Welcome to Eclipse Day!
As Oregon prepares for the first landfall of the 2017 total solar eclipse, we'll bring you live updates from across the state both in and outside the path of totality.
We have reporters, photographers and videographers stationed in Depoe Bay, Salem, near Mount Hood, Madras and outside Prineville. We also have a cadre of reporters, editors, photographers and videographers working in Portland to bring you the most up-to-date updates throughout the weekend and into early next week as eclipse chasers return home.
--Eder Campuzano | 503.221.4344
@edercampuzano
ecampuzano@oregonian.com
Mark Graves | The Oregonian/OregonLive
Mark Graves of The Oregonian/OregonLive got this shot of the 2017 solar eclipse in Salem, Oregon during totality.
-- Mark Graves
8:55 p.m.: Sundown just south of Salem
As I leave Salem I see another gift from our sun just south of Salem. The sun just keeps on giving!
8:50 p.m.: 'It was just amazing. That's all.'
5:13 p.m.: Possibly the most-epic photo of the eclipse in Oregon
-- Olivia Dimmer
5:00 p.m: Idaho man pops the question during solar eclipse
Idahoans Scott Busch and Kendra Kisling got engaged during the total solar eclipse while viewing the celestial event near the Deschutes River in Redmond. A crowd of about 100 cheered on the newly-engaged couple.
-- Molly Harbarger
4:31 p.m.: Bank robber hits Madras during eclipse crowds
A man robbed a U.S. Bank in Madras hours after the eclipse, when hundreds of tourists were still in town, say Madras police. Local police, county sheriff's deputies and FBI agents are working to find the culprit.
4:04 p.m.: Eclipse chasers in Madras cheer as the sun is obscured (video)
It's a sight that never gets old, does it? Check out this video from GeekWire of people in Madras cheering on the total solar eclipse.
3:22 p.m.: Post-eclipse traffic hits Oregon airports, too
Hundreds of aircraft are waiting to take off from Madras Municipal Airport as the local skies are crowded after the conclusion of Monday's eclipse. Airports in Bend and Redmond were less crowded, according to Oregon Department of Aviation officials.
KGW catches totality over Salem ... from a news copter
Watch: Portlanders react to the total solar eclipse
We watched the solar eclipse in Portland with the hundreds gathered at Tom McCall Waterfront Park as the moon blocked 99 percent of the big, burning ball of gas we call the sun.
2:39 p.m.: Strange things happen in Oregon on normal days
But on Eclipse Day, the weirdness shifts into overdrive. Animals behaved oddly, folks wept and partial sun cast obtuse shadows on the ground.
2:30 p.m.: The drive from Salem to Portland is still over two hours
ODOT begged eclipse chasers not to leave their morning watch-spots en masse. Few listened.
2:28 p.m.: Turn around ...
Every now and then you need a bunch of really good tweets. And all of these are tied back to this morning's total solar eclipse.
2:20 p.m.: It's not just I-5 that's backed up with traffic ...
Hundreds of planes are aching to take off in Madras. Eight small airports across the state are within the path of totality, yet this is the only one that's had any sort of trouble, the state Department of Aviation said.
2:07 p.m.: How do you know if you damaged your eyesight during the eclipse?
Optometry experts told The Oregonian/OregonLive's Janet Eastman that dim sight, after-images and eye pain are all symptoms of damage. Sometimes, noticeable changes won't come up for days.
1:35 p.m.: At Timothy Lake, eclipse chasers unanimously say, "Worth it"
Travel reporter Jamie Hale joined a group gathered just south of Mount Hood as the moon completely blocked out the light of the sun Monday morning.
Check out his dispatch, where he describes the eerie silence from pets as totality approached and the hoots and hollers that broke through the air as the moon moved on.
1:21 p.m.: Alaska Airlines flew a plane into the path of totality
Jessica Greif of The Oregonian/OregonLive was aboard Flight 9671 as it carried a load of passengers over a bank of clouds on the Pacific Ocean to become the very first witnesses to the 2017 Great American Eclipse.
Watch the video above and read passengers' reactions in her dispatch here.
Beth Nakamura
1:09 p.m.: Eclipse brings Symbiosis Gathering attendees to tears
People whooped, wept and hollered as the moon completely blocked out the sun near Prineville.
Read this dispatch from Fedor Zarkhin, complete with photos by Beth Nakamura.
1:07 p.m.: The International Space Station crosses the sun during the eclipse
1:03 p.m.: The Salem-Keizer Volcanoes experience an eclipse delay
The ball used for the first pitch in Salem Monday will soon be on its way to the Baseball Hall of Fame. It is, a historical marker: The first time a solar eclipse caused a delay for a professional ball game.
