the home stretch

Now where were we?  Ah--yes.  Being blown about by the winds of the Wild West.   And the next morning, they got even wilder as we left New Mexico and journeyed on into Oklahoma.   As John hung on to the wheel for dear life,  we turned to the weather channel, and discovered that we were headed right into an area in which tornadoes were happening!  However, it was no good going back. They were behind us, before us, and to both sides of us.   No escape.   So we looked for a campground near where we were, and found one at Elk City.   Yes, it was another KOA. Sigh.  But hey, as before, any port in a storm.

You can see by the worried look on John's face in the pic that he was glad to be somewhere other than on the road.  Or maybe he is pondering the fact that, when we checked in,  the TV screen behind the desk was portraying weather people pointing to pictures of tornadoes nearby.  The woman behind the desk assured us cheerfully that this was just how it was in Oklahoma, and b esides, they had an underground tornado shelter which was just outside the door and ready for use, just in case.  But, she assured us,  Elk City is in a valley, and usually the tornadoes skip right over it to do their damage in the surrounding higher countryside.  Whew. That was a relief?!

       What could we do but settle in, watch the T.V. listen for sirens, and take looks at the sky with the clouds roiling above us in classic "tornado weather" fashion.  (see pic)  But the lady was right. The tornadoes skipped over our area, and the next morning, when we drove on towards Illinois,  the weather was harmless--overcast, light wind, good driving.  So good that we decided to keep driving, and driving, and driving......all the way back to an early arrival back in Michigan, where we were finally out of range of the storms ranging across the midwest.

      As we drove off on to Lakeshore Drive,  the sight of the Big Lake gladdened our eyes.

Spring was already in bloom. Daffodils danced in the breeze, robins hopped over green, soft grass (unlike any grass in desert country) and the beach looked inviting and serene.

       We hoped we would find our home faring well after months of absence, with the water, gas, and electricity turned off.  More on that tomorrow!