That One Time You Were Caught In A Storm

We had a bit of a storm last night (July 5) here in Sioux Falls. Hadn't had one of those in awhile. While we need the rain, sometimes a storm can really cause damage. Or at the very least, mess up your plans. Whether it be a thunderstorm, tornadoes, or a blizzard, they all suck sometimes.

For example, a friend of mine sent me a message last night recounting her evening. The storm really messed up their plans, but they have one heck of a story now.

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She and a friend had gone out on the motorcycle and didn't even think to check the radar. They pulled over near a farmhouse to wait out the storm. They were eventually invited inside to get out of the rain. Well, two hours later they were still there. Eventually they called for a ride and decided to come back for the motorcycle.

Crazy, right?

Well, that was not the only crazy story we heard:

• I got caught on the interstate in a terrible storm when I was 15, I wasn't suppose to be out of town. I knew enough to pull over and and old man knocked on my window to check on me and to see if I wanted his wife to sit with me. I politely declined because I was sure I was going to be abducted if I let her
• My dad went into the ditch in a snow storm and walked to the nearest house. It was a chicken farm and they let him stay the night and the next day they used their tractor to get him out of the ditch. I feel like there's a very thin line between murderers and good Samaritans
• Was coming back from the cities and radio announced 5 tornados spotted in rural area i was. Stopped at some gas station on the highway and waited for it to pass. Another time I was going to leave Chicago and return home from vacation but some people at the show talked me into staying at a hotel with a huge blizzard going. Glad I stayed because I saw hundreds of cars and semis crashed or spun off the highway for MILES the next day.
• I was an athlete in college and at 6am on my way to lifting, I hit a patch of ice and went across the street and the curb impact broke my axle. I couldn’t move, was blocking the bus route, and my battery was so weak my interior lights kept flickering. I had to call another coach to help me, he ended up driving me to the junkyard where I ended up losing money because the tow cost more than what my car was worth in scrap.
• Best friend and I took our first road trip to Minneapolis at 17, on the way back got stuck in a blizzard and took us 8 hours to get back to Sioux Falls.
• Picked up some folks on the pass over the cascades (Oregon) one thanksgiving. They had been camping and got snowed in when it dumped 20" of snow at that elevation. They had to hike down to the highway, they were totally unprepared for the weather
• Slept overnight on the floor in a gas station off I-90 in Worthington when the snow started earlier than forecasted and it was a blizzard. My friend and I were two of dozens of people stranded. Tried to get to a motel, but almost got stuck in the snow.

We also had a couple stories called in that were doozies! One was about parking out on a gravel road to 'fool around' during a storm and the car sunk 4 inches in the mud!

There was also a story about a camping trip from hell. Storms, spiders, sunburn, and on the way home, hit a skunk.

Just another reminder as to why I do not camp.