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NC national forest campsites booked up for solar eclipse

Excitement is building Friday in western North Carolina for the Great American Eclipse.

For months, campgrounds and recreational areas have been booked for those hoping to catch the solar eclipse.

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People are already staking out the best spots for viewing at the Nantahala National Forest near the highlands.

Several areas of the forest will be dark for more than 2 minutes and 30 seconds and forest officials are expecting tens of thousands of people to come see it.

There are no sites available this weekend at the Van Hook campground in the Nantahala National Forest.

Campground host, Susie Bartlemay, is ready for that once in a lifetime experience but she said don't try to pull in on Monday.

"Some of [the spots] have been reserved since this time last year," Bartlemay said.

[READ MORE: What not to do the day of and during the total solar eclipse]

One family drove down from Massachusetts and got here early Friday morning, snatching up one of the last "first come first serve" sites open to the public.

"All the campgrounds that you can reserve had already been booked.  And that was a month or two ago that we were looking.  So we kind of planned to get up early and we got one of the last sites," mother Julie Mallozzi said.

[SPECIAL SECTION: Solar Eclipse]

"Everything seemed to be booked up at the Great Smokey Mountains there are lots of campsites and all the ones they have available are full, which is a lot," camper Fred Michael said.

Throughout western North Carolina in the direct path of the eclipse, we could see warning signs about traffic congestion Friday.

The U.S. Forest Service expects overlooks and recreational areas to fill up quickly Monday, but many of the towns like Andrews and Highlands have already cordoned off parking areas for those who don't want to take any chances and miss it.

"That's why I'm here, because I don't think I'll live for the next one," visitor Richard Stanton said.

If you plan on heading to western North Carolina, make sure you arrive in early.

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