After nearly a month on the road it is good to be back home. Dusty, tired and happy. Chase '05 is one for the books. And one I'll not soon forget.

It's been a tough year for all chasers. With many fine moments along the way. If it wasn't for June 9 I still would have considered it a blast. There were many good chases this year. But that particular day was a standout. I'm sure glad I pushed my flight back a few extra days. What a payoff!

I have lots of video and hundreds of stills to go through. Someday I'll get it organized and posted. But it will have to wait until after the move. An extended chase vacation left me with less than 2 weeks to pack my office/studio and all of our worldly possessions. Out of the chase rig and into the buzz saw. Forget sorting. I'm shoveling stuff into boxes as fast as I can. The movers arrive Friday morning. I'll sort it out on the other end. My next post will be made from beautiful Downtown Salem MA. Can't wait.

A huge thank you to my Chase partner Joel Ewing. A great friend and an awesome team mate. We rocked this year bud. And also to Warren and Lisa (Chase Angel) for hanging out and sharing some great times.

To the many friends old and new who I met along the road. And to my loved ones at home who kept cheering us on. A big thank you. We'll do it again on '06.

This blog will continue to be filled with useless trivia throughout the year. But for now I'm just too tired and busy.

Groove,

db

Posted by at 2:07 PM | Permalink

As we were pushing south and west to get into position for Friday conditions started to add up for a favorable day in west Kansas. Good thing I decided to extend my trip a few days.

We targeted Norton KS as a starting point and sat tight watching satellite and radar waiting for something good to go up. I knew we were in the right place when we again ran into Tim Samaras and his crew gassing up. Very nice guy.

Storms went up almost at once and we chose Hill City. Then blasted south. It was the start of a significant outbreak. Not much to say about it really. The images say it best (video clips when I get around to it.) We caught several tornadoes in Graham, Rooks and Trego counties. It went on for hours and left me speechless. It was an amazing day.

This was a serious event however. And I'm relieved to say that no one was killed. Though a truck driver was seriously injured when his rig was tossed on I-70. There was a significant amount of property damage as well. Especially around Stockton. We can all be grateful that these storms were well spotted, monitored and warned.

Posted by at 11:09 PM | Permalink

After yesterday's adventure in South Dakota we ended up back in Valentine NE. We got off to a late start. Trying to make the action in E. Kansas but it was out of reach. Just as well. We needed to power down. I'm feeling pretty road worn after 3 weeks. After a visit to the Pioneer Village Museum in Minden (amazing!) we landed in Grand Island NE for a good meal an some sleep.

I'm due to fly out tomorrow but tempted to change flights stay out a few more days. The Forecasts for the Panhandles on Friday looks way too tempting. Tomorrow looks god too. I'll sleep on it and make some calls in the morning.

Posted by at 10:44 PM | Permalink

We spent the better part of the day in Valentine NE on Tuesday. Lying in wait for the first storm to pop. It could be anywhere in So. Dakota or North West NE. Pretty remote part of the country. And quite beautiful too. We needed to choose our target carefully as it would likely be my last good chase day of '05.

Around 4:30 in the afternoon a storm finally broke the CAP about 100 miles to the west. Just north of Pine Ridge SD. So we were off.

We got there just in time. Tornados were brief and modest. And very high based. But we got em from a distance. Roads were sparse on the Sioux Reservation. But with a little help from the locals we managed to follow this storm all the way through the Badlands. It was breathtaking.

Then a big squall line spanked us all the way home to Valentine with rain, high winds and hail.

It would have been sad to go home without a day like this one. Definitely a highlight of my season.

Posted by at 8:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Before leaving North Platte we stopped in and visited the folks at the NWS for some pleasant conversation and Info. We decided to move north and position ourselves for Tuesday as data and forecasting unfolded throughout the day.

A beautiful trip up through the Sand Hills, we ended up in Valentine NE and soon found ourselves just outside of a Tornado Box to the south west. we took in a leisurely evening chase. Missing the brief tornados (road access in the Sand Hills is a real challenge) we watched some beautiful storms as the sun set. The dropped anchor in Valentine knowing that tomorrow would be a bigger day. Today's evening action was an unplanned bonus.

Conditions are coming together for tomorrow's show. But it's will probably be another "needle in a haystack" chase. They sure aren't coming easy this year.

Posted by at 6:11 PM | Permalink

Woke up in Emporia. Tired and worn. Being so close to Wichita I considered flying out early. Cutting my losses.

