BigWeather's Blog

We awoke fairly early and were out by 8:30a.  Holding our breath, the car started with no issues.  First order of business was to figure out what was up with the stalling at stop lights.  I tried to get into the glove box but failed (in fact, I never figured it out during our vacation).  Undeterred I found the manual for the vehicle on line.  It’s a feature!  Apparently when stopped for a few seconds the vehicle actually cuts of the engine to save gas and re-starts it (must be a fairly soft start) once the accelerator is pressed.  Feeling much, much better about things we got some gas then headed northwest about forty-five minutes to the town of Hutchinson, Kansas.

Arrived in Hutchinson, home of the Hutchinson Salt Company, at around 9:15a.  We had a 10a tour of the salt mine, called Strataca for some reason.  My co-worker Drew had suggested this destination and it’d prove to be a great choice as everyone had a great time.  In front of the building was a small railroad engine used to haul salt and some kind of contraption we couldn’t figure out.  Inside there was a video and a large waiting area.  There were a few Amish folks chatting away on cell phones which amused me.  I guessed so long as they didn’t own the phone it was probably OK.  As we were 30 minutes early from the stated arrival time of 9:45a we got to go on the earlier 9:40a tour.  After getting hard hats on (affixed by turning a screw at the back of the hat) we piled into a lift.  The lift was cool because it was actually a double-decker.  It was, however, quite small and it was incredible to learn that everything in our out of the mine went down via the lift (often having been disassembled).  Once in the lift our guide closed the doors and we started the 650′ descent.  They kept the lights off and it got pitch dark for a good portion of the more than one minute ride.

Michelle touching a large block of salt

Closeup of the block of salt

The Hutchinson Salt Company manufactures salt for roads, not the table.  It opened in the 1920s and is still mined today, though the size of the crew has gone from fifty or so down to twelve per shift (of which only four are actually miners, the other eight are safety engineers, mechanics, etc.).  There were displays explaining how the salt came to be down there as a Permian era sea dried up.  Above the salt vein (which was a couple hundred feet thick) lay the massive Equus Bed Aquifer (which kind of creeped me out thinking of all that water above our heads) as well as a few pockets of oil.  The roof was at a comfortable 10 foot height or so, which was nice.  We saw strips of plastic that the miners dangled from the roof to help ensure that they kept the corridor level.

One of the corridors in the salt mine

Strips that help miners keep the roof and floor of the corridor level

We walked among machinery used in the mine like tractors, extractors, etc. and got to see the conveyor belt system and rails that helped move salt to the lift from its extraction point.  Additionally there were vehicles that miners used to cruise about the mine.  They were disassembled up top and only the essential bits were moved down into the mine — no doors, seat belts, etc.  Additionally they were often a hodgepodge of multiple vehicles.  Originally using diesel they mostly ran on biofuels more recently.  There was an exhibit about bacteria that had been found in the mine that may be hundreds of millions of years old.  Not sure I like the idea of trying to bring that kind of thing back to life…

Car used by the miners to get around the mine

Another thing that the salt mine as used for is storing artifacts and records, mainly from Hollywood.  The cool temperature, geological stability, and low humidity (salt helps extract moisture from the air) made it an ideal spot for that purpose.  They had a selection of artifacts on display like glasses and “the cricket” gun from Men In Black, George Clooney’s Batman suit (with molded nipples!), old posters, and lots and lots of reels of film of movies such as Cocoon and Shawshank Redemption.  They even had yet another of Twister‘s tornado measurement array props, Dorothy II, and Sacha Baron Cohen’s NASCAR suit from Talladega Nights!

