Here's what's probably the best of what I managed to take. Nothing special by astro-photographic standards, but I'm glad to have had the chance to try.
What this picture barely hints at... the little bit of pink over on the right... is something I hadn't expected to see, and was therefore gobsmacked by. There were several spots of a very bright and clear red color, showing at the "3-o'clock" position. A solar prominence (or more than one) peeking past the moon, glowing brightly in the "hydrogen alpha" emission line. Looked like a tiny ruby embedded in a glowing platinum ring.
(Image is probably too big for your browser window - the direct URL is
http://www.radagast.org/~dplatt/eclipse/P1470741_v2.jpg if you want to see the whole thing easily,
The trip was exhausting, and worked out beautifully well. I changed plans several times, in response to what I'd heard of conditions in Oregon. Reportedly, traffic at Prineville had been "crazy" mid-week and there had been gasoline shortages (both apparently due to a huge rock concert being put on in the hills south of town over the week and weekend).
I ended up completely blowing off my plans to stay "night before" and "night after" in Klamath Falls. I got up at 0345 on Sunday, drive north to Mount Shasta City for breakfast, drove to Klamath Falls, canceled my first motel stay night reservation, and continued to Bend... got there before 11, gassed up, and took back roads to Prineville. Traffic wasn't bad at all that morning, fortunately. Once I got there I knew I was inside the track of totality, and I could relax... "I'm not going to miss it."
I pushed on about 50 miles to Mitchell, the little semi-ghost former logging town very close to the center of the track. There were a bunch of Forest Service roads off into the woods where I figured I could car-camp (a lot of people did just that), and ranchers in the area were offering space in their hay fields (often at prices of $50 - $500 per vehicle depending on location and whether they had portapotties or showers set up). I could have parked by the roadside; not technically legal, but a state trooper I spoke with said they weren't being strict about it as long as people were being safe.
As I was headed back to check out forest camping, I spotted a hand-lettered sign pointing up a loop road saying "Parking" and "Car wash $5". I checked it out, and found a family with a small field, a few tent campers set up, and their kids washing a car. I asked about parking and car-camping for the night, and the lady said "We've been asking $25 for all-day parking - how about I charge you that same amount to park tonight?" I said "Sold!", parked in a quiet corner of the field, set up my mat and sleeping bag in the back of the car, and then had the kids wash the car (they did a great job and I paid them double what they asked).
Walked into town, walked uphill, had a light lunch at a food truck run by the owners of a vacation-rental property, and went back into the center of town. Checked out a local antique-and-rummage store, was looking over stuff, and heard someone say my name. I turned around, and saw a guy from the Bay area I worked with for about ten years, a while ago. He was camping out (with a few other ex-co-workers of ours) on some BLM land a few miles out of town! Small, small world indeed!
Went back to the property, sat in my car and read for a while, and then the father in the family came home (he drives a truck for the Oregon Department of Transportation) and came over to say hello. He offered me the use of their pool for a swim, told me I was welcome to pick apricots from their tree, and invited me up to the house for a beer (I rarely drink but this was the sort of friendly offer I couldn't turn down). We, and the rest of the family had a fine chat for an hour or two, and then walked into town to listen to music at a couple of the local cafes which had bands or were running an open-mike session.
He strongly suggested I avoid the Painted Hills State Park area (right on center-line) which I'd thought to use as a viewing venue... "There were already 400 cars up there this morning, packed in the fields 20-deep, with only 2 rest-rooms. It's going to be worse tomorrow. Go east, towards John Day... when you get to mile 80, turn right on Forest Road 12 and go about half a mile, and you'll see a little paved turn-out we made for the road haulers."
So, Monday morning at 5 AM, that's just what I did... and it was perfect. One other car there, about four others arrived during the morning, no crowds, quiet, open, peaceful, and near-perfect weather and viewing conditions. A bit of haze and cirrus in the east, some smoke clouds in the west which never came near us (but which I suspect may have impacted the viewing in Madras further west).
A deputy sheriff stopped by, and said "I think you're the folks with the smart idea!" He also warned that there were probably at least 4,000 vehicles which would be trying to leave Painted Hills via Mitchell to Prineville (via the one two-lane road), and that some of the 70,000 attendees of the big rock concert might also try to go out that way... and that the incoming crowds for the concert had completely shut down traffic through Prineville for a full day! On the spot I decided to change plans again, and entirely avoid Mitchell, Prineville, Bend, and Klamath Falls on my way out. No sense getting stuck for a day.
Totality was... well, words just don't cut it, just as pictures can't convey the impact. Majestic, beautiful, bringer-of-tears-to-the-eyes... wow. Saw Bailey's Beads through my filter glass as the sun disappeared, saw the pink jewels of hydrogen, saw the corona like a crown and beard, saw Venus shining brightly, saw the Beads reappear a few seconds after my warning timer went off.
Packed up and left within a few minutes of the end of totality, trying to get at least a bit of a jump on the crowds. Drove 50 miles east to John Day (hit traffic in the towns), then south on 395 through the national forest to Burns, then on south to Lakeview where I was finally able to get cellphone service. It was well beyond the permitted time to cancel my second night's reservation in Klamath Falls, but i tried anyhow... and succeeded! Apparently the Motel 6 chain changed their policy for the event, knowing full well that they could sell any available space at a premium price.
Lakeview motels were either full or very expensive, so I kept driving. About 20 miles later I stumbled on a sign for the Goose Creek Oregon State Park, with camping available for RVs and tents... and (wonder of wonders) a VACANCY sign! I checked it out, found plenty of empty spaces, and paid for one ($22, with electricity and water hookups I didn't need, and hot showers!). The place filled up completely within the next hour... and I found the next day that I'd probably have had to drive another 2 hours to find a motel room available.
Got up at 0400 this morning, drove almost 8 hours through California and arrived home, exhausted but very very happy. I stopped for lunch at a cafe in Red Bluff, where the waitress mentioned that most of the customers that morning had been Californians returning from Oregon. I could tell... people coming back from seeing the eclipse had a Look about them... you could tell by a glance who had been there.
All in all, it feels like everything conspired to let me be in the right places, at the right times, several times over. I have no idea which deities I owe gratitude-gifts to, so (as Number Ten Ox said) I'll probably have to go into debt buying offerings for the entire pantheon... but it was worth it.