Good non-storm memories/images from chasing past

[Dan Robinson]

I've been up most of the night working on a web project, and while on a break got onto a tangent reading this thread "Favorite landmark on the Plains":

Favorite Landmark on the Plains while Chasing?

So I was just thinking about this the other day, that a chase is not complete for me until I see one of my favorite landmarks of the state I'm in. It tends not to even be anything special, just an abandoned house or sign/shop I remember. For example, the Gray County rest stop in the Texas...

stormtrack.org

This got me thinking/inspired about some of the non-storm "peripheral" memories of chasing past that really stick with me. One of my all time favorite images in that category is this one.

I took this photo on I-64 on May 26, 2001 on my first trip to the Great Plains from West Virginia. I love almost everything about this scene and the memories it brings back - the deep green trees of late May, the road leading west, the Indiana state line showing that I'm one step closer to where I love to be the most. Seeing this image always makes me want to go out and trade my car in for another Ford Ranger so I can re-create the experience, complete with the way I was always able to put my Bible up on the dash, the reflection of which is in this picture (I use a digital Bible on my tablet now). A small cooler is on the passenger seat with my film and Pentax K1000, along with the DeLorme Gazetteer US states book. Small suitcase thrown in the bed of the truck in the back.

Later, I took this photo while seeing St. Louis for the first time. The Arch was always a great sight for me because it was more or less the halfway point on the trip. This picture sparked my fondness for St. Louis that would eventually bring me here 9 years later.

So many great memories of "peripheral" sights, sounds, smells of a chase trip that trigger a rush of endorphins in the brain associated with chasing. How about the sound of interstate traffic after waking up and walking outside of a hotel room to load up the car in the morning? Breakfast at a small-town Sonic or the coffee stop in Colby. The smell of rain-misted roads from that early morning MCS that is clearing out ahead of the big day. How about hearing the voice of your good chasing friends on the phone (ones that you keep up with online the rest of the year, but only talk to in person or on the phone on a chase trip)?

These are things I'll be talking about as enthusiastically as tornadoes when I'm sitting in a rocking chair in my senior years describing storm chasing to younger generations. The whole storm chasing experience from start to finish is a cherished part of my life.

I could go on (and probably will later as I think of more), but I'd like to hear yours!

 

[Paul Hadfield]

In 2004 when I set off with an active interest in all things chasing, I was full of optimism and drive. I subsequently began building a family that in turn curtailed my ability to travel. For this reason I have always just been an Illinois 'local'. Along the way as I watched guys advance in both knowledge and experience while I just derped about the mid-state and dealt with intense life issues centered around illness and death, I hit some lows for not achieving the personal or chase related goals I set long ago. My self esteem tanked in late 2013 and I regrettably backed away from many. Finally, thanks to my now late girlfriend who then set the trip up, I was able to go west and not only see the arch for the first time but document an out of state thunderstorm. This was a huge personal milestone though by most standards it would be considered marginal. Whether or not I ever get away from this empty place remains to be seen for I don't have the drive I once did and my new focus is exclusively that of a single father. In keeping with the theme of this thread, St. Charles MO as well as nearby St. Louis are both 'non-chase' experiences from March 2014 that managed to help fill a long standing out of state travel void.

 

[Raymond Mason]

Wow, that second photo of the Arch looks really cool! I would personally keep that as a background on the desktop. I hope when I go chasing myself I hope I have plenty of photos and video on the journey.

 

[Drew Terril]

I live along Route 66 (have for most of my life) and have thought about incorporating that during downtime in future chases. Seeing this thread makes me think about that even more.

 

[Todd Rector]

I love how chasing takes us to tiny little towns, far from the Interstates and well off the beaten path. Storms aside, chasers are lucky people because we see a side of America very few others even know exists. Don't blink or you will miss Deer Creek, Oklahoma (but roll down your window because soon you will smell the southerly breeze coming off the Great Salt Plains Lake). You have to stop briefly while a farmer with a broken fence wrangles a cow from the middle of the road. Morning coffee in Trenton Nebraska (where you stop to shoot a pic of the sunrise reflecting off that big Methodist church just off Main street) on your way to Wray, Colorado where you will camp out at the Riverside Cafe to look at the latest weather data. You tell the waitress to keep a close eye on the weather as you head toward your target area near Anton, CO. In an hour or so you will witness the beauty and power of a huge supercell as it spins up... Then chase it right back toward Wray, where you hope the waitress remembered your advice.

VERY few people experience life this way, but WE do. We are truly blessed.

 

[Andrew Pritchard]

This is the picture that always gives me these feels. I'm still a pretty big loner when it comes to chasing. Maybe slightly less so than five years ago, but my time spent with the sky is my personal meditation time. I love getting to see the tiny forgotten towns along the way and am all for grabbing a burger at a small diner and I always try and eat local when I can on the chase, rather than hitting up fast food joints. But that said, when I have a full stomach and a full tank of gas I prefer my time be spent on a dirt road with nothing between me and the horizon. I get much more in sync with mother nature that way - rather than chilling in a gas station parking lot staring at a computer screen or something.

Whether I see a tornado or not at the end of the day, it's the escape from humanity and the full immersion into the wide open that keeps me coming back. I think this is why I got so into time lapse photography. Even when there are no storms to chase, I love to get out of town and find somewhere just like this where I can sit in solitude for hours. Meditation / self-awareness / mindfulness has done wonders for me over the last few years.