Men in Black artifacts

Boxes of film of movies and TV shows

We took a ride on a train that took us through some of the mine.  It was neat and we got to see trash left in the mine due to the cost of removal, including a mass of vintage wrappers and containers, a calendar from the 50s, etc.  We followed this up with a ride on an electric series of hitched cars which took us into another part of the mine.  The guide turned off the light and let us see (or not see!) total darkness.  She explained that fans pumped in fresh air and that baffles were needed seal off no longer used passages and direct the air to where it was needed.  Originally rocks or empty dynamite boxes were used but that was very labor intensive.  We saw modern baffles, essentially just large curtains that could span across passages as needed.  At the end of the ride we stopped at a pile of salt and were able to choose a sample of our own that we placed in a small canvas bag.

Abandoned salt mine car

Pile of trash left in place, cheaper than hauling out via the lift

We left the mine about 1p and drove south a few minutes to the town of Yoder where we ate at the Carriage Crossing Restaurant and Bakery, an Amish-run establishment that came recommended online and by some of the Strataca folk.  Though there were lots of people it was a large place and we were seated and served quickly.  I had the country fried steak, corn, and mashed potatoes with brown gravy.  Michelle had a fried chicken salad, Genetta the chicken fried chicken with mashed potatoes with white gravy (better choice) and green beans, and Addison a roast beef sandwich with fries.  For appetizers we had fried mushrooms (quite yummy) and we splurged on dessert as well.  I had cherry pie a la mode, Genetta a slice of German chocolate cake with walnuts, and Michelle a slice of apple pie.  It was a decent country meal.  There was a small store attached (near the register, of course, to capture people on the way out) that sold lots of country / religious stuff.  The bathroom was interesting in that each urinal had a copy of an Amish / Mennonite paper named “The Budget” that summarized news from many of the communities across the nation (turns out that Tennessee had seen six to seven inches of rain and the gardens were late in getting planted).  Unfortunately, despite the size of the restaurant there was only one stall for men, meaning quite a wait.

Our stomachs full, we hit the road at 2p for the long drive to Monument Rocks (about three hours away).  We switched driving for a while to break up the monotony.  Though rural Kansas can be quite beautiful, and small farming towns with their grain elevators charming, there’s just so much of it.  We also stopped by a Dollar General for some supplies.  Along the way we stumbled upon a beautiful spot of prairie and marshland called Cheyenne Bottoms.  I got out of the car and walked a bit on an elevated walkway, enjoying the stiff breeze blowing through the grass (but not so much the insects that kept trying to sting me).  There were also oil derricks and vast windmill farms scattered about the landscape as well so it wasn’t really that boring at all.

A grain elevator in central Kansas

Interesting seed pods (I guess?) on plants in Cheyenne Bottoms, Kansas

Another view of Cheyenne Bottoms, Kansas

Kansas is the Sunflower State and state routes display that proudly!

A bit later we finally turned on to a dirt road that ran between farms and into and out of small ravines.  There were pockets of natural prairie and we saw a fair amount of wildlife — a few prairie dogs, a small flock of turkeys, and even a jackrabbit.  Monument Rocks loomed before us at about 6p.  They made quite the impression, particularly being in Kansas — a state not exactly known for impressive geology.  Addison and I walked around the rocks and took pictures (and welcomed the shade they offered from the harsh evening sun).  Despite the remote location and relative difficulty in getting there we did see a couple of other visitors.  A small display showed a school class standing on top of a rock formation (no longer allowed) that had since toppled (probably why it is no longer allowed).

Landscape near Monument Rocks, Kansas

A flock (?) of turkeys

Almost desert-like terrain near Monument Rocks

Monument Rocks, Kansas

The late afternoon sun shines through arches at Monument Rocks

Another view of Monument Rocks

One last wide shot of Monument Rocks

Leaving the rocks we saw another jackrabbit as well as a deer.  Nifty.  Headed north toward Colby, arriving ahead of an incoming cluster of storms at about 7:45p.  An earlier storm had passed to the north and had apparently dropped 2″ hail and spawned a tornado.  I wanted to chase it but Michelle vetoed that idea.  Texted Greg and he said I always did no how to pick ’em smart.  Yeah, probably was not a great idea to go chasing a tornado in an unfamiliar area as night approached.  Besides, another storm was approaching from the west that could prove interesting.

