Day 6 - Back on (storm) track...and some..!

Well...the Beaumont Inn, despite appearing to have had a recent overhaul was of its time. The room was basic and the air conditioning clanky and loud. All in all a poor night's sleep accompanied by someone snoring and growling...

We're on the road at 09:00 and in search of breakfast which unfortunately this morning means iHop which is firmly in last place on the Plains breakfast list. As we head out we encounter a rare traffic installation - a roundabout, known over here as a "traffic circle". The iHop breakfast was actually decent, so a big improvement but still with the bizarre presentation; the waitresses were nice and efficient. A group of elder statesmen sat across from us, one with a baseball cap declaring "the 2nd amendment is my gun license".

My golden rules on these trips are: Don't get into discussions about politics, religion or guns as it will not end well. The obvious addition to this is to never order a large of anything, something I fell foul of in New York last year with Bloomingdales' famous frozen yoghurt...I've never had brain freeze like it.

This morning's SPC update looks positive, and there is a chance of weather on the last 5 days of the trip; so far we are 2 from 5, though from a road trip perspective there is plenty to keep us entertained, yesterday being a prime example.

The SPC has a large slight risk stretching from the Texas Panhandle to Minnesota and a 2% tornado chance draped across north east Colorado, north west Kansas and a large swathe of Nebraska. We'll head west and see how things develop with an overnight stay in good 'ol North Platte, Nebraska.

My first three trips were spent predominately belting down the i70 in Kansas and that's our initial route, a very familiar area. We pass through Quinter; the week before I arrived in 2008 the tour company encountered an EF4 crossing the road here and had to drive the wrong way down the interstate to escape. We pass Oakley and it's 11:10. 

We have a pit stop at Colby, Kansas, buy some expensive coffee and Rory has a Big Foot encounter...the SPC upgrades to an enhanced risk, but this is mostly for wind, the tornado risk looks the same and our plans are unchanged.

We head north up Highway 27 to St. Francis and visit the Motorcycle Museum, another of the Plain's nuggets, filled with all sorts of motorcycles including replicas of the Easy Rider movie bikes. We head north to Haigler to Nebraska then bear north west on US34 towards Wray, Colorado as we criss cross state lines and time zones. At Wray we head north on US Highway 385, it's 90f and just gone 13:00. 

Lunch today is at Blisties in Holyoke, Colorado. I had the crispy chicken salad and Rory the burger with potato tots; both were pretty good. We're back on the road heading north towards Nebraska, skirt south of Julesburg (where Alex and I played pool last year) and then head west on i80. There are storms to our west; it's 15:15 and 31c.

We have a pit stop near Sydney; you know you're in Nebraska if you see a Runza. I'm feeling a bit sleepy so it's time to chug a 5 hour energy drink and its 20,833% RDA of vitamin B12. A cell has popped up to our west and gone severe warned (the yellow box) so we're off down the i80 to meet it. 

We get to Pine Bluffs, just inside Wyoming. The storm has lost it's severe box, and just as I try to refresh RadarScope I get a text asking me to buy another roaming pass...that sorted I've caught up and the severe warn box is back; the storm is at 50,000, showing 4" hail on radar and "tornado possible". We head east, have another stop then turn south on Nebraska 71 at junction 20 to get below our storm which is heading south east at 16 knots.

We continue south, have another stop and take some photos. It's clear that this storm is weakening but another has sprung up to the south which has gone severe warned and is heading directly north. We continue south to intercept. 

We take Colorado 14 east towards Sterling, finally getting out of the rain for a photo stop. Suddenly there is a huge flash and crash as lightning strikes somewhere close...too close! We scarper back into the Jeep. We resume east.

This new storm is now heading due east and we're in perfect position. We stop, take photos, move on repeat. We get to the brow of a hill and have a fantastic view of this storm and it is starting to take shape. It's spinning like a top, and has classic features of a supercell about to produce a tornado: horseshoe shape, clear slot and the rear flank downdraft wrapping round the back off the storm. How is this thing not producing? We're on the only tornado warned storm anywhere, we're in perfect position and it is doing everything but putting down a tornado. Some where in the gloom someone calls in a tornado. If it's there we should be able to see it; we can't. The structure is incredible, everything you'd ever want to see. The cameras are earning their corn.

We keep going and get through Sterling. The place should be screaming with tornado sirens, there's one going somewhere in the distance which is pretty underwhelming. As we pass through town it's getting dark so time to bail. We continue east to Fleming then take a country road north to join the interstate for our two hour drive to our hotel (La Quinta) in North Platte. We grabbed a Subway at Big Springs, Nebraska and some Voodoo Ranger Imperial IPA  to sustain us until breakfast. What in incredible day!

Tomorrow has storms, the where and when will be more apparent in the morning.

Total miles: 631