Danny and Tresa Brown, who live near Newcastle, Wyo., were camping elsewhere in the Bighorns and drove their ATV to Sheep Mountain for an eclipse look.
Escaping the crowds where they live in Casper, Robin and Brian Morrison enjoy the grand view atop Sheep Mountain as the eclipse begins.
SHEEP MOUNTAIN LOOKOUT, Wyo. — Ninety-seven percent totality was just fine for the Morrisons.
Brian Morrison and his wife, Robin, live in Casper, where thousands of totality-seeking visitors flocked to see Monday’s solar eclipse.
Brian said they don’t much like crowds, so they chose to experience the rare event atop a 9,600-foot peak in the Bighorn Mountains, where they spend lots of time each year getting away from it all.
“It is pretty crazy in Casper,” he said before the eclipse started. He and Robin were camping a few miles away and drove the five miles off U.S. Highway 16 up a rough Forest Service road to reach the lookout and its panoramic view of the Bighorns west of Buffalo.
Four other groups chose the lookout to experience the darkening skies and chilly air that accompanied the eclipse. One group, including this writer, rented the decommissioned Forest Service fire lookout for a Sunday night stay at the going rate of $50 a night. No services. Unbelievable view. Car-camping with a bonus.
Scott Peters and his wife, Elora, son, Weston, and two dogs, live in Dickinson, N.D., and were vacationing in the area. Scott said they hadn’t planned their trip around the eclipse but thought Sheep Mountain looked promising and made the trek up in their pickup.
Danny and Tresa Brown of Newcastle, Wyo., and Gary and Sue Schinderle of Canadian Lakes, Mich., drove ATVs to the viewing area, watched the show and were off down the mountain soon after the eclipse reached its peak.