Another group of rocks in Kansas — yes, Kansas has rocks!

A jackrabbit

Cows hanging out near a windmill

…and how!  After checking into the Holiday Inn Express we decided to head to the Mexican restaurant, El Dos De Oros, located in the Quality Inn.  It was excellent and had glorious liquid white queso like our long gone “cheap Mexican” option had.  I had steak burritos, Michelle a chicken quesadilla, Genetta an enchilada and chicken quesadilla, and Addison fajita nachos.  For an appetizer we had chips and queso.  Just as we finished our meal and the bill arrived the power winked out.  We settled our bill in cash, feeling sorry for those that hadn’t received their food yet.

The storm was howling, first with some small hail that thankfully remained small — would’ve hated to have 2″ hail pummel our rental — and torrential rain.  The wind was fierce, easily 50 to 70 mph and pretty constant, as was the lightning and thunder.  I first stood in the hotel, then later under the entryway outside, with Addison admiring nature.  A fireworks stand nearby was being shredded by the wind and I’m sure the rain ruined a bit of the inventory.  Addison and I kept hoping lightning would strike it and ignite the fireworks but no such luck.  We met with some bikers who had parked their expensive ($50,000 for two) bikes under the entryway to protect them.

Interesting clouds as a storm strikes Colby, Kansas

Finally about 10:30p the lights in the town came back on and the storm had moved on.  We headed to our room and noticed that the temperature was 54F, a drop of 31F from the 85F it was just before the storm it.  Incredible!  It would be the coldest temperature we’d encounter on the trip, including even cavern and mine temperatures!  The adjacent sign for Taco John’s (think Taco Bell) had been shredded by the wind.  Blogged a bit and in bed by 1a.

Taco John’s sign shredded by the storm

Route for Saturday, June 30, 2018

Woke up fairly early (I had had a terrible headache the night before and really needed more sleep), Michelle and I got a bite to eat, and checked out about 10a.  We had originally thought about going to the Action Figure Museum in Pauls Valley, but a quick video of 6,000 sqft of clutter was enough to convince me that perhaps it’d be better to just give the family a rest and head out at a more relaxed pace.

The tour of the National Weather Center didn’t require us to check-in until 12:45p so we had the luxury of taking side roads to Norman, Oklahoma.  We headed up US-77 through relatively flat and generously wooded (for the Plains) countryside dotted with small no-stoplight towns (one with the not-so-charming name “Slaughterville”), oil derricks, and cows resting in the shade.  We caught a glimpse of some neat yard art — a Volkswagen Beetle suspended on eight slender pipe legs to form a spider.  Sadly I wasn’t quick enough with the camera to catch a picture of it.  Just south of Norman we stopped at a town called Noble that proclaimed itself the “Rose Rock Capital of the World”.  I had a rose rock in my rock collection as a kid and had no idea they came from Oklahoma.

Stopped at Big Daddy’s Smoke House for an early lunch.  The sign on the door offered to buy hickory logs off of anyone that wished to sell, always a good sign.  Michelle had a pulled brisket sandwich and a generous helping of okra (a bit peppery) with some curly fries for the family to share.  Genetta had ribs, myself pulled pork and deviled eggs, and Addison shredded brisket.  He thought it may be too saucy at first but ended up liking it.  The food was great, I really liked the taste of the pulled pork in particular.  They had their paper towels in buckets that looked like upside down cowboy hats.  The entire place had Oklahoma University Sooners football memorabilia scattered about — I had forgotten we were close to that.

