Day 2 - Storm Chasing Lost Images - How big is Kansas?!

Chalk Monuments as you come across the gravel roads and look over the fields.

Toyota, please feel free to reimburse me for this wonderful image of my Highlander handling the monuments with ease.

Captain Morgan and his evil twin strike again!

What a gorgeous and serene environment.

Day 2 took us from Concordia, Kansas, where we experienced our first and only tornado at about 1:30 in the morning to these magnificent monuments, aptly named, Monument Rocks; they're called the chalk monuments, too. Located about (5) miles off of 83, we had to drive down a gravel road and then a dirt road. Rich was so excited he could hardly wait! But, when we got there it was all worth it as there wasn't another soul in sight and we could explore as long as we wanted. One really can't see these rocks until you get right into the field, out in the middle of nowhere, and there isn't anything else like it anywhere close. Rich and I came up with an idea to compete with Crayola, but the specifics are still in the works. It was great weather as you can tell, blue skies and all!

Day 1 - Storm Chasing Lost Images

The inside of Hart's Diner, located on 54.

Outdoors at Hart's!

The setting sun on Day 1 as we headed north to catch the big storm.

Day 1 included a great drive from Des Moines, IA to the south central part of Kansas to Pratt. A smaller town with all of the charm, we actually ran into some "professional" storm chasers that were waiting for the ignition for all hell to break loose. Professional or not, we were all losers there. For some reason or another, the storm decided not to flare up while we were there. So, we grabbed a bite to eat at the soon to be world famous Hart's Diner which had all of the charm of a 1950's diner. The food was great, the people were friendly, and the bill was cheap. Who could ask for more?! From there, we decided to venture north where the energy rolled out of the Rockies and was already producing some sizeable funnel clouds. Unfortunately, we knew we were going to get there late, we just didn't know how or what we would see.

Storm Chasing ....

Garden of the Gods.


Field in northern Kansas.


Pikes Peak.

Chalk Monument, Kansas (soon to be famous)

Abandoned house, northern Kansas

Starting Thursday, April 24, I started on my mission to storm chase in Kansas or wherever the storms would be for the next few days. I did manage to see one tornado and live, thus I consider that a success. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to photograph that tornado as it was at around 1 a.m. and only viewed by lightning. Location: just outside of Concordia, Kansas. After that date, the storm chasing trip turned into a road trip since blue skies dominated the nation. Colorado Springs, Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, and the not-so-famous (yet) Chalk Monument in Kansas were some of the main attractions. All in all, after about 2600 miles in six days, I feel it was a great exploration. Thank you to my friend, Rich, for accompanying me and keeping me grounded! I can't wait until the next storm!