I know l will forget so this is a reminder... DON'T LOOK AT THE SUN TODAY! Meanwhile, a bunch of millennial hippies plan on doing just that... Millions of Americans sit in some of the 'worst traffic jams in history', flock to Burning Man-style festivals and fill camp grounds at 21 national parks ahead of once in a lifetime celestial event Twilight will fall at midday, stars will glimmer and birds will roost in an eerie stillness as millions of Americans and visitors witness the first total solar eclipse to traverse the United States from coast to coast in 99 years. Festival goer Alison Wu poses for a photo at the Oregon Eclipse Festival, which started August 17th and ends August 23rd The sight of the moon's shadow passing directly in front of the sun, blotting out all but the halo-like solar corona, may draw the largest live audience for a celestial event in human history. When those watching via broadcast and online media are factored into the mix, the spectacle will likely smash records. 'it will certainly be the most observed total eclipse in history,' astronomer Rick Fienberg of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) said last week. The total eclipse of the sun is considered one of the most spell-binding phenomena in nature but it rarely occurs over a wide swath of land, let alone one of the world's most heavily populated countries at the height of summer. The eclipse begins its cross-country trajectory over the Pacific Coast of Oregon in late morning. It will reach South Carolina's Atlantic shore some 90 minutes later. The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is warning drivers that the celestial event could cause some of the worst traffic jams in the state's history. Authorities are worried about the traffic impact that the eclipse will have on small towns that are not equipt to be flooded with people. Don Hamilton with ODOT said 'there may be a million people who descend on the state for the eclipse, especially in the 60-mile path of totality that spans the state from west to east,' KRON reported. +74 The aerial photo above shows the estimated 30,000 people who have created their own temporary community on the grounds where the festival is being held in Big Summit Festival attendees in Oregon are in one of the perfect spots in the United States to see the rare eclipse on Monday in totality +74 Festival attendees in Oregon are in one of the perfect spots in the United States to see the rare eclipse on Monday in totality The lunar shadow of the total solar eclipse on Monday will enter the United States near Lincoln City, Oregon at 9.05am (PST) and totality begins at 10.18am (PST). The eclipse will end in Charleston, South Carolina at 2.48pm (EST), and the lunar shadow leaves the country at 4.09pm (EST) +74 Festival goers dance at the Oregon Eclipse Festival at Big Summit Prairie ranch in Oregon's Ochoco National Forest on Sunday near the city of Mitchell ahead of the total solar eclipse on Monday +74 Millions of Americans converged on a narrow corridor stretching from Oregon to South Carolina to watch the moon blot out the midday sun Monday +74 Newlyweds Candice Archer (left) and Courtney Loechl (right) of Calgary, Canada dance at the Oregon Eclipse Festival +74 With 200 million people within a day's drive of the path of totality, towns and parks braced for monumental crowds +74 This will be the first eclipse of the social media era to pass through such a heavily populated area +74 Floridians Craig Wicks (left) and Rebecca Richardson sit on the roof of their vehicle during a drive-in movie at the Historic Columbia Speedway in Columbia, South Carolina, on Sunday +74 Eclipse mania!: Thousands have flocked to the Burning Man-style Oregon Eclipse Festival, in the state's Ochoco National Forest. Revelers of the international seven-day gathering are anticipating Monday's total solar eclipse +74 The Oregon Eclipse Festival at Big Summit Prairie ranch in the state's Ochoco National Forest near the city of Mitchell is currently underway as attendees anticipate Monday's big solar eclipse +74 The temporary city built from the dust in the path of eclipse totality is home for a week to about 30,000 people +74 Festival goers practice yoga at the Solar Temple at the Oregon Eclipse Festival. The Solar Temple, which was built for the festival from trees that had been hit by lightening, will be the venue for viewing the total solar eclipse on Monday +74 A festival goer holds a sign reading "I Love My Life" at the Oregon Eclipse Festival. Tickets for the event are sold out as thousands have flocked to Oregon to see the solar eclipse on Monday +74 Authorities are warning drivers that the Monday celestial event could cause some of the worst traffic jams in history. Pictured above is stand-still traffic in Oregon on Highway 26 +74 The traffic to enter Grand Teton National Park outside of Jackson, Wyoming is heavy as people are flocking to the best eclipse viewing areas around the country on Sunday +74 RV traffic sits at a standstill along a two-lane road near Madras, Oregon, as thousands flock...
