Nyssa, OR. A total 5 miles south of totality. He says we’re welcome. Fantastic.

But how do we get there…

Well, while we were walking, we had heard a train. That made me have a small epiphany of sorts, and I asked the hotel clerk—who didn’t give a fuck about anything by the way—if there was an Amtrak in town. “No, passenger train, but busses.”

Ah, the Greyhound. They deserve and will get their own post. I book rides to Ontario, OR, just north of Nyssa.

We pass out.


Sunday Aug 20

We wake up and start the walk back to the gas/bus station.

Our bus arrives, but wait, there is only one seat. We’ve got two tickets, but no seat. Greyhound doesn’t overbook, so someone was most likely riding past their destination.

After pleading with the driver, he agrees to let Micheal sit on the aisle into Salt Lake City, about 45 minutes away.

Uncomfortable as hell, we ride through was is truly marvelous scenery and get to Salt Lake, where we have our second major run in with Greyhound.

Apparently, our driver got schwasty and didn’t show up, or at least that was the first version we heard. The story changed a few times after that, but either way, we had no driver.

Fuck.

We were starting to cut it close.

We felt entirely defeated.

We wanted to go home.

After a lot of waiting, and considering alternatives like renting a car or flying out of Salt Lake, we finally got an answer. A driver was being flown in, and we’d make in to Ontario around midnight. Fortunately, our contact, Ian, was more than willing to pick us up in that time frame.

Once again in a state that enjoys personal liberty, we arrived at Ian’s home where we were greeted by a lovely farm and smokeables galore.

After making a new friend, and convincing him that totality was 100% worth making the trip north in the morning, we went to the back of the property and pitched our hammocks on the Snake River.

We. Made. It.

Train be damned, we slept.


Monday Aug 21, Eclipse Day

We woke up, and I met one of the loveliest families I’ve ever had the pleasure of befriending. Ian, his wife Kelsey, and their 2 year old son, Kiamana. Beautiful people with beautiful personalities.

We had breakfast, toked, and headed north.

We parked, and sat in a grassy field in Ontario.

I should mention, this entire time, eclipse glasses had evaded Micheal and I. They were the last piece of the puzzle.

Our new friends had 3 pairs, and ever so graciously, we split 2 into monocles for the adults, and a pair for Mana.

We gazed at the sun, and it had just begun. Through the monocle, you could see the slightest indent of the moon into the sun. Over the next 45 minutes or so, it covered more, until totality.

I can’t explain totality. From the moment it begins with the beautiful diamond ring, to the crescendo after it ends as the light and warmth gradually increase as the sun’s light makes its return.

This also deserves it’s own post, but for now:

If you didn’t see totality, you didn’t see the eclipse. 99% is not totality.

It was all worth it. We were still essentially stranded, but it was the most profound thing I’ve ever seen.


Post-Mortem

We spent the next day with our new friends, having a good time, eating good food, helping them pick and sort tomatoes—literally—and fishing on the river. I booked another Greyhound back to Evanston, and they dropped us off at the bus station before heading to market, where we walked to a convenience store, got some snacks, and pitched up for the afternoon.

Later, we made our way to the bus station, and made some more friends. However, a mob nearly formed when it appeared our bus was cancelled, until one showed up a full 2 hours later.

We arrived in Evanston the next morning, walked to the car, and arranged a tow to a local mechanic. He confirmed the worst, and the transmission is kaput.

We walked to the first hotel we had stopped in, and got a room. Micheal weighed options, and I arranged a bus ticket home.

The next morning, I boarded the bus, and Micheal got word that Ian had graciously extended an offer to stay there and work, and Micheal took him up on it.

I just finished the 2 day Greyhound runaround back to Dallas—it’s Friday—, and he should arrive back in Oregon shortly.

I wish the best of luck to you, buddy ❤

Note: This was totally mutual, we’re in contact, and I’m acting as his lifeline right now. I didn’t strand my friend, and the moment he needs a ride home, I’ll get him home.

)

Casey Webb

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