August 22


Rain,Rain go away...
Boy, did it ever rain today. Splash, splash, splash.
We were confined to the house until we got a little hold-up in the early afternoon, and, finally, at 3pm the sun broke out, most clouds disappeared and with them the muggy humidity. Tomorrow a sunny day is predicted and we are looking forward to it.


This weather brings to mind the terrible storm we endured last year during our trip south. 


We had stayed overnight in a truck-stop in the southern outskirts of Indianapolis. When we routinely checked the weather forecast next morning we saw the warning. 


Something big and black was coming up from St.Louis,MO. It was supposed to hit Indianapolis at 9am. So we decided to stay put and wait and see. As the clock was nearing 8.45am the sky got dark and darker and darker. At 9am sharp, a terrible sound occurred. We were parked with the broadside to the storm and it was almost like the coach took a step sideways, when the force of the storm hit us.  At the same time I saw a flashing fire coming out of a transformer ahead of us. Traffic signs, regulating a construction area on our lee-side, took flight and disappeared into nothingness. A tremendous rainfall started shortly after with the water flying by horizontally.


A firetruck rolled up and a man checked the holding wires of a power pole. It was then that it went up for me that we were also parked under a high-voltage power line. While the coach was rocking and bucking we looked at each-other asking ourselves how long this mayhem would last. I ran out our leveling jacks. That took away a good deal of the rocking movement. 


There was thunder rolls and lightning all the time. Was this a tornado or a straight wind? We didn't really care. It was bad, really bad.   

This one was in Montana approaching the Canada-border

Weather news  from Radio and Internet contained tornado warnings and sightings.


The major force of the storm was over after one hour, but it took another 3hrs. before it all dissipated. 
Around 1pm we took off towards St.Louis. At first the sky was still grey but all-of-a-sudden we saw the blue sky behind a sharp line of gray.
We made it into the neighbourhood of St.Louis that day, and it was then, that we heard about all the damage in the city.


Weather can be severe and as RV'ers we have to be on the watch-out for sudden weather changes. It is always better to park and wait it out, than dare to challenge it. Our high-profile vehicles are prone to be taken by the wind and thrown left or right - into the ditch or (worse) into on-coming traffic.

July 27


Just another day...
Trying to put another post together is not always coming to me easy. Other bloggers have realized that as well. 


With the day starting out gray and with a drizzle I had to stay inside, even though I rather wanted to work on our porch.
With patience I sat in my favorite chair, glancing out of the window. But my hope to see a clearing in the sky remained small. 


Our thoughts are still going to Norway and the victimized families after the July 22 terror attack. Just as 9/11 had severe consequences for everyone's life in North America, there are consequences in Norway and Europe as well. While Norwegian authorities proclaim that the terror attack will not destroy their freedom and democracy, authorities in Germany tend to increase general surveillance, thereby threatening the principal idea of a free society. One might ask the question whether terrorists are slowly succeeding in undermining a peaceful society, by forcing authorities to restrictive measures against their own population.


In the days after the attack, Oslo has been transformed into a sea of flowers. People have gathered in the city by the thousands to mourn, to talk and simply be together as a Nation. As we are reading the Norwegian Press we have received a lot more information than what media in North America have published. The eyewitnesses account of the attack are heartbreaking. Like after a war, Norwegians are now seeking peace for the sake of peace. They seek healing of their minds and heartaches.  
Commentators also predicted an upswing of active democracy for the coming elections this fall. 

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When the rain finally subsided, I could get outside and to my tools. During the afternoon hours some more dark clouds popped up over on the American side producing a little thunder and a light sprinkle on our side. But it sure was enough thunder to scare Molly into hiding. 

Thunder clouds this afternoon...

...made Molly hide behind the tarp.

At the end of the day I had managed to put all the rafters on to one side of the porch and even thrown an OSB-sheath up on the roof, before Bea was calling for supper.