While sitting on the fence about my travel plans I met some friendly hard core chasers in the parking lot of the hotel. Including non-other than Tim Samaras and Al Pietrycha. I didn't feel so bad after hearing about their frustrating chases the day before. We compared notes and decisions. Apparently yesterday frustrated even the best of the best.

With one more chance at a big play this week (probably Tuesday) somewhere up in the Dakotas, I changed my plans to fly out of Omaha at the end of the week. I've come this far. I might as well play one more good game if there is one to be played.

We migrated to North Platte NE. Stopping along the way in a beautiful little town called Council Grove KS. We passed through the night before and were curious to see it in the daylight. I'm glad we did. It was like driving through a postcard. A great way to recoup after a hard bust.

Yesterday I was cursing eastern KS as though it were purgatory. Today it could be heaven on earth.

Posted by at 8:57 PM | Permalink

So much for "High Risk Saturday."

Another grueling bust. Conditions were in place from Texas to Iowa. We left Goodland KS moving east first thing in the morning. The challenge was to pick the most likely place for initiation. The "high risk" area later evolved to a PDS tornado watch covering half of Kansas. Finding the right spot, and having time to get there was a huge challenge. After studying many swipes at the Satellite image we positioned ourselves at a truck stop in Salina KS and waited. It felt like we were sitting on a powder keg. We needed to be on the first good storm ASAP as tornados would drop quickly and the storms likely to rain out fast.

We chased the first likely candidate. A powerful storm went up to our south that soon went tornadic. We were on it. Then jammed by a washed out road. Forced to back track we were out of the first hunt. The rest of the day we were two steps behind. Chasing lined-out, high precipitation mush. We worked every last bit out of that complex landing in Emporia KS at about 11:00 p.m. Very tired and hungry.

Bad forecasting, highway construction, traffic, washed out roads, camera problems, this day sucked out loud.

That's chasing...

Posted by at 11:54 PM | Permalink

Looks like a big day today.

Posted by at 9:37 AM | Permalink

Friday was a tough call. Nothing is in sync. Lot's of dynamic elements moving around the alley. But everything is socked in. There was some potential down around Childress TX. But it was rain drenched. And if we played it we would be way out of pocket for day 2. When we'll probably need to be in South East NE or East KS. So we opted for the possibility of the Denver Cyclone and headed north, then west into eastern CO.

Continue reading "Long Strange Daze...." »

Posted by at 6:25 PM | Permalink

Without doubt this had to have been one of the most bizarre events of my chasing career. Conditions were right (slightly suspect) for a major isolated storm. And it went up right in front of us.

We began our day by choosing Ulysses KS as our target after a visit to the Weather Service in Dodge City. We had two choices. Blast up to north east CO where some kind of initiation was guaranteed but dew points low. Or hang in south west KS where instability was high but capping strong. The bet was that if something went up and broke the cap near us, we could have an isolated monster. We placed our bets on the later.

Continue reading "The Great Hugoton Bust of '05" »

Posted by at 10:04 PM | Permalink

Today we took a leisurely drive up to Dodge City KS to put ourselves in position. Tomorrow (Thursday) looks to be pretty volatile. And that's just a warm up for Friday. I don't want to jinx it, but the next few days here could be wild. Make that "explosive." We have a dry-line setting up with south west flow. Very spring like. It seems that some serious weather could hit the central plains in the next few days.

Posted by at 10:32 PM | Permalink

Tuesday was another great chase day. That makes 2 in a row. While we didn't get 'naders we did see several modest funnels and spinners. The storms were quite dramatic. I learned a lot from these clouds today.

The SPC placed "Moderate Risk" just below us, south of Amarillo. It wasn't long before we were in a "Red Box." Trying to pick our storm.

The most likely candidate � a high precipitation monster � morphed it's way south east from Hereford to Nazareth. Teasing us with varied rotation and sporadic lowering. In the end it was a linear storm with too much precipitation. It kept choking on itself.

We later chose a much more promising beast, also moving southeast along Highway 84. We picked it up in Muleshoe and followed down to Lubbock. It was dramatic at times. And quite tornadic. Lot's of rain and hail. In the end it couldn't get out of it's own way and never really had a chance to drop a serious rotation. It too kept choking itself.

However, It was the best storm in the box as evidenced by the 100 or so chase vehicles we found ourselves in the midst of. Blasting down 84 was every tour group, university team, photographer and tourist in the alley. Even the Doppler on Wheels." It was quite a circus actually. It reached comedic proportions when that ridiculous "Tornado Car" blew by. And some butt head wearing Darth Vader foul weather gear. Reminded me of that scene from Jaws. When everyone and his brother climbed in a boat to go shark hunting. It was comedic and embarrassing. And I was one of them too.