Big Daddy’s Smoke House in Nobel, Oklahoma

Towards the end of the meal Addison asked to get up and headed along the road to the Rose Rock Gallery and Museum while the rest of us finished up and settled the bill.  We followed along shortly in our car.  The museum was free and just a couple of rooms but still interesting, detailing not only the geology and chemistry behind the formation of rose rock but also the impact on the area with pageants, etc.  The gift shop was nice, all of us found some nice small gifts (and a magnet with the Oklahoma flag and a very small rose rock on it — awesome!).  I asked where the rose rock was found and she said it was all on private land pretty much and that the museum had a twenty year lease at $3,000 per year to extract whatever they needed.  Ouch!  Genetta relayed the legend of the Cherokee that rose rock was formed at the end of the Trail of Tears by the blood of the braves and the tears of the maidens.  Addison quipped (none of us meaning disrespect here) “Yeah, they got walked.”  He can be so blunt at times (and effectively abuse grammar).

Display full of rose rocks, found near Nobel, Oklahoma

Hit the road again, continuing along US-77 to Norman.  I missed a turn (as I do) and we ended up going through OU’s campus and right alongside their impressive football stadium.  Campus reminded me quite a bit of NCSU in that brick was the primary building material (and indeed the soil throughout Oklahoma was very red like in North Carolina) but the buildings looked quite a deal fancier and not so modern / random.  It was very flat and quite sprawling.

Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, home to the OU Sooners

We finally made it to the research complex containing the National Weather Center.  I geeked out just seeing the National Weather Center sign with the NOAA seal to its right.  The building itself was quite impressive, brick and glass with a nice fountain leading to the entrance.  Inside the lobby we got our visitor badges and were permitted to roam around the first floor.  The first floor had a glassed-in waiting room with seven monitors side-by-side in portrait mode showing current weather conditions, weather facts, and the occasional video (without sound, unfortunately — would’ve loved to hear them).  The room also had a tornado-making wind machine, a vending machine that sold NWC and NOAA goods (shirts, stickers, umbrellas, etc. — sadly no magnets), and two lightning cloud lamps.  Outside the waiting room in the main open area were tables and a large globe that weather conditions, earthquake history, and (due to the times) World Cup balls were projected on to.  Offices for Oklahoma Weather Laboratory (OWL, cute) and other weather entities were scattered about as well.

National Weather Center sign, get excited!

The National Weather Center in Norman, Oklahoma, opened in 2006

A lightning lamp has Addison in its sights!

Our tour guide was a rising Junior in Oklahoma University’s meteorology program named Mackenzie (I think — substitute a different millennial-sounding name if desired).  She was planning to focus on broadcast meteorology and doing the tours was a way of practicing public presentation (reducing “umm”, “like”, etc.).  She explained that the NWC housed not only federal meteorological departments like the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) and National Weather Service (NWS) for Norman but also academic ones such as OWL  and private ones as well, including one with the sole purpose of producing tailored forecast for merchant ships around the world.  She talked about the large globe and that on May 4 it was made to look like the Death Star.  Additionally, the wall for weather information could be used in off-hours during slow meteorological times for playing around with, like Mario Kart.

The large globe in the open area of the NWC

A nine-panel wall of weather awesomeness!

She showed us a couple of movie prop Tornado data gathering machines built for the movie Twister as well as a real one called Toto.  Adjacent to that was the cafeteria, the Flying Cow Cafe, with a name inspired by the flying cow in that movie.  They were going to name it that or the Iso Bar and Grill — personally I liked that more.  We rode an elevator up to the observation floor near the top of the building.  Once there she explained that the NWC was funded after the May 3, 1999 EF5 tornado devastated Moore just to the north of Norman, killing 41 and causing $1B in damage.  It finally opened in 2006 and the research done there has helped increase warning time.  The observation floor was ideal for spotting incoming storms (sadly none were on offer) as visibility over the very flat — but surprisingly tree-covered — terrain was incredible.  She also went into detail about her hometown meteorologist in Ohio and how he inspired her to become a meteorologist.

Props from the movie _Twister_ on the left, a real one on the right

The Flying Cow Cafe (should’ve been the Iso Bar and Grill!)

