My big fear is also overcast skies, which is why we're headed inland as well ... we will be monitoring the forecast closely as the day approaches! We've set aside Fri-Tues for this venture - driving up all the way from central California in a Wrangler, which will help us get to remote spots in a pinch, if the infernal flapping from the soft top doesn't drive us crazy first
Madras seems to be a good choice - and was one of the first places we've looked at. But fear of overcast skies kept pushing us east ... we thought about Malheur National Forest and surrounds, but we settled even further east, close to the Idaho border. Ontario, OR was a nice little town and there is a lot of possibility to check it all out around there. I can't wait! But I'm going to try to avoid crowds because I want to take a few photographs, and crowds forgetting to turn off the flash on their cameras would be a problem. I'm hoping to take a few pictures to share with my mother, who witnessed an eclipse on the family farm back in my home country when she was very young, and whose stories of that experience stuck with me through life until now, finally, I have an opportunity to experience what she experienced. If it wasn't for wanting to share this experience with my mom I would just relax and watch it with whoever is around!
This is a rare opportunity for me to experience this. The only other total eclipse in the US that will be within my expected lifetime on the mainland is the 2024 one. I may try for that one too.
( I'll post a picture of those crickets later ... I'm not easily grossed out by bugs but that was the worst bug-related thing I've experienced to date. Oy. )