The Oregonian/OregonLive's Grant Butler was in Volcanoes Stadium Monday for the big shows. Read his dispatch here.
12:32 p.m.: Somebody on the Portland subreddit remembers what happens when you go plant shopping during eclipses ...
Even if you've seen "Little Shop of Horrors," you'd be forgiven for forgetting the origins of the ravenous Audrey II. That's right — it was during a total solar eclipse that the musical's main antagonist got its start. So double-check anything you may have picked up at the florist's.
Photo by Kevin Curry/Linfield College
12:26 p.m.: Linfield College's Pioneer Hall in totality
McMinnville was right on the path of totality. And the home of the Wildcats got a front-row view of the show.
12:24 p.m.: The Portland Timbers took a break from practice to watch the show
Photo by Mark Graves/Staff
12:10 p.m.: Did you miss the eclipse? Don't worry -- there's another one coming
In 2024, Dallas, Texas, Indianapolis, Indiana and Niagara Falls will get 100 percent totality.
12:06 p.m.: The White House watches the eclipse
CNN caught President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania in Washington, D.C. watching the sky at peak eclipse at the nation's capital.
"This, I believe, brings back a sense of science," a CNN commentator said, speaking of the celestial event that could be seen in some part throughout the majority of the country.
12:03 p.m.: Another view from South Carolina, this time in Charleston
11:56 a.m.: Totality in Central Oregon
Presented without further comment.
11:55 a.m.: What does 99 percent look like? Lemme tell ya
Portland only experienced 99 percent obscurity Monday morning. And although it was noticeably colder and darker outside, it wasn't too different than any other early summer day along the Willamette.
It's tough to describe, but the closest would be twilight at an evening football game.
You know when the sun is practically set beyond the horizon and the stadium lights go on? That's what it looked like on the Portland waterfront, but composed completely of natural light.
11:50 a.m.: NPR calls it -- the show's over, folks
11:46 a.m.: Sky watchers in Prineville feel the chill
The first, unexpected for many, side effect of the eclipse in Culver was the chill. Dusk covered Mt. Jefferson to the west as the shadow raced towards the Culver High football field.
When the moon covered the sun completely, a shout went up.
"I'm speechless," Manav Ogle, 5, of Portland said, as the sky darkened.
For a little over two minutes, people cheered and took pictures.
"It was probably the most amazing thing I've ever seen in my entire life," Oliver Garzon, 9, of Tacoma, said moments after the moon slipped off the sun.
"It was awesome -- just incredible," Oliver's grandpa, Steve Gorton, 70 of Olympia, said. "I now understand why people chase eclipses."
His wife, Laurie Huevermann, 63, choked up as she spoke.
"It's hard to find words," she said. "My mother used to say, 'Take a picture with your mind.'"
Even astronomical interpreter Tim Merrill, who had narrated the experience, was moved. It was his first totality and before the event he was excited but said he thought he would be able to remain composed.
"It was exciting," he said, pausing. "I don't know man, give me a second."
He thought for a moment. "Something big was happening," he said finally.
--Lizzy Acker/Staff
11:45 a.m.: Watch this eclipse timelapse from Nashville
11:44 a.m.: A view from Nashville
In Nashville, Tennessee, clouds sporadically covered the celestial show. Here's what one Instagram user captured despite the cloud cover — it's still pretty visible through the mist.
Here are a few iconic shots from Salem, Oregon
10:43 a.m.: Oregon Coast reacts to totality
As the sun winked out over Boiler Bay on the Oregon coast, right in the center of the path of totality and ground zero for the eclipse's path across the country, Josh Adams sat cross legged on a picnic table meditating.
Moments earlier, a false dusk descended on the coast, the light fading from gray to mauve to an almost purple before a temporary night fell for just under two minutes.
As the last light faded away, a cheer rose from the dozens of people gathered on the lawn. The fog blocked any view of the corona, but that didn't damper the spirits of those who came from near and far to see totality. The faint odor of marijuana wafted and a champagne cork popped in the distance.
As the light slowly returned, Adams, 26 of Dallas, Texas, sat in a blissful state.
"It was a mystical experience," he said. "It makes you feel small, but at the same time part of something larger. It was celestial magic."
Don Winters, of Kent, Washington, had a similarly spiritual experience.
"That was absolutely awesome," he said. "I was expecting a lot and it was way more than I expected.
