Running from the Storm

The title doesn't entirely describe the picture for the day but it was certainly an exciting part of it.  We started this morning with some serious dampness in and around the tent.  The campground we stayed in was in a valley between a couple of mountains and our site was right next to a pond.  I woke up to the sound of some dripping water and looked over at David's mat, because as usual he (and the girls) end up somewhere other than their mats, and there was a small water spot developing.  I looked up and saw that the fly of the tent was just sopping wet with water.


Tanya suggested I get my gear on and head out to remove the fly so things wouldn't get soaked.  I pulled off the fly and we used a couple of towels to clear off the water from the mesh roof.  It didn't take long for the sun to get above the trees and dry everything out.  At first I thought our tent was the only one that was having that problem but it wasn't long until our neighbors were all up trying to dry out their stuff.  They didn't take the fly off and all their stuff on the inside was soaked.

Having fun on the waterslide

Side profile of Washington

Mount Rushmore

Getting another Jr Ranger Badge

Tanya and Andrea

The campground had a lot of activities for the kids so we decided to stay until 11:00 am (check out time) and let the kids play.  They had lots of fun on the waterslide, playing mini golf and the full size chess game.  After 11:00 am we headed back to Mt. Rushmore where the kids participated in the Jr. Ranger program.  They just love those programs and they are great learning activities for them.  They worked for about 45 minutes to earn their badge.  We also took a few more pictures and spent some time exploring the museum and watching the video on the sculpting of the monument.  It was fascinating to see how they did the work nearly 100 years ago.

The Badlands

We left Mt. Rushmore and made our way to Rapid City where we needed to do some grocery shopping. Our supplies were low and needed restocking.  We found a Safeway on the drive into town and the kids were asking if they could get a cookie before we even parked the van.  If you recall about a month ago in Regina they were given cookie cards at the Sunday Liturgy program at church.  We stocked up our supplies, cleaned out the cooler and filled it with ice and were on our way.

The calm before the storm

Francois near the edge

Next stop was the Badland National Park.  As we were leaving Rapid City, we could see a few flashes of lightning and felt a few drops of rain.  They were calling for a chance of a thunder storm this afternoon.  Once we got on the highway, we could see the clouds behind us for a bit, but ahead of us was beautiful blue skies.  When we arrived in Wall, which is just on the outskirts of the park we stopped into the information center and a ranger told us that there was a fairly severe storm that was expected to hit the area in about 90 minutes.  We decided to carry on into the park which is a 45 mile loop from the I-90.  

Big Horn Ram

View from Info Centre when we arrived

Once we entered the park, the landscape changed immediately and it was just fascinating.  We could see the lightning flashes way off in the distance and that was enough to discourage Andrea from getting out of the van at the first viewpoint.  She, and the others got a bit braver and we eventually were able to climb up one of the bumps for a photo shoot.  Towards one of the last checkpoints before the Park Visitor Information  Center we could start to hear some thunder and we could see some impressive lightning in the air.

View of info centre 30 minutes later...storm clouds brewing

We stopped at the visitor information center and the kids wanted to participate in the Jr. Ranger program there.  They got their books, and got started and the first thing we had to do was watch a movie which talked about the incredible wind and rain storms that hit the badlands.  After the 17 minute movie we went into the museum and Tanya went and checked outside and the storm was very close.  I went to talk to the ranger as there was a crowd of people around him looking at the computer screen.  He said that there was a massive storm approaching, that had winds around 80 mph (135 km/h), lots of rain and hail.  He said it was scheduled to hit in about 15 minutes.


Everyone around him was heading West and he told them they better stay put.  I told him we were heading East and he told me, if I were you I would jump in my car and start heading East.  The storm was moving at 60 mph and you can drive 75 mph on the highway so you may be able to outrun it.  I quickly got Tanya and the kids and told them it was time to go.  The kids didn't want to leave because they hadn't finished their Jr. Ranger program yet and wanted to finish it to get their badge.  I explained the situation to the ranger and he made me promise that the kids would finish their work (since they were very close to being finished) and he gave us the badge.


We raced out into the 37 C heat, jumped in the van and hit the road.  The wind was swirling, lightning flashed and thunder could be heard all around us.  We had to drive 8 miles north to hit the I-90.  With about 2 miles to go the wind picked up significantly, the rain started coming sideways and the trees were bending back and forth.  This lasted for about 2 minutes and then we turned east and could see it behind us.  They were some of the blackest clouds we have ever seen.


The lightning was still flashing all around us but it wasn't raining and the wind was on our back.  We got about 80 km/h down the road when the radio station we were listening to make a long siren sound and then the voice came on and said that within the hour people in these counties (which we were driving in) should expect a very serious thunder and lightning storm, with flash floods, hail and road flooding.  They should seek shelter and stay in the corner of the ground level of their home or place of work.  Growing up and watching NBC Bangor, we would always see the "Emergency Test" screen on the television and I always wondered if I would be involved in one of those.   Today was my first.


We eventually outdrove the storm and made our way to Mitchell, SD which was the next larger sized community on the route.  We crossed through another time zone, losing one hour as we are now in central time zone.   On the horizon we could see another storm brewing.  We were treated to a lovely light show in front of us, though we never reached the storm, as we arrived in Mitchell at around 10:00 pm.  This was the first day of the trip we drove after dark and we decided to hunker down in a hotel tonight.  There are major storm warnings for the region we are in so we'll see what the night brings.


It was certainly an exciting day.  The adventurous person in me wanted to stay in the Badlands and witness the storm but the parent in me said let's get out of here.  Happy Birthday goes out to our niece Kerri Lee.


Tomorrow we may arrive in Minnesota.


Goodnight,
Francois