Believe it or not, it has indeed taken us this long to analyze and
compile our data from our trip back in July…that and partial procrastination.
We thought instead of recapping our trip from our memory (which is no longer
reliable being it was five months back), we’d post the contents of our travel
logs along with some pictures and fun stuff like that.
JULY 7, 2012
We left our
home in Kitsap County at 4:30 this morning. By my luck, I inadvertently woke up
at 3:45 am, and found it a waste of time to bother with going back to sleep
(and I feared sleeping through my 4:00 alarm). We took highway 305 down to
Winslow and got in the rather short line for the 5:00 am ferry into Seattle.
Upon our arrival in Seattle, we were greeted by a magnificent sun rise at
approximately 6:15 AM. We merged onto I-90 and followed it until we reached the
central Washington city of Ellensburg, where we stopped for our “quality”
breakfast at Perkins, consisting of eggs, sausage and coffee around nine in the
morning. From there we followed I-90 until we arrived in Spokane, WA around
noon. Because the time were making was so good, we opted to walk around a small
park and stop for coffee at Starbucks. Later passing through Couer D’ Alene, ID
and into Montana, we stopped in our favorite little rest stop, known as St,
Regis, MT. We’ve always loved this little gas station/ restaurant/ tourist
store simply because the trinket shop has the best of everything in Montana. We
all refreshed ourselves in the glory known as Flat Head Lake Soda Company’s
famed Huckleberry soda. As we stepped
outside we noticed several thunderstorms going up to our direct south. We
followed I-90 into Missoula before jumping onto highway 93 through the
Bitterroot Valley of south western Montana. We continually were blessed with
the chance to watch several thunderstorms pop up around us. It wasn’t until we
entered Hamilton, MT that we encountered nature’s car wash and witnessed several
lovely lightning strikes.
By tradition rules, when we
entered into Darby, MT (our base for the trip) we played Guns and Roses’ “Paradise
City.” I state again, this was all in the name of tradition. We pulled into our
bases for the week and unloaded out mass amounts of equipment, ended the night
with a dinner of spaghetti, and went straight to bed.
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| Storms firing south of St. Regis, MT |
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| Coming off the ferry in Seattle, WA |
JULY 8, 2012
I shall admit that sleeping in this morning was one of the best things
ever. Ten hours of sleep after being up for more that eighteen hours of being
awake and ten of that spent driving is the best thing in the world…next to
chocolate.
Because the weather pattern for
the day was relatively calm, we drove into Hamilton around noon, found an old
road house diner and had a fantastic lunch. After lunch we meandered down to the
Bitterroot River and found a lovely swimming spot and spent about two hours
doing so in the hundred degree heat.
We arrived back at our base
around four in the afternoon and enjoyed a passing thunderstorm with the dogs that
had come to visit (Casey and Duke ♥).
(TOP LEFT: CASEY)
(BOTTOM LEFT: DUKE)
(RIGHT: SWIMMING IN THE BITTERROOT)
JULY 9, 2012
We arose
this morning with a start that I like to call “The fall out of bed special.”
Overnight the model maps had changed their minds and were forecasting a more
active day with the possibility of severe storms in the area. After the quick
scare, we ruled out the possibility of tornadoes and spent the day reviewing
the next day’s models and forecasts before setting up that afternoon. Mid-way
through the setup of out equipment, a large thunderstorm rolled through and we
were forced to bring our mesonet inside until the storm passed. We then relaxed
with a microwave diner on the front porch and watched the storms roll though.
JULY 10, 2012
Today was
the day. I woke up at 5:30 am and prepared myself for the day. At 6 am, I made
the coffee before heading outside and loading up the vehicle with our fully
assembled equipment. The Lord blessed with a wonderful omen disguised as a
golden sunrise layered in smoke form the nearby wildfires.
