@gregl
I understand that seeing silhouettes of mountains on the edge of the moon might be exciting. But there are many exciting things to observe during an eclipse. You can observe mountain profiles on the limb of the moon at night. So I agree that schlepping a large telescope is probably not worth the effort.
Some people report in great detail listing all the stars and planets they can observe, appearance of stars and planets can be observed any night. Although this might provide some qualitative measure of sky conditions and eclipse umbral darkness, it is of limited scientific value and only serves to distract from aesthetic enjoyment of the unique elements of the main show.
Time in totality is precious. After 30 years of eclipse chasing and 15 total eclipses around the world, I have only clocked up a bit over 40 minutes of totality time. Consequently, I always concentrate on observations of those phenomena that are unique to a solar eclipse. Naked eye, I love observing the approach of the umbra from the west as totality approaches. During the eclipse, I love looking at the dark umbra overhead and the 360 degree sunrise colours around the horizon.
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I don't worry so much about looking for shadow bands and I don't worry about looking to observe or note the appearance of stars and planets, something I can do at twilight any clear night.
Observing a total eclipse in detail, you are not really observing the sun or the moon, you are observing the corona which is much bigger than the moon. I have observed coronal streamers between 2 to 7 degrees diameter depending upon coronal activity and sky transparency. In my experience (15 total eclipses), binoculars or a small wide angle refractor give the best views of the extended corona. I am in good company. The overwhelming majority of experienced (ok - addicted) eclipse chasers I know, use small wide angle refractors of 60-100mm diameter and 300-900mm focal length.
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For visual observing, there is nothing wrong with using binoculars. Some people tremble with excitement particularly at their first eclipse and cannot hold binoculars steady. After so many eclipses, I have now decided that a small refractor with a 2-4 degree field of view is my preferred instrument. These scopes pack easily into luggage and can be flown internationally so would transport in your car easily. A cheap example of such a scope is the ubiquitous ST80. The ST80 is an 80mm f5. It weighs 1kg and sits easily on a decent photographic tripod. At last Aprils total eclipse, I paired my ST80 with a quality 21.6mm 65deg eyepiece yielding 18.5 x magnification with a 3.5 deg field that yielded stunning views of chromosphere, prominences and much of the corona. The corona filled the 3.5 degree field of the scope even though the very short 54s totality meant that the sky was not especially dark. Working at such relatively modest magnifications, the achromatic objective in the ST80 performs quite well for visual use.
I drove across the country (5200km / 3100mi) to that eclipse in my dual cab Isuzu 4wd pickup truck. I had an equatorial mounting for a second ED80 refractor dedicated to photography. The ST80 was mounted side by side. I had binoculars around my neck which I never looked through, it was all naked eye or telescope. When I fly overseas, I use a very lightweight travel mount and can't have two refractors mounted and can't pack two refractors in luggage, so I use one ED 70mm refractor with a flip mirror at rear to switch between camera and eyepiece. The eyepiece is parfocalised to the camera so I don't need to refocus.
The total eclipse in Texas is more than 4 minutes long and offers the best weather. I'm presuming you're going to Texas because you quoted a 1500mi drive, the approximate distance fro the California coast to centreline Texas. One important point to consider is that totality takes place at about 60 degrees altitude in Texas. Though not impossible, it's quite uncomfortable to stand or sit and view comfortably at this altitude with binoculars.It is also difficult to hold binoculars stable at this viewing angle for an extended period. A small wide angle telescope with a diagonal viewer might be better or alternatively, a reclining camp chair or a yoga mat to lie upon might be a good idea.
Open ground can be quite hot, even when I fly overseas, I always carry a 1/2 of a yoga mat to sit or lay upon in order to protect myself from hot ground. I use it to cushion equipment in my suitcase during flights.
Another way might be to have a binocular mount that attaches to the roof rack of your truck? It can be very simple in design.
Good luck and have fun!
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Joe
Amateur astronomer since 1978
...................Web site : http://joe-cali.com/
Scopes: ATM 18" Dob, Vixen VC200L, ATM 6"f7, Stellarvue 102ED, Saxon ED80, WO M70 ED, Orion 102 Maksutov, ST80.
Mounts: Takahashi EM-200, iOptron iEQ45, Push dobsonian with Nexus DSC, three homemade EQ's.
Eyepieces: TV Naglers 31, 17, 12, 7; Denkmeier D21 & D14; Pentax XW10, XW5, Unitron 40mm Kellner, Meade Or 25,12
Cameras : Pentax K1, K5, K01, K10D / VIDEO CAMS : TacosBD, Lihmsec.
Cam/guider/controllers: Lacerta MGEN 3, SW Synguider, Simulation Curriculum SkyFi 3+Sky safari
Memberships Astronomical Association of Queensland; RASNZ Occultations Section; Single Exposure Milky Way Facebook Group (Moderator) (12k members), The Sky Searchers (moderator)
And leaves plenty of time to look around.