"It makes you feel the power of the world. The power of the universe. It reinforces that none of this is an accident, that there's a hand guiding everything in the universe," he said.
--Kale Williams
10:38 a.m.: Jamie Hale reports from Timothy Lake
"It was downright eerie and amazing. I felt kind of a, excitement, an ecstatic reverence."
--Dan Currin, Portland
"It looked like an ember burning out. I just get excited, it was really thrilling."
--Julie Bartlett, Gig Harbor
"I just think it was the most beautiful thing I've experienced in nature."
--Anne C. Mitchell, Berkeley
"Yeah, just really breathtaking. That moment was worth all the anticipation."
--Sage Staggs, Berkeley
Did you miss the eclipse?
Did you miss seeing the eclipse? Or maybe you regret not making the trek into the path of totality. We've got you covered.
Where and when you can see another total solar eclipse in the U.S., for the next 100 years
A Twitter List by KjGabrielson
Follow along with Oregonian/OregonLive reporters
9:56 a.m.: Despite warnings, drivers park along highways
9:46 a.m.: The view looks promising at the Coast
"Unless a big fog bank moves in at the last second, we should be OK," Don Winters said as he peered skyward at a sun half covered by the moon.
The eclipse had started about 30 minutes before and the clouds, which had blanketed the coast all morning, had cleared just enough to see the moon creeping across the face of the sun at Boiler Bay.
Winters, a retired law enforcement officer from Kent, Washington, stayed Sunday night up the coast in Seaside, but headed south around 4 a.m. Monday morning. As he waited for the event to start, dozens of other eclipse chasers streamed out of the parking lot in search of cloudless skies.
He considered it, but halfway through the eclipse, he was glad he stayed.
"The fog is actually helping a little bit," he said. "And I scouted this location days ago. This is where I want to be."
--Kale Williams
9:40 a.m.: The eclipse is well underway
9:27 a.m.: The scene from Portland's Tom McCall Waterfront Park
A crowd of hundreds gathered at Tom McCall Waterfront Park in Portland to view the eclipse.
Youth groups sat on the grass and joked around as kids played music on their cell phones in the moments before the eclipse. A classical radio station blared soothing tunes from a vintage Chevrolet parked just north of the Hawthorne Bridge.
People biked through the park and stood at the railing waiting for totality.
The Rose Festival sold eclipse glasses for $1, drawing a crowd as vendors, dressed as clowns, sold the eyewear at a brisk pace.
Ramon Sanchez was one relieved customer.
Sanchez said he drove to 20 stores throughout the metro area Sunday night but couldn't find any glasses left.
He drove up from Southern Oregon and camped in his car. "I probably wasted more gas trying to find them [glasses] than I did driving up from Glendale," he said.
--Andrew Theen
9 a.m.: Oregon Coast visitors hoping clouds burn off
People at the Oregon Coast are crossing their fingers and toes, hoping the cloud cover burns off before totality on Monday morning. It's starting to look more promising near Depoe Bay, where The Oregonian/OregonLive's Dave Killen is perched on a roof with photo equipment.
8:43 a.m.: Coastal eclipse chaser abandons shore
Eric Lee drove from Sacramento to the Oregon coast on Sunday and spent the night in the parking lot at Boiler Bay just north of Depoe Bay.
He chose the coast because he wanted to watch the moon's shadow race across the ocean. But around 8 a.m., with the coast socked in, he was heading inland in search of clear skies.
"It's the astronomical event of my lifetime," he said. "The locals tell me it usually burns off by 8, but it's not worth the gamble."
Lee, a 56-year-old geographer, said he saw a partial eclipse as a youngster in 1969, but this would be his first glimpse of totality.
"I don't know what to expect," he said. That's why I'm here."
--Kale Williams/Staff
(Photo by Lizzy Acker/Staff)
Eder Campuzano | The Oregonian/OregonLive
8:34 a.m.: Trix for breakfast? It happened for these kids from California
Lizzy Acker has this dispatch from Central Oregon:
By 7 a.m., a family from Menlo Park, California was set up on a blanket on the side of the road leading into Culver.
TJ and Diego Branneria and their parents, Patrick Brannelly and Amanda Renteria, stayed a night in Vacaville and a night in La Pine. They even managed to see Crater Lake on their way north.
They spent Sunday night in Redmond and left at 5 a.m. to beat traffic to Culver.
As far as traffic, Diego, 7, said: "It was never burning hot red once."
He was referring, of course, to Google Maps.
The boys ate Trix. Not their usual breakfast, they told me, but a treat for the special occasion.
