I should clarify that I am in the West…
Concerns about I-5 are pretty valid–now I’m thinking seriously of starting early, taking my kayak down to Detroit Lake (or possibly another, smaller lake still in the totality path) and being out on the water when the eclipse occurs. No crowds to freak me out and big advantage in visibility.
:eek: 
*MCI
Make sure you leave early a lot of traffic is anticipated, some talk of the cell network being overwhelmed as well.
San Francisco is a 33 hour drive and the nearest place in the path is Nashville which is another 5 hours from Indy.
ISTM the place to be is in an urban/suburban area. Paradoxically, going out into the boonies of a national or state park or a small town in ruralia to “get away from humanity” is going exactly to where far too many people will be chasing far to little infrastructure.
Perhaps I’m jaded unto torpor, but I can’t imagine traveling more than about 30 minutes out of my way to see this. When it comes to me I’ll enjoy it in all its grandeur. Until then, meh.
I was just dinking around on this interactive map, and the eclipse hits dead center on the major highways and population centers of Idaho and Wyoming, and the southern part of Yellowstone will see it too.
https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/interactive_map/index.html
Most likely, weather permitting, I’ll see it somewhere between Kansas City and Paducah, KY. :o
Lots of small (and not so small) towns are having Eclipse Festivals, etc. and I could just imagine every food truck, craft vendor, etc. within 100 miles of the zone gearing up for this day. 
An astronomer from my area, who to date has seen 4 total eclipses, spoke in my town a couple months ago and when I mentioned that there is a large lake near Carbondale that may well be clogged with boats, he said that people who wish to still-photograph it would not want to do so on water. Most people probably won’t, at least not for reasons other than sharing on social media.
I’m planning to be in the Charleston, SC area for the eclipse. I already have a room booked outside the path of totality for the night before and after. If the traffic is awful, I’ll just pull off the road at the exact 2 minutes, otherwise I have a specific place I’m headed with the plan to meet up with some other people I know.
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I’d fly to Indy and drive from there. But now I’m worried enough about the potential cloudiness that I think I might try to keep to Idaho or Wyoming where they historically have clearer skies that time of year.
Keep in mind how many bridges you’ll be crossing when you travel around that time; there may be little ‘side of the road’ to pull off on (but maybe Marylanders have the same issue?). That’s why most evacuation routes in the Charleston area avoid roads w/ bridges where possible; stuck on a bridge, you’re not going anywhere.
Amtrak runs to Kansas City via the Southwest Chief for about $100 round trip. That’s what I would do if I wasn’t going to be in Oregon.
Or take one of the five trains a day from Chicago directly to Carbondale with tickets as low as $27!
Will the streetlights automatically come on? If so one might want to avoid urban areas near streetlights.
They did in 1994 when I experienced the 60% coverage in Iowa City. That was yet another cool thing about it. 
It didn’t SEEM darker but the light sensors thought it was.
Alas, none of them get you to Carbondale in time. And hotel rooms are unavailable anyplace near there.
So the casino I work in, right in the path of the eclipse in Oregon, has rooms available still. Unfortunately there’s a two night minimum. The earliest you can check in is Sunday the 20th and the price for two nights will be $500 before taxes. But it’s a casino! lol If you’re interested you can PM me and I can tell you exactly what casino.
It’s times like these I wish I had an extra bedroom I could rent out. (Nashville TN)
You’ve probably left it way too later to book a room anywhere, most places on the track will have been booked up years in advance.
My partner and me are coming from the UK, we are eclipse chasers having seen 6 (for me) and 9 (for him). We had to reserve our places on our tour about 2 years ago. We will be observing from near Jackson Hole.
If the skies are clear you have an amazing, mind blowing experience in prospect, something that should make you reassess your entire place in the Universe!
Clear Skies to you all.
How could I have forgotten about Porta-Potty dealers? 