After a very quick breakfast and the
downing of two cups of coffee, our team headed out of the Bitterroot Valley
around eight in the morning. We arrived in Hamilton thirty minutes later and found
the towns to be stuck under thunderstorms tinted purple against a glowing
orange sky due to the smoke form the wildfires. I myself was unable to decipher
the feelings of fear from the feeling or excitement and wonder. We headed over
the very dreaded Skalkoho Pass (if you’ve very taken it and you’re afraid of
heights, you’ll understand). The thundered storms followed us until they were
partially blocked by the Rocky Mountains, thus giving us time to waste and
relax before headed out again. We found a small lake, which we dubbed “Mosquito
Lake” because of the amount of Mosquitos we were busy warding off while
fishing. I, Fe Schell, do claim the title of most fish caught, even if they
were all stupid a slightly physically disabled. I managed to catch a fish
without a tail, then I somehow and I have no clue how this happened- I caught a
fish by its ass. Not joking, the hook was in the wrong hole. I still feel bad
for that fish to this day.
We later drove into Phillipsburg, MT
for lunch, explored the local history museum and invaded the two story candy
shop. By now it was near one in the afternoon and sunny skies were still
present. We then ventured east to our target areas, passing through Anaconda,
MT (home to some of our most loved storm cells), and the arriving in Butte. We
wasted time until three pm admiring the Berkeley Pit. Noticing several small
rain blips appear on the radar, we headed south for the action on I-15. Several
miles south of Butte, we made a gas0up stop and a truck stop, filled up again
of coffee and food before leaving for a thunderstorm that had popped up ten
miles to our south. Unfortunately by the time we had caught up to it, it had
not only passed over the interstate, but was only producing two lightning
strikes every ten minutes. With the time now four in the afternoon, we
continued south on 15 until I looked at the radar and realized the horrible
truth. Several massive storm cells had popped up to our north, specifically Anaconda
and Butte, where we had just been. Nothing was to our south for us to chase and
we had no time to turn around. Completely disheartened by the unfortunate events
taking place, I began to desperately pray when I was asked if I wished to
continues south on 15, our cut of onto highway 49 through Divide.
“Lord, help me to make the right decision.”
I prayed. Before I knew it, I found the words “Keep south” slipping of my tongue.
We continued south towards Dillon, where we stopped at Safeway for more coffee.
At this point I was really beginning to doubt myself and threw myself into a
panic. Had I made the wrong choice of day to chase? Was this just not supposed to happen this
year? I told myself over and over, in hope of some form of consolidation that
everything happens for a reason. Out of instinct, I looked at the radar picture
one last time. I noticed a small band of showers about to pass over the Idaho/
Montana border. We left Dillon and entered the Big Hole Valley, hoping to catch
the small cell that was beginning to developed, heading straight for us. I
prayed one last, very desperate prayer.
“Lord, I’m just going to wing this
and go without the radar. For old times’ sake.”
Within a minute of saying amen, our
bars dropped to NO SERVICE and we were forced to go without radar and chase
with our eyes. After coming around a large bed, we were greeted by a very well-developed
storm featuring a strong shelf cloud and lighting every minute or so…and that
was only on the outside of the cell. Ten minutes later, we found ourselves
admiring the storm, accidentally, and by a beautiful chance, stuck under the
main rotation of the now tornadic storm. We made a quick deployment, collecting
our data that was much needed, coming close to being struck by a lightning
bolt, stuffing the pod back into the car, and simply enjoying the storm as the
rain and hail moved in. after all was said and done, we left, the time now five
in the afternoon. We witnessed the strongest Mammatus clouds we’ve seen, and
crashed on the couch upon arriving back at base. With our mission accomplished,
we slept soundfully and woke rested and ready to head home the next day, though
after reaching St. Regis the next day, we realized that we felt up to staying
an extra day of two. Unfortunately because we had already gone too far, we continued
homebound, making in to the Cascade Mountains, staying the night in a hotel in
Leavenworth (specifically, The Enzian). 