We stepped out onto the roof for a better view then went down the stairs to the second floor where we were able to observe the SPC (even having director Bill Bunting answer a question for her about hail prediction and indicators) as well as the NWS operational rooms.  Neat — monitors and computers and meteorologists sitting at desks assimilating information to prepare their forecasts.  After some questions we were free to wander the lobby once again.  It was about 3p or so and after thirty minutes of playing with finding home, NWC, etc. on the seven-panel via Google Maps and buying some things we headed out.

View from the roof of the NWC

SPC operations center at the NWC

NWS Norman forecast office at the NWC

In all I have mixed feelings about the tour.  There wasn’t a ton of material, not enough to fill an hour and a half to two hours.  It makes sense, though, it would be a bad idea to have tours interfere with the meteorologists’ work.  They should’ve shortened the tour, then.  Rather, she padded the tour with a lot of talking about her life, her goals, etc.  I’m glad we went, and I’m glad giving these tours will help the guide with her goals, but I was left wanting a little more.  But hey, it was free, and it was really cool to see where the magic happens, so there’s that at least.

Hit I-35 again and had to go through Oklahoma City.  I figured it wouldn’t be that bad despite being a Friday as we were passing through around 3:30p to 4p.  Wrong, quite heavy traffic was to be had and I also missed a turn but got it sorted pretty quickly.  One crazy thing we heard on the radio was about an accident at I-40 and Harrison Avenue.  We did a double take but it turns out that Oklahoma City has an intersection of the exact same streets as we have at home!

Once free of Oklahoma City we drove due north across the increasingly grassy plains, the trees becoming quite rare by the time we approached the Kansas state line.  I was surprised that there were a number of cedar trees as I never imagined them doing well on the plains.  In addition we saw many large windmills (not the Wizard of Oz ones but the modern tall three bladed ones).  We stopped by a small Chinese buffet place called Dragon Palace (though I kept calling it “Dragon Place” to annoy Genetta) in Blackwell that was quite good — especially these coffee-flavored finger cakes.  Yummy!

Oklahoma scenery north of Oklahoma City

Crossed into Kansas shortly after dinner — Michelle and I’s 49th state!  Turns out I-35 had a toll on it to Wichita which was annoying,  It was only $2.25, though, and had human toll collectors so I guess it was OK.  Kansas state routes were denoted with black numbers on a bright yellow sunflower.  Very striking and quite cool.  We finally arrived in Maize, a suburb to the northwest of Wichita, at about 6:30p.  I was struck by how many small lakes were dotted about the landscape, many with walking trails snaking around them.  Also, the roads were laid out in a grid and so very, very flat.

Kansas scenery south of Wichita

Checked into our hotel at 7p and immediately headed back out.  I had been wanting to try Braum’s ice cream, Braum’s being an Oklahoma eatery serving ice cream, burgers, and the like — basically a DQ.  I had butter pecan and pralines, Michelle a small sundae, and Genetta chocolate with almonds.  I found mine a bit too sweet, honestly.  Oh well.  We then headed a few blocks to Warren Theatre where we watched Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom at 8:45p.  The seating was stadium seating — never again, my old knees can’t handle that.  The movie wasn’t great, but entertaining enough I suppose.  The theater itself, however, was gorgeous — a main lobby with beautiful lighting and murals showing mythological themes all about as well as smaller lobbies tucked here and there similarly impressively decorated.

Braum’s a DQ-like Oklahoma-based chain

Impressive lobby of the Warren Theatre in Maize, Kansas

After leaving I noticed the car seemed to be stalling at lights — not good!  As we were quite far away from Dallas, not good at all!  Especially as we had a schedule to meet to be where we needed to bed down each night and some of those places were far, far away from a Budget office.  Got back to the hotel about 12a, offloaded pictures from the cameras, and got to bed at 1a.

