What's Missing in this Picture?

 

. . . Mountains

Welcome to the Great Plains. A vast swath of flat, arid land, which eventually transitions into the lush, rolling farmland of the Midwest. I don't want to sound like a snooty "Topo-phile," but after a month-and-a-half of driving in, out, around and just in sight of mountains -- Coastal, Cascades, and Rockies -- as well as eight years living in the mountains of Southern Oregon, this mono-relief takes some getting used to. Although, having grown up mostly in Illinois, there's something intensely familiar about these expansive flatlands. I remember red-lining my motorcycle as a teenager down deserted Illinois roads, with cornfields in every direction. Unfortunately, Erin and I only had two days to travel over a thousand miles, so we blasted down Interstate 80, my least favorite kind of driving. So apologies to Nebraska and Iowa, two states which we gave short shrift to. I know there is real beauty in both these states, but that it's a beauty that needs to be sought out; certainly it's never evident cruising along at 75 miles and hour on this monotonous, asphalt conveyor belt.

Also, on Saturday we woke up to threatening clouds and as soon as we got on the road it started to pour. Really pour!

The view through my windshield for almost eight hours

For over eight hours, the wipers struggled to swipe torrents of rainwater off our windshield, as I struggled to see where I was driving. I've driven through thunderstorms before, but usually for only about fifteen or twenty minutes. This gully-washer went on all day long. A few times the rain slowed down, even stopping for a brief respite, but then we'd see another system approach (amidst some awesome lightening displays) and, yet again, we'd be plowing through sheets of water. Luckily I only hydroplaned once (a terrifying five seconds that felt like eternity, which sent reckless car that had passed us a few minutes before catapulting across the highway). When we finally arrived in Chicago, I watched the weather on TV and found out that there was an intense swath of storm cells sweeping from Iowa into Illinois, following our route almost exactly.

Tornado watch in Iowa

Over the Mississippi River and welcome to Illinois . . .

. . . and more of the same

Erin and I saw more lightening in the last six days since entering Colorado than we've seen in the preceding three to five years. Kind of hairy, but I have to say I love these storms and always have (except while sailing in the middle of the Atlantic). The good news is that, after a long withering heat wave in the Chicago area, this rain brought in some beautiful weather to our destination.


Bonus picture:

Derek behind the wheel in Ashland last summer