central Natrona County...
That included us. It's not unusual for Casper to get afternoon thunderstorms this time of year, but generally speaking they are short and sweet, or might last a couple hours if the storm is slow moving. Friday was an exception.
My folks had come up from Colorado for the holiday weekend and my dad and I were just starting to grill the corn to go with our beer-boiled brats when I hear my dad announce, "Holy...!" The second word was lost in the wind and sound of the wall of rain slamming into the west side of the house. Quite literally in the blink of an eye the skies went from overcast to monsoonal. The winds were bringing sheet after sheet of rain and hail. The wind was so strong that the elms I have out front on my property line were bent completely horizontal (I was actually concerned it might be a tornado). The warning sirens went off twice, but I could just barely make them out over the noise of the storm.
Half-way through the 40 minute ordeal my ceiling started leaking. I was afraid the storm had blown off some shingles on the west side, but it seems like the rain was blowing with such a strong sideways component that it likely went in through one of the roof vents (designed to keep normal rain and snow -- the kind that falls down, not sideways -- out).
Anyway, it was a real doozy. The county, I heard this morning, has declared a disaster. Interstate intersections were completely flooded out and under five feet of water. The city has set up special collection dumpsters all around town for downed tree limbs. Honestly, even after living off and on for eight years in Atlanta, where big storms are the norm, I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like this one. I'm just glad Les and I escaped any property damage and that everyone we care about is okay.
(If you're interested, here's a link to the local paper for more info http://www.casperstartribune.com/articles/2009/07/06/news/casper/c1914244a978aba9872575ea00063531.txt ).
Saturday was rain-free and a fun day. The folks, Les, and I all went downtown for some shopping, and SURPRISE! my mom found all sorts of goodies. We went to a little bookstore called the Blue Heron where I bought two mysteries by a local author (I'd tell you his name, but my mom has claimed them :) ). After that we went to Lou Talbert's Outfitters. My mother was quite skeptical, ("Will they have anything other than cowboy clothes?"), but ended up buying half the store. One particularly funny moment occurred when my mother (who has absolutely no modesty) was trying on different tops and in the middle of the store just started undoing her blouse to try on another. Well, this is a pretty common occurrence in some of the boutiques she shops at home, but not here in Wyoming. As soon as her bra became exposed I heard an audible gasp from the saleslady helping her, and it was all she could do to get my mom to cover up. I thought the lady was going to pass out. Sorry. No pictures. :D
That evening we met up with Les's mom and her friend Jody, and her dad and his friend and life-partner, Pam and went to the Casper Ghosts baseball game (the local Pioneer League farm team for the Colorado Rockies -- why they changed the name from the Casper Rockies to the Casper Ghosts and adopted a purple platypus for a mascot is something I think only a Wyoming native might be able to explain to me). The game was pretty one sided as the Ghosts really stink so far this year, and the Ogden Raptors don't. Even so, a grand time was had by all (though my "issue" was back in full force, so I had a really hard time, but that's neither here nor there). The ballpark brats were great (at least I thought so, Les may be less inclined to sing their praises), and the atmosphere was really relaxing.
Here's a pic of all that went (the only one I got where you can see everyone). From left to right are Aphrodite (ok, Les), my mom, Kathy, and dad, Art, Pam (Chuck's life-partner), Les's dad, Chuck, Jody, and Les's mom, Deanna.
And here's another with my dad looking somewhat devious. Miss Wyoming USA was there signing autographs and I think he was considering whether or not it would be worth the repercussions for him to saunter over and get her autograph.
The game for us ended in the top of the 9th when the announcer told the crowd that the National Weather Service was warning of another storm like Friday's that was 30 minutes away. We, and half the crowd beat feet out of there.
Not a single drop of rain fell for the rest of the night.
Sunday my folks left, but Deanna stayed one more day at Les's and the two of them helped me with some yard work (thank goodness for BIG favors). Anyway, needed to keep my feet up, so I missed the biggest day of the weekend -- Herman's 8th Birthday!
Les was kind enough to send me some pics throughout the evening, though. Clearly, Herman knew how dashing he looked in his birthday tie...
He was overcome with joy at his present (I would be, too, if I had a chewy half the size of my head, but I'm a bit odd).
And as any good birthday should end, Herman was completely exhausted and didn't even mind his fluffy little bunny butt being recorded for "posterity." ;)
1 comment:
Good post about the weekend. Glad you didn't mention that the announcer at the ball game asked to get all the "elderly" people out of the stands because of the impending but non-appearing storm. How did you know I was thinking about Miss Wyoming's autograph. Actually, I was thinking about other aspects of that lass. ;-)
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