"We figured this might be a good way to solidly science," Renteria said.
She said they had driven into Madras yesterday and then come back through Culver.
"The reason why they chose it," Diego interjected, "is because there's not a lot a lot of people and it's hidden on the map."
As we spoke, a man pulled up in a white pickup truck and asked them to move off the field.
The family obliged -- they thought this was a possibility. So they moved their things to the shoulder behind their car, facing south for a quick exit, and settled in for the eclipse.
Photo by Kale Williams/Staff
7:55 a.m.: Mother and son wait for clouds to lift in Boiler Bay
Shelly Irvine and Leo Goldhirsch, mother and son, sat bundled in blankets at Boiler Bay, just north of Depoe Bay, hours ahead of totality as thick fog swirled around them. They'd arrived just before 6 a.m.
This would be Irvine's second eclipse, having come to Oregon in 1979 to witness the last total solar eclipse. With one under her belt, she said the experience was profound enough that she felt compelled to share it with her children.
"It's an experience you only know if you go through it," she said.
Irvine remembered the 1979 event clearly, even though much from that time of her life has faded from memory. She remembered the crickets chirping for the brief moments of darkness and birds that usually only sing at night coming to life.
She remembered an eerie feeling that she could only describe as "indescribable."
For his part, Goldhirsch was looking forward to spending the moment of totality with his mom.
"It's really cool," he said. "My mom got to see it with her dad and now I get to see it with her.
"It's a generational thing."
But as they sat at a picnic table with camera tripods trained skyward, there wasn't much to see but clouds.
Irvine said she'd been checking weather reports for days and was confident the skies would clear in time.
"Our fingers are crossed," she said.
--Kale Williams/Staff
7:50 a.m.: No glasses? No problem -- pinhole projectors and other eclipse projects
Eclipse glasses are a hot commodity.
The Oregon State Capitol is handing out 1,000 starting at 9 a.m. on a first come, first served basis.
But for those of you outside of Salem, there are ways to watch the celestial event. In many cases, all you need is a cereal box, a safety pin or tack and some tape. Here are ways to watch the eclipse safely without glasses.
7:45 a.m.: Coastal residents are preparing for the big show
With about an hour and a half before the show begins up and down the coast, residents and reporters alike are tweeting and Instagramming from beaches and cities on the shoreline.
We'll add reactions to the total solar eclipse as the moment approaches.
7:05 a.m.: The Salem-Keizer Volcanoes prep for an eclipse delay
The Oregonian/OregonLive's Grant Butler is stationed in Salem, where the local minor league baseball team is hosting what it touts as the first professional ball game with an eclipse delay.
Here's his dispatch:
The gates to the parking lot of Volcanoes Stadium opened at 5 a.m., and Volcanoes season ticket holder Sue Coffin of Sublimity said there was a long lineup of cars to get in.
“There have been some fun events at the stadium, but this is the most-unusual,” she said. “And having NASA here is wonderful.”
While Coffin was getting ready to enjoy the game from her regular first-base seats, the people she supervises had to go to work. Coffin is a manager for Salem’s Cherriots bus system, where normal service was scheduled on Monday.
“My poor staff had to show up at 6 a.m.,” Coffin said.
Volcanoes Stadium sits right off of Interstate 5, offering a perfect vantage point for in-bound Salem traffic. At 6 a.m., there was a heavy flow of cars coming into the area, with traffic moving between 30 and 40 miles per hour. An hour later traffic was lighter and flowing more freely.
The Volcanoes game will be the first professional baseball game delayed by solar eclipse, and the ball that will be used for the first pitch will be sent to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
And fans might be the only people in Oregon guaranteed to get glasses
7 a.m.: National media hones in on the path of totality
National media outlets have caught on to the fact that there’s a solar eclipse happening today.
The New York Times is aggregating photos from Instagram all along the path of totality. There are a few shots from Salem and Bend toward the top of the feed — Pacific Northwest is best, after all — and others from the Great Plains to the East Coast.
Over at The Washington Post, a couple of videos tell readers how to best view the eclipse even if they're not on the path of totality and the dangers of looking at the sun without proper eye protection.
And the Wall Street Journal has its own live blog going, full of vignettes from across the country posted by reports touring eclipse towns.
Latest weather forecasts, state and regional
We've been keeping tabs on weather conditions, namely cloud cover and obscuration for 19 Oregon cities. Central and eastern Oregon are almost assured a prime viewing experience, as is much of the Willamette Valley.
