The wind at our back

In the middle of the craziness, I don’t think I yelled it, but I could have. I know I was certainly thinking it: “Run Toto run, run like the wind.” 

My son needed his car with him in California, so when he was on leave earlier last month, we drove it cross country. The “California or Bust 2023 Road Trip” traveled through ten states and covered more than 2,500 miles. The entire trip was a blast, but a few things will forever stick out in my memory.

When we hit Kansas, we were shocked by the mile upon mile of flatlands. When I think of flat in the future, the farms and prairies of The Great Plains will be the first thing that come to mind. The sun was out, and it was a beautiful day. If we stopped the car, I thought for sure I could look west and see the Sierra Nevadas and look east and see the Appalachian Mountains.

“Toto, I’ve got a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”

As we kept driving, though, the sky turned an gray and black. I kept waiting for flying monkeys straight out of The Wizard of Oz to start swooping in and out of the horizon. (The movie The Wizard of Oz is mislabeled, it’s actually a horror movie, but that’s a blog for another day!) On top of dark skies, the clouds were pressed close to the ground and seemed to be dancing and floating every which way in the wind. We looked at each other and thought the same thing, we couldn’t get the movie Twister out of our minds.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, our phones chirped with a National Weather Service Tornado Warning. The words stuck in my head: “Take shelter now in a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building. If you are outdoors, in a mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself from flying debris.”

As we raced down the highway, I imagined the words hanging in the air like a bad movie or comic book: closest substantial shelter and flying debris. Um, hello, you’re kidding, right? If something happened right now, there was absolutely nothing there to save us.  

“Run, Toto, run! Run Toto, run!”

Now we get tornado warnings in the East too and we certainly take precautions, but you always have a feeling like you’re walking through the motions, it’s not a regular occurrence. You can’t help but question in the back of your head: Are we in real danger or is it comparable to when an overzealous meteorologist hypes up the first snowfall of the winter? You’re never quiet certain. However, as we drove down the highway in Kansas, I knew we could be looking at the real thing, “looking at the real McCoy.”

Fortunately for us, as quickly as the emergency came, it disappeared. I let out a deep sign as the rain stopped and the sun came back out and we soon outran the tornado warning.

A few short days later, my time with my son soon came to an end, but it was a great time. We didn’t have a ton of time to sightsee, but we were able to check out Zion National Park in Southern Utah. I definitely have a new favorite park and want to go back when we have a chance.

Here’s a few shots. Enjoy.

Blowin’ in the wind in Kansas

Flying by Utah

Zion National Park

Zion National Park