Today was another driving day. A couple of worthwhile observatons: Missouri was much nicer than I expected, rolling hills and small farms. Iowa on the other habd was ugly. I realize making judgemnets on the entire state based on a drive on Rt 29 is not really fair but still this is what I saw. Iowa was full of dead trees, ugly brown wheat like weeds and potmarked roads. That was as much to report until I saw a nasty storm forming on the horizon. As we drove it became clear that we were heading rigt for the purple section of the storm (not orange or red but purple). We turned off and found the little towm of Glemwood. It was the perfect place to wait out the storm and have lunch. We decided this was the nicest place that Iowa had to offer. I felt pretty proud of myself for evading the nasty cell and headed northward. As we moved into South Dakota we noticed the skies darkening around us. This time, it wasnt a small single cell but a massive supercell. There was literally no where to go (except for the way we came). The skies darkened around us and turned an eerie shade of green. The kids said it was pretty until the blinding rain and deafeneing hail. This is a picture JAckson took before the rain came.
We pulled off the road when viibility reached zero and headed north when there were headlights to follow. Here is a picture from Madeline's phone while we were stopped.
We stopped near an overpass for 20-30 minutes. There were so many cars stopped on the shoulders and in actually lanes there was only a small lane left through. The storm was not lightening in fact it seemed to continue to get worse. When it looked like the road might get entirely bocked by cars just stopping, I decided to pull out and not risk getting trapped. I stopped another time or two when I just couldnt see. I finally made it to the Sioux Falls exit and pulled over and booked a hotel room. Now the flooding made it impossible to get to the hotel room. The only entrance was (ad is still) under many feet of water. So, we parked in a nearby hotel, ran in and took safety. Since then, things have calmed down. We made a couple rainy run to the van to get our stuff, we watched the US beat Ghana in soccer and now comfortably resting in our hotel room. Off to the Badlands tomorrow. Hopefully, the rain stays away!
We pulled off the road when viibility reached zero and headed north when there were headlights to follow. Here is a picture from Madeline's phone while we were stopped. 
We stopped near an overpass for 20-30 minutes. There were so many cars stopped on the shoulders and in actually lanes there was only a small lane left through. The storm was not lightening in fact it seemed to continue to get worse. When it looked like the road might get entirely bocked by cars just stopping, I decided to pull out and not risk getting trapped. I stopped another time or two when I just couldnt see. I finally made it to the Sioux Falls exit and pulled over and booked a hotel room. Now the flooding made it impossible to get to the hotel room. The only entrance was (ad is still) under many feet of water. So, we parked in a nearby hotel, ran in and took safety. Since then, things have calmed down. We made a couple rainy run to the van to get our stuff, we watched the US beat Ghana in soccer and now comfortably resting in our hotel room. Off to the Badlands tomorrow. Hopefully, the rain stays away!
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