The models are shaping up for a big weekend. It's already being called "High Risk Friday."

Posted by at 8:10 PM | Permalink

Yesterday Allan Gwyn dropped by the hotel to watch the Indie 500. Allan is an "on air" meteorologist with the local CBS TV affiliate here in Amarillo. While having dinner and drinks at the local Steakhouse we discussed the running joke of him speaking in code on the air to his fellow storm chasing buddies. We suggested he tell us where conditions would be best for tornadoes by saying something like "The moon is blue over (town name)"

Sure enough, next morning while we were pouring over data at the hotel � choosing our target � Allan goes on air for the noon forecast and says "By the way, the moon is blue over Clayton NM." I wasn't there to see the broadcast. But I laughed out loud when I heard about it. Allan's a real nice guy. After he got off the air he hit the road in the "News 10 Chase Van" and we kept in phone contact all afternoon arriving at the same storm near sunset.

Clayton was out initial target. We had lot's of shear and more energy moving in. But temps were cool. So we moved south following a storm that went up just north of Tucamcari. As we got up on it back in Texas it rained itself out. So we turned around and blasted south west towards a much larger cell.

Crossing back into NM, we came upon a beautiful monster just west of Nara Visa. Thanks in no small part to Allan.

Continue reading ""The Moon is Blue Over Clayton"" »

Posted by at 9:41 PM | Permalink

Dinner drinks and a marginal forecast for tomorrow.

More sleep....

Posted by at 7:32 PM | Permalink

Day 11 - 3124 miles

Aside from the relentless Christian broadcasting (Radio and TV) and the cheesy country music I really do love this part of the country. And it's a good thing because we're spending a lot of time here. I have no problem with Christian broadcasting by the way. Or country music for that matter. But the charm wears off quickly. And I didn't come here to be "saved." I came to chase.

The grind is starting to wear on me a bit. Scrambling off every day for hundreds of miles. The bad food, lack of exercise, road stress and the stress of unfinished business back home are all taking a toll on my sleep patterns. But the storm are beautiful. I'd rather be here than anywhere else right now. And it could be worse. We met several nice folks from Australia today. That's a long way to come for a crap season like this one. Somehow chatting with them I don't feel so bad.

Saturday had us traveling familiar roads again. Up through the OK panhandle into S.E. CO. as far as Lamar. We chased a line of storms zeroing in on the tail end. We had some great rotation right before sunset and really thought we might get a nice tube or spin up. But the outflow choked it before it did the nasty. We followed it back down to Texas after dark arriving back in Amarillo around 1 in the morning.

Tomorrow, Monday and Tuesday are showing similar forecasts for the region. Slight chance of severe storms and possible isolated Super cells. Tornado chances are slim at best. But we'll keep working as this is the only game in the Alley in the foreseeable future.

When all else fails shoot lightning.

Posted by at 11:31 PM | Permalink

Day 10 - 2659 miles

Yesterday turned into quite a road grind. Leaving Liberal KS at 8:30 am, I met Joel in Wichita at 3 p.m. A leisurely lunch then back on the road. Arriving in Amarillo at 12:30 in the morning.

In all my years of chasing I have never spent so much time in one region. In one hotel for that matter. Because of the holiday weekend � and because all forecasts are keeping us here � we decided to book our rooms through the weekend and continue to "base" out of Amarillo. The Hotel isn't too bad. And they give us a great rate.

Resting up after our long road grind yesterday we were suddenly alerted to a severe warning north near Dumas around 6 p.m. So we scrambled. Had a great storm. Interesting combination of shelf features and sporadic lowering. We followed it south into town and landed at our local watering hole for a meal and several cocktails.

Tomorrow has us up in the pan handles again. Probably south east CO.

Posted by at 6:28 PM | Permalink

Day 9 - 2433 miles

Spent last night in Liberal KS. A bustling little prairie town and truck stop hub. A good night's rest and then off to Wichita to turn in the "Hail Catcher."

Joel flew into Omaha yesterday and after a lost luggage snafu had him up late last night - is finally on his way down to pick me up. I sit here in the airport amongst my baggage reflecting on the season of frustration.

