Thumbs down: Oregon officials cast shadow on eclipse trips

Oregon officials are warning that accommodations and viewing equipment are already in short supply. As New York Times columnist Frank Bruni noted on Thursday, rooms at sub-mediocre motels in Wyoming are suddenly listed for more than $1,200 a night. Why? The motels have, what he called, an “exalted latitude.” They happen to be in the 70-mile-wide swath of America that will be able to see the full solar eclipse on Monday.

It’s an appealing phenomenon. But those who don’t already have a place to stay and a plan in place but are planning to go anyways, are probably deserving of a thumbs down. “This is the biggest transportation event that has ever hit Oregon,” said Dave Thompson, a spokesman for the Oregon Department of Transportation. In other words, as bad as you think the traffic will be in getting to central Oregon, it will be far worse.

At this point, a better alternative may be to stay in Santa Rosa, which will be treated to a roughly 80 percent eclipse, and plan for the next solar eclipse in the United States - in 2024.