Day 2. We're not in Kansas Anymore, Toto.

This was what is known as a "Down Day."

We got off to a slow start this morning, finally heading out of Wichita around noon and heading north toward Nebraska. We started the day chasing what looked to be a good storm system that was going to produce a tornado. However - and bear with me here, I don't know much about meteorology - the winds were coming from the north and pushed the storm south and turned it into a bunch of nothing.

I'm having some trouble coming to terms with the idea of chasing and celebrating violent storms. How am I going to feel when I, or when I see someone else, display joy and elation upon seeing a force of nature that can cause massive destruction, and could take lives? Is it OK to be excited about a tornado when I know what it can do? I asked my cousin about this and he says that he doesn't feel joy upon seeing a tornado. He's not someone who jumps up and down. He says the ideal sighting occurs in a cornfield somewhere away from all people and animals. He says it is definitely exciting, but he says that it's a feeling of awe more than anything else. A lot of chasers justify their hobby by saying that the storms would happen anyway, whether they are there watching the tornado or not. And that's true. We'll see what happens this week when I'm actually in the situation.

We drove about 250 miles and ended up in York, Nebraska, where we met up with a couple of David's friends, Roger and Elke at this beautiful place called Recharge Lake. We spent a few hours there, just hanging out, waiting to see what the weather would do.


While we were there, we kept checking the forecast to see whether the weather would change and become favorable for storms. It never did.

So while we sat around, David brushed Thunder.



Doesn't he look handsome?

Then we left for the hotel, America's Best Value Inn. Nicer than expected and complete with drunk guys grilling in the parking lot. I'm pretty sure they live there.

So after dinner we went to bed, hoping for a more active day tomorrow.