4A • May 5, 2017 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com
Views from the Rock
OUTSIDE THE PATH OF TOTALITY
O
n the morning of Aug. 21, parts
of Oregon will witness a total
eclipse of the sun, the fi rst since
Feb. 26, 1979. While Cannon
Beach residents are close to the
70-mile wide “path of totality,” we’re still
slightly outside its veil. So if you absolutely,
positively want to see a total solar eclipse,
start planning now.
Cannon Beach Chamber of Commerce
Executive Director says purists will fi nd
it “really tough” to get down to Newport,
Depoe Bay or Lincoln City the day of the
eclipse.
To get down there and have any chance of
seeing it, visitors going to need to leave at 2
or 3 a.m. in the morning, before people even
wake up, he said. “Even then, it will proba-
bly be cloudy and have morning fog.”
During a total solar eclipse, the sun, the
moon and the earth align in such a way that
the moon completely blocks out the sun,
briefl y turning daytime into twilight for
nearly two minutes.
Touching down just north of Depoe Bay
at 10:15 a.m., the moon’s shadow will race
east at 2,955 mph passing through cities in
the Willamette Valley, Central Oregon and
eastern Oregon in just nine minutes. It then
traverses the country 1 hour, 33 minutes and
16.8 seconds later. The eclipse will spend
2 minutes and 40 seconds in St. Claire,
Missouri. Portland, Tennessee, will receive 2
minutes and 37 seconds of totality. McLel-
lanville, South Carolina, will be the last U.S.
city to see the eclipse, at 2:49 p.m. EDT.
Dark sky
How far will sky-watchers go for totality?
In Newport, the Hallmark Resort, Trav-
elodge and Inn at Nye Beach are all sold out,
however Trip Advisor shows rooms from
$499 a night at the Best Western Agate Inn
and $599 and $699 a night respectively at the
Holiday Inn Express and La Quinta Inn.
Expedia lists three rooms left at $800 a
night in Lincoln City, and 60 vacation rentals
are no longer available between Aug. 19 and
Aug. 21. Rooms in Salem, McMinnville,
Newberg and other locations along the “to-
tality path” are also completely booked.
According to Jay Anderson and Jennifer
West of eclipsophile.com, a site “dedicated
to the global traveler who appreciates and
seeks out the spectacles that nature offers to
afi cionados of the day and night sky,” the
Willamette Valley offers a very good chance
of sunshine on eclipse day and an even better
forecast for sunshine in the Deschutes River
Valley in the vicinity of Madras.
All 28 hotels and motels in the Madras
vicinity listed on Expedia were booked by
mid-April.
An extra 1,018 state park campsites made
available by the state’s parks and recreation
department offer South Jetty at South Beach,
Fogarty Creek, Driftwood Beach and Gov-
ernor Patterson Memorial, all in the path of
totality. They were available online at 8 a.m.,
April 19 and reserved one hour later.
Cannon Beach is defi nitely a second
choice for those seeking this astronomical
wonder— outside of the veil of totality,
problematic weather-wise and subject to long
travel delays.
Our latitude is 45 degrees 89 minutes
north; Lincoln City, within the path, is chart-
ed at 44 degrees 96 minutes north. Close, but
no cigar.
Getting from here to there, close as it may
be, could be a diffi cult feat. Motorists are
discouraged.
“Transportation planners predict unprec-
edented traffi c and crowds during the eclipse
weekend, and we are planning accordingly,”
Oregon Parks and Recreation Department
Chris Havel said in an April statement. “We
ask that campers plan to stay off the roads on
the morning of Aug. 21 and respect any fi re
restrictions.”
There’s the added diffi culty of weather.
“The coast-hugging regions of Oregon are
not especially favored for eclipse watching,”
Anderson and West advise.
Meteorologist Michael Zeiler advises
eclipse-watchers to avoid the Oregon coast
and its summer marine layer “unless the
short-term weather forecast confi dently
predicts the absence of morning fog or cloud
cover.”
The outlook through June tells that there
is a one-third chance of “above-normal,”
“one-third chance of normal” and “one-third
chance of below-normal” precipitation in
our region. The National Weather Service
says there is a “50 percent chance” of El
Nino developing in the July, August and
September timeline, which could add to the
change of precipitation later in the summer.
The weather on the North Coast on Feb.
26, 1979, the date of the last total eclipse?
Rain.
CANNON SHOTS
R.J. MARX
Once in a lifetime
The Cannon Beach Chamber of Com-
merce and Visitor Center have received
only sporadic eclipse inquiries, Carrier said.
“I had one call this last week,” he said
in mid-April. “A lady had made reservation
for a family reunion, she wanted to bring
them down and have a chance to see the
eclipse.
“I don’t think she really realized we’re
2½ hours or so away in being able to get
down there — and that’s in normal traffi c,”
Carrier said. “The three days that’s going
on, I’m expecting there’s going to be insane
traffi c.
Carrier said visitors should avoid major
roads to Depoe Bay or Lincoln Beach. “You
go around a little bit and catch it from the
back side,” he said.
For Cannon Beach, the impact will prob-
ably be “minimal,” Carrier said. “If people
are doing their homework, they understand
and realize they have to be in the 20-mile to-
tality area for them to be able to get that per-
fect view. Though there will be bits of view
from other locations, I don’t think people are
coming for that.
Why does it matter?
