We've already had a few discussions about this one.
I still feel really awful that my parents got cold feet with the cloud forecast and chose not to fly to us in TX. My dad is such a big astronomy and science fanatic. They went to TN in 2017 and were able to see totality, but he didn't have his current camera and didn't bring his binoculars. So, he didn't get to see all of the details I was able to witness this week. I tried to FaceTime them, but I couldn't get a signal during totality. My parents are in their 70s and my dad is hoping to be around in 2045 because they'll experience totality at their current home. Ideally, I'd love to drive to Port St. Lucie and experience 6m 7s, but if they're still with us and still living in the same general area... they'll have 4m 23s at home...the same amount of totality I experienced on Monday.
If we're not lucky enough to still have them with us and I'm still around, I'm going to take my dad's advice and head someplace more arid. The decision will be whether I want max totality for those parts of the country or amazing surroundings. Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Aspen, Vail or Crested Butte would be great mountain spots to witness this, but the mountains in August can do all kinds of crazy things to the clouds. Moving farther west to a place like Grand Junction would be better and still picturesque but in a different way. If I want to head into Utah and shave off some of our totality time, watching from Arches National Park. The annual Perseid Meteor shower will peak the night of 9/12/2045 and camping in Arches during this event is a bucket list item even though I've been in the park during the day. So, this is an idea as well... of course, it'll be my luck that we'll be impacted by monsoon conditions.