Route for Friday, June 29th, 2018

A very long day began in the Holiday Inn Express at Boone, NC, as Genetta and I awoke and hit the road to pick up Addison from his mountain outing with his friends.  The road was quite windy but Genetta ably guided us.  Having packed his stuff we hit the road once again at about 8:30a and headed down US-421 then US-64 to home.  I took over driving duties in Winston-Salem just about as her “Boone” playlist had run its course.  Claypool Lennon Delirium and Ghost of a Sabre Tooth Tiger provided the rest of the trip’s music as the three of us arrived right at noon.

We finished packing and did a quick bit of laundry.  Genetta picked up Firehouse for all of us for lunch.  Managed to leave the house right at 2p, arriving at the airport at 2:30p.  Check-in was quite smooth (Southwest is generally pretty good about that) and the TSA agent was very friendly and chatty (Michelle later clued me in that it was likely because the screeners were backed up and he was regulating flow.  Regardless, it was entertaining.  He pointed towards me and said “They’re coming.”  I had no idea who he was talking about, so looked behind me almost expecting Vikings or something coming down the terminal.  Noticing my confusion, he said, “Phish.  Your shirt.”  Ah!

The 4:35p non-stop flight to Dallas was a bit lively.  The head steward was quite funny, quipping jokes in the way that Southwest does (“Pull the cord, if that fails, use the breathing tube, if that fails then it just isn’t your day — kick, paddle, kick, paddle, kick, paddle” and of course the good ol’ “If you have more than one child then choose which has the brightest future and provide oxygen to them after you have seen to yourself”).  The flight was packed with babies which wasn’t ideal, but by and large they were pretty well-behaved.  A young girl on my row (I got aisle, thankfully, though the rest of the family filled a row a few rows up) was a first-time flyer and hearing her delight and commentary was great.

Southwest tail fins at RDU

Arrived at Dallas’ Love Field (another benefit of flying Southwest is you get to land at the smaller airports at major cities — Love Field instead of DFW, Midway instead of O’Hare, etc.) around 7p and uneventfully picked up our luggage and headed for the rental shuttle.  The lady at Budget successfully up-sold us, which is irritating.  Hopefully it is worth it.  Hit the road to get out of Dallas as fast as possible, but it was already 8p.  Dallas sure has a lot of confusing highways — stacked, express lanes with tolls (but +10 MPH speed limit), lots of feeders — but I managed to navigate us onto I-35E and out of Dallas proper.  We crossed a reservoir and, as the road had settled down a bit, decided to stop for dinner.  I was hoping for something nice, a family place, but none were had, so I settled for the next best thing — an “exotic” (meaning, not found in North Carolina) chain, preferably founded in the area.

Whataburger was founded in San Antonio, so close enough.  I’d heard about it, of course, but had never seen one.  It was very much like Hardees.  Addison and I had patty melts (mine with a peppery sauce which had a little bite, Addison had his with onion rings), Genetta had fried chicken sandwich with fries, and Michelle had a grilled chicken sandwich.  Genetta noted that in Texas it shouldn’t be Texas toast but just toast — she has a point there!  Not great by any means but it did hit the spot so we could get back on the road.

Whataburger, a hamburger chain from San Antonio, Texas

By now night had fallen and we cruised up I-35E then I-35 across northern Texas.  A rising bright moon reflected beautifully on the waters of the Red River as we crossed into our 48th state (well, 47th for the kids, but still…), Oklahoma.  Immediately we passed an impressively large (though seemingly quite empty judging by the parking lot) casino.  Further north we passed through an area that must have considerable scenic beauty — as we saw many signs and some overlooks (and even mention of a falls) for the Arbuckle Hills region.  Next trip, maybe.

Arrived at Pauls Valley, Oklahoma’s Holiday Inn Express quite late, about midnight.  The check-in guy was really nice but the room itself was a bit musty smelling.  As we were exhausted and planning on heading out early we just tolerated it and collapsed.

Route for Thursday, June 28, 2018