I'm not scheduled to fly back until the 10th of June, but if the next week is as bad as this one I'll likely head home early. Not that I've had a bad time. I've enjoyed myself quite a bit actually. But this has been a terrible year for storms. No sense wasting time and money out here if the weather isn't cooperating. Might as well save my nickles for next year. A more seasonal flow is slowly comming back to the alley so I'm not ready to give up yet.

Joel should be here in a couple of hours, then it's back west. Probably another night in Liberal. Tomorrow shows a modest risk of storms in eastern New Mexico. Maybe down to Roswell?

Posted by at 2:24 PM | Permalink

Day 8 - 1816 miles

With a cold front pushing down from the north west we awoke in Boise City OK and made our way down to into Texas to camp out for most of the day in Dalhart. With MCS boundaries pushing north and the front coming down, lot's of instability and shear, we were hopeful that the cumulus field above us would push up a tower.

Forecasts were calling for storms to fire farther west in New Mexico and to the south near Clovis. But conditions seemed promising right where we were, and since I needed to get back to Wichita in the morning I didn't want to put myself too far out of the way.

A couple of "poppers" tired to get going but couldn't. Too much shear. So I decided to break away and get a jump on my trip east. I left Warren and Lisa on the New Mexico boarder and made my way to Liberal KS for the night. Tomorrow I'll meet Joel in Wichita and we'll probably make our way back to the Texas Pan Handle for slight potential on Friday and Saturday.

Posted by at 11:06 PM | Permalink

Day 7 - 1556 miles

Monday night we landed in Lamar CO. in a modest little place (re: dump). We began our Tuesday with a similar forecast; storms off of the foothills sparking up as they move across the plains. SPC had the risk area a little farther to the north. And even though the cells were going up earlier in the day, we didn't have far to go so we took our time getting there. We drove north to Limon and then west towards the foothills.

Frustrations prevailed as the most promising storms continuously glommed into slow moving MCS. We knew that we wanted to be back down towards the Texas Panhandle the next day so after several hours we chose a distant, isolated storm to the south. It proved to be a little out of reach, but a drive through the Comanche National Grasslands made the entire day worthwhile. Spectacular.

Much later, one of the storms to the north that we had followed for several hours ended up becoming tornadic just before sunset. Right over Lamar!!! The place where we began our day!!! Too bad we were about 65 miles south by then. Figures.

When in doubt, shoot lightning.

Posted by at 11:02 PM | Permalink

Day 6 - 1142 miles

Hopes were high and expectations low for what would be my first meaningful chase day of '05. We rolled out of Amarillo around 10:00 a.m. moving north through the OK panhandle and into eastern Colorado. SPC had a 5% over CO's eastern plains with a NW flow kicking stuff up off of the mountains. We had warm moist air moving up from the south so it seemed a good chance that storms would spark up in the foothills and get juiced by the air as they move east.

As we continued north around 1:30 p.m. we could see a large storm building west towards CO. Springs. Being the only game in town we decided to wait and let it move towards us as we sat and had lunch in Lamar.

We went after it around 3:00. first north and then west towards Haswell and Arlington, then bailed as a more promising storm fired to the north east, moving towards Kit Carson then Cheyenne Wells. It would be one of those days. Moving from one storm to another. Trying to position ourselves for the promise of a land spout or tornado. But it wasn't to be.

As the sun began to fall a handful of severe storms again fired towards the west. We were hopeful of a sunset storm with a backlit land spout or a tornado that would never come. The storms were beautiful none the less and gave us quite a light show after dark as we headed back to Lamar for a night's rest.

Among my most favorite places to chase are the plains of Eastern CO. Looks like another fun day tomorrow.

Posted by at 10:35 PM | Permalink

Day 5 - 638 miles

Laundry, old movies and sitting by the pool. Waiting for tomorrow.

A family with kids checked into the room above me. As I type this it sounds like they are practicing their professional wrestling moves on each other. Could be a long evening.

It seems our bets were well placed. Saturday's action turned out to be a bust. I'm glad I didn't go after it. It would have been a long way to go for a disappointment. Seeing as it was a weekend � and this season has been so limp � everyone and his/her brother was on the road. Capt' Nemo said it best, everyone is soooo horny for a chase they were out in droves. It was seductive. I came close but decided no. Good call.

Today as well. Again, decided to pass on an "opportunity" back east in OK. Seems we made the right decision once again. It's been a boring day in Amarillo. But we're well positioned to shoot north tomorrow. Probably South East CO. Pueblo's forecast gives us reason to be hopeful. We'll be rested, laundered and ready to roll. Amarillo is a good place to base. But I'm getting a little stir crazy. And those fricken kids....

