Traffic slowed to a crawl and gas stations were inundated with vehicles in Central Oregon Wednesday as the first wave of eclipse watchers descended on rural highways for a music festival near Prineville.

Approximately 30,000 are expected to attend the five-day Symbiosis Gathering in Big Summit Prairie. Early entry passes allowed attendees to arrive starting at noon.

“We’re the last town that people would go through to arrive at that event,” Casey Kaiser, executive director of the Prineville and Crook County Chamber of Commerce, said. “That’s what we believed was reflected this morning.” (Click to Site)