Adding further to the excitement is the wide availability of affordable solar-safe sunglasses produced by the millions and selling so fast that suppliers were running out of stock. The owner of one leading manufacturer reported price gouging by second-hand dealers who were buying up large supplies in and reselling them over the internet at a huge mark-up. +74 Tattoo artist Chris "Lunch Box" Schirmer (right) gives a customer a tattoo of an eclipse at Sparxworx on August 20, 2017 in Casper, Wyoming +74 Sami Schirmer (left) helps a customer pick out an eclipse tattoo design at Sparxworx. Thouands of people have descended on Casper, Wyoming to see the solar eclipse in the path of totality as it passes over the state on August 21 +74 A visitor puts a pin on map to show where she is visiting from during the Wyoming Eclipse Festival on August 20, 2017 in Casper, Wyoming +74 Ashley Ann Sander hawks solar eclipse glasses on the side of the road for $10 to tourists approaching Clayton, Georgia, on Sunday, August 20, 2017. Clayton is in the path of totality in North Georgia +74 The total eclipse of the sun is considered one of the most spell-binding phenomena in nature but it rarely occurs over a wide swath of land, let alone one of the world's most heavily populated countries at the height of summer +74 A board advertises eclipse glasses for sale at a restaurant ahead of the total solar eclipse in Charleston, South Carolina, on August 20 +74 Some 200 million Americans reside within a day's drive of the totality zone, and as many as 7 million, experts say, are expected to converge on towns and campgrounds along the narrow corridor for the event +74 Bita Honarvar makes 26 modified paper plate solar eclipse viewing glasses for her son Naveed's kindergarten class in Decatur, Georgia, on August 20 +74 An eclipse t-shirt is seen for sale on a street near the City Market in Charleston, South Carolina, on Sunday +74 T-shirt vendor Jan Dahouas shows an eclipse t-shirt of his own design to a buyer on a street near the City Market in Charleston, South Carolina +74 Nikos Spyridonos and his daughter Zoe try out eclipse glasses ahead of the total solar eclipse in Charleston +74 Eclipse pins are seen for sale on a street near the City Market in Charleston. Many are attending multiday festivals featuring music, yoga and astronomy lectures +74 Zoe Spyridonos tries out eclipse glasses ahead of the total solar eclipse in Charleston, South Carolina. The wide availability of affordable solar-safe sunglasses produced by the millions has fueled the excitement. The sunglasses were selling so fast that suppliers were running out of stock
+74 An Entrepreneurial sign for parking is displayed for drivers as they near the small town of Depoe Bay, Oregon as it prepares for the coming solar eclipse +74 Cameron DaSilva tests camera equipment he and his father, Peter DaSilva of ABC (not pictured), will use at the Lowell Observatory Solar Eclipse Experience on August 20, 2017 in Madras, Oregon +74 A group poses at a photo-booth in Carbondale, Illinois, on Sunday, one day before the total solar eclipse +74 A Science Channel banner at the Lowell Observatory Solar Eclipse Experience in Madras, Oregon, on Sunday +74 Jeff Tidwell, of Alpharetta, Ga., looks over solar eclipse shirts for sale in the Wander North Georgia store Sunday in Clayton, Georgia +74 A small group of tourists eat lunch in a giant tent meant to accommodate hundreds on Sunday in Victor, Idaho. The small town, located directly beneath the path of totality expected an influx of more tourists than those who had arrived by Sunday afternoon +74 A sign advertises food for tourists on August 20, 2017 in Victor, Idaho. The small town, located directly beneath the path of totality expected an influx of more tourists than those who had arrived by Sunday afternoon +74 A girl wears an eclipse t-shirts as she walks with her family on August 20, 2017 in Driggs, Idaho +74 Ryker Fullmer, 12, waits for eclipse watchers to rent camping spots on his family's land on August 20, 2017 in Tetonia, Idaho. Fuller said, although there were not campers at the time, there had been three groups on Friday night +74 Eclipse watcher Jim Peaco of Wyoming, sits in a nearly empty campground on August 20, 2017 at the rodeo grounds in Tetonia, Idaho. On Sunday afternoon, two tents were seen at the makeshift campground +74 A porta-potty waits for eclipse campers on August 20, 2017 at the rodeo grounds in Tetonia, Idaho. On Sunday afternoon, two tents were seen at the makeshift campground +74 Julie Patnode, second from left, sells eclipse-themed t-shirts to tourists on August 20, 2017 in Driggs, +74 Carol Jensen at the Black Bear Diner displays a hat and eclipse glasses in Madras, Oregon on Saturday +74 Campers adjust telescopes at Solartown in Madras, Oregon on Saturday as they prepare to view the solar eclipse Not all the hoopla will unfold on dry land. Welsh pop singer Bonnie Tyler is slated to perform her 1983s hit single 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' aboard a cruise liner as the vessel sails into the path of totality from Florida on Monday. Back on the ground, forest rangers, police and city managers in the total eclipse zone are bracing for a crush of travelers they fear will cause epic traffic jams and heighten wildfire hazards. 'Imagine 20 Woodstock festivals occurring simultaneously across the nation,' Michael Zeiler, an AAS advisory panel member wrote on his website, GreatAmericanEclipse.com, referring to the famously chaotic 1969 outdoor rock extravaganza in upstate New York.
+74 New Yorkers are waiting in long lines on Sunday for eclipse glasses. Pictured above is the huge line on Sunday at Adorama Camera Shop in Chelsea +74 New Yorkers seem interested in getting their safe approved glasses for watching tomorrows eclipse as the line went down the block for the specialty camera store +74 Some of the gas stations where the eclipse will be in totality on Monday have already run out of fuel because of increased demand. Pictured above is a gas station in Jackson, Wyoming +74 Campers form "Solar Town," an agricultural field turned campground for total solar eclipse enthusiasts, in front of Mt. Jefferson in Madras, Oregon +74 Traffic began backing up in Oregon on Thursday, as it is likely to worsen leading up to the main event Monday +74 Cars line up at the south entrance to Grand Teton National Park on Saturday outside Jackson, Wyoming. People are flocking to the Jackson and Teton National Park area for the 2017 solar eclipse which will be one of the areas that will experience a 100 per cent eclipse on Monday +74 With a sign showing full camp grounds, cars drive into Grand Teton National Park on Saturday +74 Jim Blair walks Saluki dogs past a solar eclipse exhibit on the campus of Southern Illinois University on Saturday