Posted by at 6:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Day 4 - 613 miles

I didn't make very much progress with my pawn shop excursion. There are some deals to be had if you are looking for firearms. This is Texas after all. But so far the perfect "chase axe" has eluded me. I'm not really on a mission for a new guitar. Just something to beat on while traveling. Keeping my eyes open.

I decided to go for a drive down to Palo Duro Canyon to kill a couple of hours. I had no idea what I was in for. What a beautiful surprise.

With temperatures pushing triple digits I drove to the bottom of the canyon, loaded my pack with lenses and water and set out on the trail to "Lighthouse Peak." The round trip was about 5 miles through the canyon floor and up the south rim. With temps this high I had the place practically all to myself. It was perfect. One of the most peaceful afternoons I've had in a long, long time. Just what the doctor ordered.

Moisture is returning to the Alley and it looks like a strong northwest flow is setting up. The "Ridge of Death" seems to be dissipating. Fingers crossed for some good chasing in the days to come.

Posted by at 6:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Day 4 - 613 miles

This is where the game gets tough. SPC is calling a "moderate risk" up in Eastern Nebraska. I thought long and hard about driving all night to get it. It's beautiful chase country. I'm familiar with it. And I'm dying for a good game. Problem is, it's probably a 15 - 18 hour drive just to get to the edge of it. And it will probably move east into IA or up into SD. East KS is a closer possibility. But the terrain is not very chase friendly. All in all It's a long way to go for a "maybe."

So I'm placing my chips on the Northwest flow bringing storms off of the mountains into Eastern CO and NM over the next few days. It looks very promising that starting Sunday we'll have them kicking up for several days in a row. If they happen I don't want to miss them. They're not necessarily the tornadic variety. But they are beautiful. And it's a gorgeous part of the country to chase. If I were to chase that moderate risk in NE for a day, I'd be driving all the way back for these.

Nope. I'll sit tight. I think today I'll cruise the pawn shops of Amarillo in search of a beater guitar. We'll cook in 3 digit temps and watch the game from afar. Hope our friends find some action up north. Bets are placed. Fingers crossed.

Looks like the "death ridge" might release it's grip this week. Hoping we can get back to a normal seasonal flow soon.

Posted by at 9:43 AM | Permalink

Day 3 - 521 miles

Blue sky day in the texas Panhandle? How about a visit to Amarillo's Helium Centennial Time Columns Monument?

Did you know that helium is produced continually by the radioactive decay of uranium and other elements? That's a fact of gas.

Did you know that Amarillo is known throughout the cosmos as the Helium Capital of the world? Hey man, It's a fact of gas! So Suck it up and speak with a squeak!

The heat is oppressive here an AMA. We managed an escape by seeing the New Star Wars this afternoon. I give it a big thumbs up. Second only to the original. Here's hoping the weather gets really bad really soon.

Posted by at 6:57 PM | Permalink

Day 2 - 489 miles

Day 2 had me facing a tough choice. #1 Stab north in hopes of catching a marginal chance of a one off in North East Nebraska on Saturday, or # 2 travel west with Warren and Lisa in hopes that some "ridge fringe' might materialize off of the mountains in the next few days in NM or CO.

The problem is simply distance. If I make a play up north I'd be way out of pocket if something were to spark up in the south west. And the harsh truth is, we're all stuck under the death ridge.

Decision made, heading west to Amarillo to camp out for a while.

We did manage to find one photogenic "tornado" in Woodward OK.

Next stop. Ahhhh,.. Amarillo

Posted by at 6:41 PM | Permalink

Day 1 - 197 miles

Greetings from Enid OK. Arwen tells me this is where Reba Mcintyre comes from. Somehow I'm not surprised... They love that twang in OK.

Landed in Wichita early afternoon. Rented a nice "hail-catcher." Set up radios, antennas etc... then hung around scenic SW Wichita.... (sarcasm)

Warren and friend were on their way down from Salina KS. At the time It seemed that I couldn't have picked a better place to land. If there was going to be any thing happening, Wichita was where it would be. So I sat,... and waited...

We hooked up. Traveled west on 400 into Cheney KS for some visibility and parked. Chatted it up with the locals (Warren's chase rig always gets attention - it is impressive) Then we bailed... Turns out a storm fired north of Wichita late in the afternoon. But it was nothing special... (the real action was in Iowa - way out of pocket)

Tomorrow looks like a similar day. We shot south to position ourselves. Blue skies ahead. I'm researching road side attractions. The tackier the better. Suggestions welcome.

