12 June 2022
Sturgis to Sturgis, SD
329 km
I managed a great seven hours of sleep and spent the time making sure my photos were off my cards before I formatted them.
We met up at ten for a short briefing in which Chris said the day would be just like yesterday except there would be a tornado.
Maybe.
We had breakfast at One Eyed Jack’s Saloon.
We finished up outside playing bean bag toss.
We left just after one, going towards Montana. We had kept the reservation at the hotel in Sturgis as well, expecting to be back in the area at the end of the day.
We went as far as Alzeda and then tried a gravel road towards a large developing system that wasn’t far from one of the storms the day before.
We pulled over on a ridge which gave us a great view of the approaching system.
It was moving fast so we didn’t linger very long. As I walked back up towards the van, I noticed the tall grass in front of me was moving. Then I glimpsed a snake making a beeline for the van. I screamed snake and Chris went into action.
We said hello to the snake and he let it go away from the road.
Have I mentioned that this is why I live in a place that hurts my face? It bears repeating.
We returned to the main highway after finding out that a possible southern route was a dirt road. They will drive on gravel roads but the dirt roads are too dangerous in severe weather. So, we got back to the main highway and turned towards South Dakota with the fast moving system on our tail.
We made a number of short stops along the way to get a few shots of the gorgeous structure.
We kept ahead of the system on the interstate but knew we wouldn’t be able to keep up with it and started looking at two other systems coming in behind the first. The air had turned cold which meant the first system had sapped all their strength and they fell apart.
With nothing left to chase, we went to the nearby town of Piedmont and watched the hail core cross in the distance.
It was a beautiful teal blue.
And made for a nice timelapse.
We stopped at a Sinclair store for a grab and go meal of chicken and biscuits while we watched one of the second systems move over the hills nearby.
And then found a spot to watch the sunset.
We finished up before nine and headed back to the Day’s Inn in Sturgis.
And no internet.
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Bill Reid’s entry on 12 June 2022
Chris Gullikson’s roof cam