2011 Chase Trip - Day 3 - MAY 10, 2011 - Positioning Practice

My third day on the plains was a travel and practice day, in anticipation of the big Kansas outbreak day on Wednesday. South Dakota, Nebraska and northern Kansas fell away behind me as I made my way to Pratt, Kansas by late afternoon. A chance for a few elevated storms was forecast, and I took the opportunity to practice navigating around one of them on the awesome Kansas road network. As my sample storm drifted north-northeast, I gave the sandy, dusty farm roads a try, and got a good feel for how some of the dodgier ones were mingled in with the better-maintained roads. The consistency was a lot sloppier than the South Dakota experience the day before--definitely not something I want to be on when it's wet. I gradually let the storm slip by to my north as it put on a nice lightning display for me.

An elevated storm drifts along north of Pratt, Kansas, providing a nice opportunity to practice pacing and positioning along the local farm roads.

Radar view of my little practice storm.

Appreciating the sights along the way. This patched up old farm building was loaded with personality.

This was the one night I set aside for a motel to rest up for the big day on Wednesday. Money was tight, so I picked a low cost option on the east side of Pratt. The various long-term motel residents on the south wing were tailgate-partying and I probably would have been a little more unsettled if I wasn't so tired. There were no bedbugs that I could see, but I kept everything off the floor anyway. I asked for replacement sheets that didn't have hair on them. The new set of sheets had holes in them too, but thankfully no spare hair. I layered bath towels along my sleep area, maintained posture and had zero contact with the rest of the bed. Not ideal, but it was a great relief compared to the car seat sleeping position. It was so nice to have a shower too--don't touch the walls, or shower curtains of course.

Lessons Learned:

• Less maintained Kansas roads can be dicey for a Honda Civic even when dry--stay away when wet.
• Budget $60 for a less grungy motel experience. Bring a sleeping bag just in case.
• Set video camera to 1/30 sec. exposure to keep lightning from being chopped up by rolling shutter effect.

Day 1 - MAY 8, 2011 - Night Storms in South Dakota

Day 2 - MAY 9, 2011 - Anticipating Initiation in South Dakota

Day 3 - MAY 10, 2011 - Positioning Practice in Kansas

Day 4 - MAY 11, 2011 - Tough Decisions in Kansas