Friday, July 29, 2016

Hurricane Force WInds, oh my 07/28/2016

It's been a while since I captured a nice shelf cloud coming into the Wichita area.  It set up on a nice cold front that swept into the Wichita area. . .

From the NWS Wichita Website:

Radar animation


Velocity animation


The first picture was taken up near Newton. Not real spectacular, a bit of a blob.  Maybe a hint of a shelf forming in the lower right hand corner.  I relied on radar data and the storm looked to gain a nice bow echo, so I headed back to the Valley Center area (north of Wichita).
Taken from Galaxy S5, a small fire is seen right of center.  This was non-storm related.

























The shelf cloud had developed well and was approaching quickly.  I found an open area facing north and west, (the road goes east and west).














Early reports had baseball sized hail out near Kingman and 80 mph winds.
 I was beginning to see the gust front, so I headed home before the main winds hit.  Although not too bad of winds were recorded in Valley Center, a wind gust in NE Wichita was recorded at 78 mph.



Hurricane Force WInds, oh my 07/28/2016

It's been a while since I captured a nice shelf cloud coming into the Wichita area.  It set up on a nice cold front that swept into the Wichita area. . .

From the NWS Wichita Website:

Radar animation


Velocity animation


The first picture was taken up near Newton. Not real spectacular, a bit of a blob.  Maybe a hint of a shelf forming in the lower right hand corner.  I relied on radar data and the storm looked to gain a nice bow echo, so I headed back to the Valley Center area (north of Wichita).


Taken from Galaxy S5, a small fire is seen right of center.  This was non-storm related.

























The shelf cloud had developed well and was approaching quickly.  I found an open area facing north and west, (the road goes east and west).














Early reports had baseball sized hail out near Kingman and 80 mph winds.
 I was beginning to see the gust front, so I headed home before the main winds hit.  Although not too bad of winds were recorded in Valley Center, a wind gust in NE Wichita was recorded at 78 mph.



Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Colorado Adventure Maroon Bells

Maroon Bells is one of the most photographed places in Colorado.  I went with my parents over 21 years ago.  Drove up there, my father said this is nice, and they were ready to leave.  This has been on my list to return since.  The day we went, Red Flag Advisories were up for the area and wind was at 30 mph with occasional higher gusts.  I was not able to get the beautiful reflection from Maroon Lake but was able to capture the three tones of the lake from runoff and algae.  Enough talking, just go if you get the chance.













Colorado Trip - The Resting Place of Doc Holiday

In Glenwood Springs, Colorado, I noticed some mention of Doc Holiday.  After a quick Google, I found he was buried in a small place called Pioneer Cemetery.



Some of the online discussions mentioned that it was an easy to moderate climb. Being in the thinner Colorado atmosphere, I would say it was a moderate but very interesting trail.







 It provided a great view of Glenwood Springs,




an odd ribbon tree that I have yet to understand the meaning (a little searching states it's a memorial in Ute Indian tradition*),





















and an old cemetery that featured some of the founders of Glenwood Springs and many, many stories.










Doc Holiday's marker is in the back of the cemetery marked by a flagpole and fence. This may not be the proper resting place of Doc Holiday though.
Doc Holiday died after three years of hospitalization due to tuberculosis. He died a pauper and was buried in the potter's field with a wood marker. Over time, the marker rotted beyond recognition and records of the old cemetery were lost.  The new marker was placed in a highly probable spot.


we spent time walking the cemetery looking at other grave-sites.  Most had been replaced due to age but some of the original still remained.  Well worth the trip for history buffs.


* http://www.pikespeakhsmuseum.org/ute-culturally-scarred-trees/

Sunday, July 17, 2016

Twister Museum - Wakita

I decided to make the pilgrimage to the Twister museum in Wakita, Oklahoma.























This was after the big 20th anniversary in May.  The museum is an interesting place that documented the making of the movie and contains relics and photos.

Unfortunately Aunt Meg's house was destroyed during the making.