Rocky/Stormtrack Picnic: Wakita, May 28

4 chaser picnics ?
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Yeah, this way the odds of having one ruined by a crappy setup (that everyone will drop everything for and run to chase) is that much less. Four scheduled picnics is better than one, when you're trying to get chasers to actually show up.
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I am sure the first one will be the more representive one though..
Hopefully I can close up by 11 am at work and be out there around 1 to 1:30 ... Looking forward to meeting some of you
 
Keeping up Appearances

Looks like not only myself but my wife Dee will be coming up tomorrow afternoon to Wakita, despite what weather may be lurking just to our north.
We'll be showing up somewhere toward 3pm or so.

Look forward in seeing all who won't get duped once again in chasing cumulus clouds! ha ha ha!

Rocky&family
 
Rocky,

Can I be excused for this years picnic? Due to the patten I have baled back to England in order to do some work! However I do plan to return early June just as soon as the pattern picks up!
 
Me, my girlfreind, and chase partner Chris are hanging out in OK city, we'll be there lawn chairs in hand.

Can't wait to meet you guys 8)
 
I'll be there unless there are improvements that I like with the 12Z tomorrow morning. Maybe I'll be there...Maybe I won't. I guess we'll see tomorrow.

Darin
 
I was looking forward to coming to Wakita but I got some bad news Thursday. A close co-worker of mine died of a sudden, massive heart attack, so I will be attending the funeral on Saturday. For those of you who go, I hope you have lots of fun as I won't be having much fun at all. :cry:
 
Jason, sorry to hear of you loss.

Just got back from Wakita, and it was a fun day filled with lots of nastalgia. My first chase season (like so many others') was 1996, so Twister reminds me of when I first started. Got there early and set up our DVD display (actually Mickey did, he got there before us), then spent the next hour or so walking around to the various movie sites, shooting video of Aunt Meg's house's former site, the infamous Wakita water tower, and some conceptual/comic video, including a "Resevior Dogs" shot of Fabian, Mark, Jo, Mickey, and Eric. Also got some hilarious stuff from inside the on-display tornado shelter, with Mickey doing his best Blair Witch/scared chick impersonation while I zoomed in on his nostril. Then J.R. slammed the door shut and bolted us in (wasn't ready for that, lol).

Big thanks to Linda Wade and the great folks of Wakita for welcoming all of us chasers with open arms all day. Hospitality was first-rate and we felt right at home. Was great seeing old friends and meeting new ones.
 
Wakita was fun! A quiet gathering that maxed out at about 40 chasers including Shane Adams, Bill Hark, Amos Magliocco, Jay McCoy, Kanani Foster, Dan Robinson, Tim Marshall, and many many others. We just hung out in downtown Wakita for a few hours chewing the fat, dancin' in the streets, and checking out the 'Twister' goodies. We had a good time hanging around eating great BBQ and chattin' the locals. The community of Wakita was very pleasent and were a great group of folks. They made all of us feel very welcome and were very nice to us all. I would definately recommend anyone passing nearby to stop and check the place out. Its definately worth the visit. I took a picture of my car with the Wakita water tower in the background (the same one in 'Twister'); check it out below.

[Broken External Image]:http://www.tornadoeskick.com/images/050528a.jpg
 
Yes...Speaking of dancing in the streets. Here is Tony and Kanani gettin jiggy with it. It was a fun filled day in Wakita. It was great to meet some people on here that I haven't met before and catch up with some that I have. I wanna give a big thanks to Linda Wade and all of the other organizers of this event. Also to the people of Wakita for welcoming us so nicely. I think the award of the day could possibly go to the band that seemed to play for hours and hours without stopping. I will put up a few more pics later.

754392dd2f629c5509fed02abe829235.jpg
 
And Tony, as promised, here's the VIDEO clip of the crazy dancing in downtown Wakita. The music was perfect. :D

http://www.storm3000.com/chase2005/dancing.mpg

I had a great time meeting all of you who went. It was a great conclusion to my first week ever in the Midwest. There's nothing like hangin out with a pack of storm chasers. Now, all I need before thursday is to actually see one of those funnel things that drop from the base of supercells... :roll:
If my flight back to Florida on Thursday will consist of bouncing around in updrafts and "chasing" from the skies, I will be pissed.

Owen
 
Well, I didn't get out until wayyy late in the day. Daughter's softball practice ran longer than I expected (I'm the assistant coach). However, I did finally get to meet Shane. Very mice young man and NOT the Tornado Commando I expected. I beg your forgiveness Shane.

Met Tony, another interesting young man and finally after reading and hearing about Tim Marshall, I finally got to shake his hand. There were, of course others, but I'm horrible with names. I saw several more but the camera was getting heavy and I'm getting old.

I hope to see something like this again next year and I've decided I'm certainly going to try and make one of Rocky's famous (infamous???) picnic's next year. I may try to get back out ot Wakita tomorrow and see if I can't get a little more video, for some things I'm working on for the end of the year. Unfortunately, no tornadoes as of yet, but it should be some good bloopers!

Again, to all, it was great meeting you in person! I hope to see you on the plains!
 
I had a great time at the Wakita party. Everyone was very nice. Amazing homemade barbecue. It was great to meet some chasers I only knew through posts along with seeing some old friends. I was last in Wakita in 1997 while with Cloud 9 Tours on my first chase. The turnout was good. Like many chasers, I was a bit nervous about missing potential severe weather in west Kansas. I stuck with my forecast and didn't chase. I am very glad I attended the party. Below are some images.

http://www.harkphoto.com/temp052805wakita1.jpg
http://www.harkphoto.com/temp052805wakita2.jpg
http://www.harkphoto.com/temp052805wakita3.jpg
http://www.harkphoto.com/temp052805wakita4.jpg
http://www.harkphoto.com/temp052805wakita5.jpg
http://www.harkphoto.com/temp052805wakita6.jpg
http://www.harkphoto.com/temp052805wakita7.jpg

Bill Hark
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