 

[Andrew Pritchard]

How about the sound of interstate traffic after waking up and walking outside of a hotel room to load up the car in the morning?

Oh man, this. All the feels. That groggy confused initial feeling when you hear the alarm going off while it's still dark outside in an unfamiliar bed. Reading the Day 1 and perusing the RUC while your chase partner grabs the first shower. And then taking that first step outside in the hotel parking lot on a cool, but humid chase day morning. Like you said Dan, your phone blowing up with texts and phone calls from friends that you only speak to in those forms when things are about to get real.

I have some great memories from the post-chase of eating pizza in a hotel bed uploading tornado pictures from that evening while forecasting for the next day with a prime-time baseball game on the TV.

Holy crap this weather pattern needs to change.

 

[Todd Rector]

Parking on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere, completely surrounded by gently-blowing wheat fields is almost a religious experience.
I am an I.T. guy for the government, and I work two stories underground in a secure facility. No windows; just concrete and locked doors. Leaving work behind and going out in the country to chase is one of the few things that keep me from losing my sanity.

 

[Tom Dulong]

I have some great memories from the post-chase of eating pizza

Don't forget catching that victory steak dinner with your chaser clan at Denny's or some other restaurant that is still open at 11:00 PM.

 

[Jason Boggs]

The main reason I take lots of still photos on every chase is for the memories! As I say, chasing isn't just about the sky...it's about the open road, new places, good friends and great memories. Cherish those memories folks, because they don't last forever!

Warren Faidley and I waiting for convection near Childress, TX in May of 2013.
[URL='http://s1383.photobucket.com/user/jboggs1/media/Jason%20and%20Warren%20near%20Childress%20TX%202013_zpsaw55xi8n.jpg.html'][/URL]

 

[Jeremy Perez]

These before and after the chase moments are a big part of what I enjoy out there. Everyone has already said it so well—

I do a lot of boondocking in my car and the experience of falling asleep with starlight out the windows and the sound of the crickets and frogs. Maybe waking to some rain, wind, flickering lightning in the middle of the night and taking a peek at radar to be sure nothing ominous is inbound—and a bit of relief—it’s just some elevated MCS activity. Then waking in the morning beside damp fields and a painted sky—taking a walk as the sun is on the horizon and starting to warm things up and feeling the anticipation of how the day will unfold.

Morning walk at sunrise from overnight spot in far northeast CO (20 May 2014)
and falling asleep amid the stars and turbines in eastern CO (21 May 2014)



Then on the way to my target area, there are all the expansive and interesting views. The towns, countryside, fields, outbuildings, livestock, locals…sometimes letting my imagination run wild about some of the stranger sights.

Stopping for some landscape shots, the cattle went on alert—
Made me wonder: What if cows were velociraptors? (South Dakota - 19 May 2014)
Other sobering and/or spacious views from North Dakota and eastern Colorado (May 2014)



After the chase, if I’m not worn completely out, there’s probably a rain-soaked aftermath to sample and see what nooks and crannies there are to explore, knowing I may not return to any of the more obscure spots again. I’m not always successful getting into a populated area early enough after a chase for a nice dinner—which makes those successful evening meals an even bigger celebration—maybe completely exhausted, but still a buzz of excitement from whatever awesome things were experienced earlier in the day while digging into (hopefully) a tornado-celebration steak.

Exploring a corral at sunset after an amazing chase in eastern Colorado (21 May 2014)
and celebratory tornado steak in Elk City, OK (18 March 2012)


On the long drive home after a week on the road, there can be a weariness. I’m not aways successful at it, but I try to find something energizing by looking out for other sights along the way, trying to realize it isn’t all about getting there and being there. There are great memories to take away and some yet to be had on the way back…perhaps walking around in the quiet, dark of an abandoned stop along Route 66 while the moon casts a dream light on weeds and emptied buildings. That sort of thing.

Texas Wildflowers and Glenrio, Texas Ghost Town on the drive back home - May 2013

 

[Todd Rector]

Chase is over and it's after dark. The system you were chasing dissolved into a squall and you are now racing ahead of it, trying to find a motel. Lightning is flashing like a disco strobe in the sky as the storm advances. You quickly haul in gear from the car, then park across the lot because it's on higher ground. You "high-five" your chase partner in the motel room as the sky splits open. You look out the window and watch the parking lot flood everywhere except where you are parked (experience has its advantages). Time to plug in everything to charge; copying photos to the laptop can wait until morning. You finish a quick skype call with your wife just as your partner begins to snore. Life is good.

 

[Todd Rector]

Jeremy, those cow photos are priceless! Haha!

 

[Jeremy Perez]

@Todd Rector Yeah, they had me laughing to myself the whole time I was trying to find angles for other shots. They had a bead on me figuring I was the hay wagon I guess. So I said OK I'll get some pics of you too. Reminds me of some of the stuff I've always enjoyed about Hollingshead's chase accounts—sharing the encounters with wildlife and domestic critters while out on the chase.

 

[Todd Rector]

@Jeremy Perez I appreciate the time you took to include an edit of each cow face. Seriously funny! And yes, Hollingshead's chase accounts (and pics) are awesome!