“The total solar eclipse is a once-in-a-
lifetime occurrence,” Carrier said. “Some
people feel insanely passionate about it and
they want to get a peek of it.”
Is anything planned in Cannon Beach?
Souvenir glasses, parade, group gatherings,
howling at the moon?
“No we don’t plan anything then,” Car-
rier said. “I do believe it will be quite the
spectacle and a lot of folks will enjoy it,”
Carrier said.
Between high costs, chance of clouds,
high crowds, you might just want to shelter
in place and satisfy yourself with 90 percent
totality.
And there’s always the next total solar
eclipse — July 2, 2019. You’ll have to go to
South America for that one.
How to view
the 2017 solar
eclipse safely
On Monday, Aug. 21, a solar
eclipse will be visible (weather
permitting) across all of North
America. During its travels, anyone
within a roughly 70-mile-wide
path from Oregon to South Car-
olina will experience a brief total
eclipse, when the moon complete-
ly blocks the sun’s bright face for
up to 2 minutes 40 seconds.
Looking directly at the sun is
unsafe except during the brief total
phase of a solar eclipse (“totality”),
when the moon entirely blocks the
sun’s bright face, which will hap-
pen only within the narrow path of
totality.
The only safe way to look directly at
the uneclipsed or partially eclipsed
sun is through special-purpose solar
fi lters, such as “eclipse glasses” or
hand-held solar viewers. Homemade
fi lters or ordinary sunglasses, even
very dark ones, are not safe for look-
ing at the sun. To date, four manu-
facturers have certifi ed their eclipse
glasses and handheld solar viewers
meet international standards.
Do not look at the uneclipsed
or partially eclipsed sun through
an unfi ltered camera, telescope,
binoculars or other optical device.
Similarly, do not look at the sun
through a camera, a telescope, bin-
oculars or any other optical device
while using your eclipse glasses
or hand-held solar viewer — the
concentrated solar rays will dam-
age the fi lter and enter your eyes,
causing serious injury.
FILE PHOTO
For more information, visit www.
eclipse2017.nasa.gov.
Th e path of totality for the 2017 eclipse.
Opening a ‘new door’ to the future in Cannon Beach
D
oes anybody need a door? since we
recently installed our brand new door
at the library, our old door (which we
admittedly put to good use for many years)
is for sale at Found. According to Ann Marie
Radich of the shop, the door is available
for $750, and the proceeds will benefi t our
library. Found is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
but is closed on Tuesdays. Go check it out!
The shop is located in the Midtown area on
the east side of Hemlock.
For Spring Unveiling weekend through
May 7, we will be putting out our art and
music books for sale on a weeklong display
ending May 13. Come check out our sale
during regular library hours.
In other news, the Northwest Author
Series will be held at the library on Saturday,
May 13, at 2 p.m. This month our speak-
Publisher
David F. Pero
Editor
R.J. Marx
Sales/Advertising
Manager
Betty Smith
Production Manager
John D. Bruijn
Classifi ed Sales
Jamie Ramsdell
Advertising Sales
Holly Larkins
Brandy Stewart
AT THE LIBRARY
CARLA O’REILLY
er will be Mindy Hardwick. She will be
discussing her book “Kids in Orange: Voices
from a Juvenile Detention.” She will also be
introducing her soon-to-be-published book
“Sweetheart Wedding.” The book is the third
in her Cranberry Bay Series, which is set in
the fi ctional small town of Cranberry Bay,
located on the north Oregon Coast. Be sure
to arrive in a timely manner, as we often have
overfl ow attendees. By the way, Mindy is a
member of our library and facilitates poetry
workshops for teens. Her book “Stained
Staff writer
Brenna Visser
Contributing writers
Rebecca Herren
Katherine Lacaze
Eve Marx
Nancy McCarthy
CANNON BEACH GAZETTE
The Cannon Beach Gazette is published every other
week by EO Media Group.
1555 N. Roosevelt, Seaside, Oregon 97138
503-738-5561 • Fax 503-738-9285
www.cannonbeachgazette.com • email:
editor@cannonbeachgazette.com
Glass Summer” was a 2013 epic eBook
Award fi nalist.
Cannon Beach Reads, our monthly read-
ing discussion group, will be meeting on
Wednesday, May 17, at 7 p.m. This month the
group will be reading and discussing “The
River Why,” by David James Duncan, which
was published in 1983. The novel is a com-
ing-of-age comedy about love, nature, and
the quest for self-discovery. New members
are always welcome!
On Memorial Day Weekend, which is
May 27-29, the Cannon Beach Library will
be offering a rare, old, and poetry book sale
from 10-5 each day. Hundreds of pre-loved
books will be available to choose from. White
gloves will be on hand so visitors can safely
handle the rare books. Since this is one of our
fundraisers, all proceeds will go to help fund
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the library. The library will also be open as
usual for book checkouts and other services.
Book donations needed
The library is eagerly accepting donations
of previously-read books, to be sold at our
annual Fourth of July Book Sale. If your clos-
ets and bookcases are overfl owing with books
you and your family have already fi nished,
put them to good use and bring them to us as
soon as possible. Evaluating and pricing the
donations takes a lot of time, so the sooner
we have them in our possession, the less
work we will have as the Fourth draws closer.
Donation tax forms are also available at the
library desk, should you want to claim your
donations as tax deductions.
Come join us for our busy (and hopefully
sunny) month of May!
THE NATIONAL AWARD-WINNING