Location, Location, Location

Most of us have heard that there are three keys to determining the value of a piece of real estate for sale: location, location, location. I believe that what is true for home selling is also true for solar eclipse viewing. So the question comes, where will I observe the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse. After visiting and exploring the area and speaking with many people I have chosen Kerrville, Texas. That, at least is the address of the site. It is, in reality, about 8 miles from the city of Kerrville. My site is a lovely event venue called The Ridge Marketplace. Its address is 13439 S. Ranch Road 783, Kerrville, TX 78028.

My wife and I like The Ridge Marketplace for many reasons. I will mention a few. They regularly host large events, so they are accustomed to dealing with crowds. They have a cafe, restaurant, bakery, and restrooms and for big events will bring in food trucks and extra restrooms. It has a lot of outside space, including an outdoor amphitheater and stage with sound system. While some of the outside space has trees, there is plenty of open space for viewing the eclipsing sun. It is located on a slight rise above the surrounding area for a great view of the approaching shadow. Check them out here.

The one downside to this location is it has no rooms. It is only a venue. So you will have to find a room(s) elsewhere. Since room rates in the path are very high and mostly spoken for, some are staying overnight at motels in San Antonio planning to drive to their viewing location the morning of Eclipse Day.

Well, that’s half the story of why we chose this place. Now let’s talk about the eclipse and location. The Ridge Marketplace is located very near the center line of totality. How near? I have checked several online interactive maps and the answer varies from zero miles to 0.6 miles. You can’t get much closer. The predicted duration of totality there is 4m 26s. I’ll take that.

Now let’s talk about weather. Nobody knows what the weather will be like on Eclipse Day. The best we can do right now is look at the weather at various locations along the path for several years back and look at trends and averages. Jay Anderson and Jennifer West have a website, eclipsophile.com, that has a page dealing with the cloudiness along the eclipse path. Click here. Remember that on Eclipse Day we don’t get average weather. We get that day’s weather.

RECOMMENDATION:

If at all possible, be flexible with your viewing options. If you wake up Eclipse Day morning and it is cloudy at your viewing location but it is clear, say 100 miles south, consider getting in your car and driving there.

More on preparing for viewing the eclipse next post. Thank you for reading this.