Rapid City Outrageousness!
Well, we're finally heading home after two fun-filled weeks on the road. Yesterday we headed out from Northfield, MN, where we had a lovely visit with my aunt, uncle & cousins, and drove to Rapid City, SD. We'd thought about driving through the Badlands, stopping in Wall for dinner, and possibly heading to Mt. Rushmore when we got into town. Sydney was SO excited about seeing the big faces in the rock.
We got on the road later than expected, so we opted out of driving through the Badlands. Both of the kids fell asleep in the car, so we opted not to stop for dinner in Wall. Our guardian angel was certainly watching over us - the skies were grey all day long, but when we pulled into Rapid City it started to rain. We checked in to our hotel and headed downtown to eat dinner at the Firehouse Brewery.
As we were driving, the rain really started to pour. There was ridiculous lightning. The streets were starting to flood a little bit. When we got downtown, the emergency sirens started going off. We parked and turned on the radio just in time to hear that there was gigantic hail in the area. We decided to high-tail it back to the hotel. It was a crazy drive back, through torrential rains, flooding streets and with the sirens blaring. When we got to the hotel, we each grabbed a kid and ran inside to our room to watch the news.
We were extremely lucky that we timed things the way we did, and that we stayed where we did. There was a tornado warning (nothing touched down, but there were multiple funnel clouds spotted over town) and the interstate was closed north of Rapid City and, later, east of Rapid City where we'd just been driving due to tennis ball-sized hail that was breaking sunroofs and windshields. There was also flash flooding all over the area.
It seems that the storm has passed and we are hopeful that the interstate has reopened and we'll be able to head on to Wyoming. We're going to try to go see the giant rock faces this morning to keep Sydney happy. I keep thinking of our last trip through here, when we camped down in Custer State Park (scene of much havoc last night) in ridiculously hot weather. What a different experience this year! My thoughts are with the South Dakotans who will have much cleaning up to do today.
Now we head off to Cody, Wyoming, and tomorrow will take us through Yellowstone. I'm looking forward to our sightseeing, but boy am I ready to be home!
We got on the road later than expected, so we opted out of driving through the Badlands. Both of the kids fell asleep in the car, so we opted not to stop for dinner in Wall. Our guardian angel was certainly watching over us - the skies were grey all day long, but when we pulled into Rapid City it started to rain. We checked in to our hotel and headed downtown to eat dinner at the Firehouse Brewery.
As we were driving, the rain really started to pour. There was ridiculous lightning. The streets were starting to flood a little bit. When we got downtown, the emergency sirens started going off. We parked and turned on the radio just in time to hear that there was gigantic hail in the area. We decided to high-tail it back to the hotel. It was a crazy drive back, through torrential rains, flooding streets and with the sirens blaring. When we got to the hotel, we each grabbed a kid and ran inside to our room to watch the news.
We were extremely lucky that we timed things the way we did, and that we stayed where we did. There was a tornado warning (nothing touched down, but there were multiple funnel clouds spotted over town) and the interstate was closed north of Rapid City and, later, east of Rapid City where we'd just been driving due to tennis ball-sized hail that was breaking sunroofs and windshields. There was also flash flooding all over the area.
It seems that the storm has passed and we are hopeful that the interstate has reopened and we'll be able to head on to Wyoming. We're going to try to go see the giant rock faces this morning to keep Sydney happy. I keep thinking of our last trip through here, when we camped down in Custer State Park (scene of much havoc last night) in ridiculously hot weather. What a different experience this year! My thoughts are with the South Dakotans who will have much cleaning up to do today.
Now we head off to Cody, Wyoming, and tomorrow will take us through Yellowstone. I'm looking forward to our sightseeing, but boy am I ready to be home!
posted by knittinmom at 7:39 AM
2 Comments:
Holy Carp!
I ate at the Firehouse Brewery in Rapid City in 1992 during an Upper Midwest road trip. It was the same night that Bush Sr. threw up on the Japanese Prime Minister's lap.
Glad you didn't get caught in that storm. Sounds pretty scary. See you soon!
Oh, we love Cody! If you think the kiddos would like it, try to stop by the Tecumseh Trading Post--cool miniature old west village and (full- size) museum.
So glad you guys got in out of the storm last night!
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