[tzs]

They should have mentioned which of the listed places have an airport that is served by one or more major airlines. Those places provide the opportunity of simply flying in, hanging out at the airport until the eclipse and watching from there, and then flying home.

I checked a few, looking for round trip flights from Seattle leaving Seattle the day before and returning the day of the eclipse. For some it may be possible to arrive the morning of the eclipse, but I didn't get into sufficient detail to check that.

Casper, WY: many flights, around $800. One week later is around $300, so it looks like the eclipse has driven prices up.

St. Joseph, MO: Many flights, $400-500, including a few nonstop so only 3.5 hours (as opposed to 6 to 7 for all the ones with a stop). (I did check same day for this one. There are leaving very early Monday morning from Seattle arriving before the eclipse).

Carbondale, IL: many flights, $700ish and up.

Metropolis, IL: Many, $1000ish.

Nashville, TN: Many, $500ish.

Clemson, SC: Many, $600-2000.

That was just cities that the article highlighted. There are also many fairly significant cities, some near the center of totality, that they left out. Columbia, SC (which has many flights staring at $700), for example.

[idlewords]

St. Louis is a good hub near the eclipse track. You can rent a cheap car and head right into the New Madrid Seismic Zone to watch the eclipse from scenic Chester, IL!

http://www.idlewords.com/2015/07/confronting_new_madrid.htm

[tzs]

Will you be able to rent a cheap car, though? I'd expect that rental cars are going to be like hotels--greatly jacked up in price on rental periods that include the eclipse, if any are even still available.

[idlewords]

Current weekly price around that date at STL is ~$231

[madcaptenor]

If you're actually interested in doing this from Seattle, it looks like Alaska has nonstop flights from Seattle to Charleston, SC and Kansas City. Greenville-Spartanburg, SC (GSP) is another candidate although a bit harder to get to.