Storm Tenting

Started in: Wisconsin, by the Dells
Ended in: Minneapolis, MN
Pandora’s Status: Purring like a kitten

I made it back to the Cities about 4:00 pm. The letter had not arrived, so I bee-lined to the campground -- I could feel a storm in the air. As I drove to the campground, I could feel the cold front moving through -- one of the neat aspects about ridding in the open air.

I had just gotten my tent setup and my supper made when it started to rain. For a little while, it was raining nicely, and I was excited to read more of the book Wicked (it's about the wicked witch of the west in Oz) in the rain in a tent.

Soon it started raining in sheets, and with each sheet of rain, the tent wavered. Just about when I thought it was pretty bad, it started to hail. After about 5 minutes, the hail stopped -- to my delight; and was replaced by strong wind that was making a howling, almost train-like sound. I started to get scared.

I was finely able to get through on my cell phone to Ashley, and she said a tornado had been spotted very near where I was. I quickly got a couple of things together and dragged Gage out into the rain so that we could run for shelter in the large central campground restrooms.

We stayed in the restrooms for about two hours. During our stay in the rest rooms, the tornado sirens were going off.

The rain stopped, and everything settled down, so Gage and I went back to the tent we had to go around the tree that had fallen across the road to our tent. About ten minutes after we got back to the tent, the rain and wind started again. I was just working out what to do next when car headlights beamed through the tent. A ranger had come be to evacuate Gage and I to the camp headquarters.

Gage and I finally made it back to the tent around 10:30 pm. The were numerous trees downed in the park and I am told a couple of houses were destroyed just a little North of where I was tenting.

Click on the link to see my video diary of the event: Video Diary