You can see more detailed forecasts in our regional blogs:
Oregon coast, from Astoria to Coos Bay
Portland, Salem and the valleys, including the Yamhill and Rogue
Central Oregon from Prineville to Bend and Madras
Eastern Oregon from Baker City to Steens Mountain
Latest traffic reports, travel times
Today's the big day.
We're tracking traffic impacts as an estimated 1 million people travel into the path of totality, a 60-mile-wide band though the middle of Oregon, to view Monday's total solar eclipse. Most have found their way to their destination.
Now, state officials are wondering what will happen after the moon's two-and-a-half-hour transit across the sun wraps up. Officials have asked motorists to stay put and stagger their departures. But many plan to leave immediately after the eclipse, which could cause even worse traffic jams than those seen before the event.
-- The Oregonian/OregonLive
Oregon State Police warn of increasing southbound I5 traffic
Last parking spot in Salem goes to...
Traffic picks up as eclipse nears
High hopes for eclipse watchers at Symbiosis Gathering
For some at the Symbiosis Gathering in Central Oregon, Monday's eclipse will offer the chance of self-transformation.
Ashley Lombardo, of Los Angeles, plans to use the eclipse to help propel her into a better future, she said. She's at a crossroads in life, she said, and The collective energy from others observing the eclipse will inspire her to change her life for the better.
Sung Je Lee, of Austin, Tex., hopes the event and some meditation will help him shift his focus to others.
"It's an illness that we're separated from one another," Lee said. "We're all from the same material.
-- Fedor Zarkhin
Eerie quiet fills Oregon campground in path of totality
Oregonian staff writer Jamie Hale filed this report from the quiet campground at Timothy Lake:
One pair of camp hosts told me that the visitors were actually more quiet than usual for this time of year, something that shocked even them. By Saturday evening, as the weekend campers took off, eclipse watchers finally began to arrive.
Andre and Nadine Heinze, from Starkenberg, Germany, pulled their rented RV into camp on Saturday evening, with their 18-month-old twins, Greta and Gustav. The couple saw the total solar eclipse that crossed Germany in 1999 - coincidentally, the same eclipse as this year's, according to the Saros cycle - and have spent the last three years planning their trip to the U.S. to see another.
Andre is an amateur astronomer, he said, and couldn't miss the opportunity to experience totality again.
"When we saw the last eclipse, we were in nature, birds getting quiet, everything is ... it's getting dark - it's hard to describe," he said.
-- Jamie Hale
Eclipse watchers in Salem spent night in parks, cars
With hotel rooms sold out months in advance, many visitors to Salem for today’s solar eclipse looked for places to sleep overnight, either in their cars or under the stars.
While many businesses and churches cordoned off parking lots or posted security guards to prevent overnight camping, people were allowed to park cars, trucks and campers in Winco and Kmart parking lots in south Salem.
Salem opened up its city parks for overnight use in recent days, and many people turned to them to rest and sleep on eclipse eve. In Bush’s Pasture Park, where only a few people had camped the previous night, there were hundreds of tents set up by late Sunday.
In the parking lots by the park’s McCulloch Stadium, people slept in the back seats of cars, using towels and blankets to cover windows to blot out the glow of nearby street lights.
Providing a sense of safety, Salem Police cars patrolled the lot throughout the night.
--Grant Butler
Eclipse fever strikes Oregon universities
Willamette will host what it says is the largest gathering of solar scientists in the path of the 2017 eclipse. Hundreds of researchers are expected, and the school has several days of events planned. Stephen Thorsett, president of Willamette University in Salem, says he has no idea how many people will be on campus. Crowds could number from 400 or 500 to "maybe a few thousand."
Willamette isn't the only university in the path of totality. Oregon State and Western Oregon universities are also gearing up for eclipse crowds. The schools are using the opportunity to bring in experts on solar events and to introduce visitors to the campuses. OSU hired a temporary staffer to coordinate the activities.
-- Andrew Theen
First, some links to a small selection of previous coverage:
Everything you need to know about the 2017 solar eclipse in Oregon
What will the 2017 solar eclipse look like? 19 cities ranked by visibility
17 places to watch the solar eclipse around Oregon
8 things you need to do to prepare for the total solar eclipse
Solar eclipse frequently asked questions: Do I need special glasses? Will my dog be safe?
10 eclipse tips from Oregon agencies during their Reddit AMA
Solar eclipse glossary: 21 terms to make you sound like an expert
16 things to have in your car for a solar eclipse road trip
8 things you need to do to prepare for the total solar eclipse
Where to buy marijuana in the path of totality
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