She's in Love with the Sound of the Summer Storm

Day 9:

Here's a general comparison of the last three states we've visited:
Montana: more open plains, public land. More cattle.
North Dakota: More green low crops (soybeans?), vast expanses of rich green carpet. Picket lines of trees in the distance and perpendicular to the freeway.
Minnesota: Lots more trees and right up to the freeway.

Our campground at Devil's Lake was a windy place. The nearest beach was on the leeward side of the lake and we were treated to wind-whipped (25 mph?) waves and water warm enough for swimming in at 9pm. As I was teaching the kids the finer points of catching waves (For you who haven't done it, btw, the key is to catch the wave near the forward trough as it's starting to break) it struck me as odd to be doing so this far away from the Pacific. Still, with my son not swimming well enough to try this in the ocean, I happily took what I could get.

The evening was a grand adventure! There must be something about Saturdays that make them memorable. Amidst the clear blue sky and the humidity the weather radio squawked a tornado warning. After a little frantic map searching, we found that we were in one of the affected counties. The two trailers raised their aerials to pick up the local TV news. We were at the south west edge of the watch, but it was enough to make a few worried and everyone prepared. Even though nobody over twelve really thought that we'd see a tornado, I made sure that all the bags were in the car and we would be ready to go at a moment's notice. At around 11:30 we were treated to lightning on the horizon all around us. My previous experience with lightning storms had been to view them from a distance. When I stepped out of the tent to view the festivities from the grassy hill next to the tent, I was catching flashes in a 180 degree arc. They were all around us!

When we had enough of the bugs, we headed back into the tent. I had a hard time going to sleep because I couldn't get out of the habit of counting until the thunder to measure the distance every time I saw a flash.

Later in the night, I woke to the sound of rain hitting the tent. This was our first real rain storm. Because I had the clothes in the van already, I was willing to just ride this one out and I'm happy to report that the tent did just fine.


Highlights:
1. A spectacular lightning storm
2. Swimming in a lake at 9:30pm.
3. A warm wind making for a very pleasant evening. I wish I could find such a place without mosquitoes.
4. Bemidji, Minnesota seemed a lot more like home. Even though it was wooded and sparse, there were strip malls, minivans, fast food and billboards about healthcare plans. It was the first time since Portland that I've felt this way.
5. I've lost track of the number of mosquito bites on my arms and legs. No, this isn't really a high;light but I don't know where else to put it.
6. The van will hit 100,000 miles today, somewhere near Duluth, Minnesota.

Quirks:
1. I haven't seen drive-up coffee places in ND and MN as I did earlier in the trip.
2. Nothing is open on Sunday? A comment over the walkie talkie was that the entire town had died of plague.
3. Karen tried to lead us into a lake today. Both of the other GPS units in the caravan agreed. I take back my earlier comment about the machines becoming self aware; I think I've upset them.