Tomorrow is not too promising. We'll see. Food rest... good night.

Posted by at 6:56 PM | Permalink

I know, I know... It's hard to say out loud. The models don't look good. And chaser scuttlebutt has it that the dreaded "Death Ridge" is setting up. Could put a damper on things for the last half of May. But then again, models change. Here's hoping for a change...

NOTE: These maps were generated on 5/15/05. Current long range maps: 6- 10 day, 8-14 days.

I'm blasting off in 3 days no matter what. I'm committed for 3+ weeks. And I intend to make the most of it. But I have to admit, the prospect of flying into a Death Ridge is pretty discouraging. As much as I love exploring the plains on Blue Sky Days � and I really do love it � a 3 week bust would be expensive and painful.

*sigh*

Game on.

Posted by at 4:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

As I go through my checklist, gathering and organizing my chase gear, I'm approaching the critical chore of music selection. These decisions can't be made lightly as I am bound to spend many, many hours on the road. My tastes are eclectic. And I have many discs to choose from (last count about 1100 +).

Radio in the Alley leaves few choices. Country, Western, Country AND Western, Classic Rock and Country. Ugh,... And when your on the road, the music retail choices are limited too. There's Walmart, Walmart and Walmart (is there a theme here?).

I'll be burning discs to take with me (I've learned that originals might not make it back). So I have a lot of work ahead of me.

So Far:
• Dave Alvin - The Ashgrove. Fabulous
• Joe Bonamassa. Perfect chase music. I've collected many live shows. JB will be rocking the alley this year.
• Sony Landreth - His new "Grant Street"... sweet!
• The Jelly Jam - 2. Finally, a sequel!!!
• Porcupine Tree - Deadwing. I'll let you know. I loved "In Absentia."
• Maceo Parker - Assorted. For those caffeine driven all night drives.

I'll also be armed with the usual collection of modern, Six-String, blues heavyweights. Ronnie Earl, Robben Ford, David Gogo, Albert Cummings etc.. and of course the Classics like Little Walter and T-bone.

And then there is Jazz... ah, decisions, decisions... When is my flight outa here? Well, I still have a couple of days to get it together.

Suggestions Welcome.

db

Posted by at 11:59 AM | Permalink

It seemed to end as quickly as it began. 3 months can go by in the blink of an eye. Unless of course you're waiting for chase season to begin. I submitted grades for my Spring Web Design Class yesterday. What a great experience.

Overall I was impressed with the students ability to rally at the last minute in preparation of their final presentations. And watching how the individual students manage the "end off school year" stress was both entertaining and nostalgic. I remember it well.

Continue reading "Class Dismissed" »

Posted by at 12:39 PM | Permalink

This year will be a little different (in many ways). Last year's chase window was short for me. I had a lot of client work piled up and it was all I could to to break away for one week. We all know that timing is everything. Turns out the two weeks leading up to my trip last year were some of the most active and photogenic periods the alley has seen in years. And I,.. well I landed in the final hours of the last day of the '04 outbreak. After meeting up with my chase partner (and cousin) Joel in Omaha, we bagged wedge and a nice elephant trunk within two hours of my touching down. After that it was a "blue sky week." The party was basically over. We spent most of the week hanging around Amarillio TX with Warren, hoping something would break. It didn't. Then it was back home and back to work for Doren.

Continue reading "Chase '05 plans are solid" »

Posted by at 8:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It's not official until I book the flights. Trying to coordinate schedules with chase partners and friends. Also awaiting final word on potential gigs with Bang Box
Right now I'm looking at the week of May 16 - to return around the 9th or 10th of June (Bang Box is tentatively scheduled for a date on the 11th). I'll be posting itinerary soon.

The last few years we've spent much of our time in the northern plains. Nebraska, N.W. Colorado, etc. But we always manage to stab south at least once or twice. This year I'd really like to work some southern action. I really love that part of the country. Oklahoma panhandle, North Texas. It's beautiful down there. It would be great to catch some slow moving super cells. Hopefully I can get out there early. If so I'll be out there on my own for a week or so. Hopefully I can hook up with Warren and learn a thing or two.

Posted by at 12:44 PM | Permalink

"I think it's fair to say that my opinion is no more important to me than yours is to you. An opinion is something you can develop after years of consideration or it can be something you just 'have' - like students do; I never met a student without a firm opinion.

And there's nothing wrong with that." � Ian Gillan

Continue reading "The world needs another blog like I need a hole in the head" »

Posted by at 11:30 AM | Permalink