Welcome to IOWA!!!

Okay, so we're flying to Missouri, right, and during that time, the plans changed... got a call from the assistant production manager informing me that we would not be staying the night in Kansas City, MO. Instead, we were to take the rental car to Council Bluffs (near Omaha,NE), Iowa, and stay the night there, awaiting further instruction, but for now the plan is to rendezvouz with the Twister Sisters sometime tomorrow in South Dakota... D'Oh! Storm Chasing 101, be prepared for anything, just go with the flow. I'm not complaining at all. It is beautiful country-side out here, rolling hills and so much green, vibrant green as far as the eye can see. I was please to have the opportunity to see a nice little rain storm, which I took pictures of, even though Steve was laughing at me for it. Hey, some of us haven't had the opportunity to become bored with rain. It's a luxury as far as I'm concerned.

Currently, we are stopped in our little Ford Focus at a rest stop in nowhere, Iowa, where they offer free (extremely slow) Wifi. Again, not complaining. I am just having to pass the time while pictures take for freaking ever to load...

They just announced that a severe weather warning was in place for the area Southwest of Lincoln, with hail. Some chances of hail after that, too. Awesome! I have to get the obligatory chaser picture with hail in my hand... We also plan to stop at the Nebraska state-line and take a picture by the sign. It's another chaser rule, apparently... lol. Still no picture loaded... sheesh, and I have another one... yikes. I hope the battery holds up.

I was quite surprised to see how hilly it is here. It's not nearly as flat as one would expect. In places you can see for miles, but in some other spots, hills and trees obstruct the view... almost like being back in South Georgia. One thing that was nice, is down in Missouri, there were these large beautiful purple wild flowers that covered the shoulder. Then, there were spots where these sections where layered rocks poked from the hills on the edge of the road. They sort of favored the same type of rock in the Grand Canyon... not that I've seen that in person.

I am so excited to be here in the plains to chase with the Twister Sisters. Awesome set up... Couldn't have happened on a better week for me. I sure hope we can find a tornado or two... or ten. It would make my lifetime. Day 3 is already set up for a moderate risk!!! Holy cow, they mean business! Don't know what they are looking at in SD for tomorrow, as the slight risk only extends to the SW corner of SD. Hope we won't be sitting there until Wednesday, but who knows... Rule #1 is PATIENCE! I guess we'll see, and as I have quickly learned, everything is subject to change!!

I am so psyched!!! The plains will never be the same! I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready!

Happy Chasing!
~Dewdrop