Those three pesky, little words...

Back to Boulder. Yup, it's true.  We've been back here already for a few days; and well no promising weather on the horizon either.  There is a little glimpse of hope in the form of a shortwave through Montana and Wyoming by Wednesday but I'm not holding my breath just yet.  I say this every time... Boulder is a beautiful city with lots of fun things to do.  But if I wanted a Colorado vacation, I would have just taken it.  I want to be storm chasing!  But nonetheless, contrary to what many people think (drunk college students), meteorologists cannot actually control the weather.  So why not make the most out of a bad situation and enjoy the beauty of the Rocky Mountains.  The first "down day" in Boulder, however, I spent sick in an urgent care clinic and then my hotel bed.  According to the doctor, I was severely dehydrated and had a nasty sinus infection.  Antibiotics and coconut water to the rescue!

By our second down day, I was feeling a bit better.  So I took advantage of the morning "heat" (yeah, right...obviously these people have never spent a summer in Tallahassee) and went for a jog around Boulder.  Then in the afternoon, a bunch of us went up into the foothills to do some hiking and fishing.  The trail was at about 7280 feet and it was a pretty strenuous/technical trail; you know the kind, part hiking/part rock climbing!  But the trail ended up at this remote little beach where a creek with rapids slowed and emptied into the inlet of the Gross Reservoir.  It was absolutely stunning.  It felt so isolated and untouched. There was a little beach and some beautiful storm clouds lifting over the mountains in the distance.  Spectacular.

Today, unfortunately, was a work day so back to the hangar!  Scout 1 and 2 were given a special mission to check the validity of our wind measurements from the Russell, KS tornado.  Our task was basically to drive up and down I-25 a bunch of times, side by side, taking measurements with our anemometers.  Needless to say, we pissed off a few drivers taking up the only 2 lanes for many miles.  I felt like we needed a sticker on the back of the Scouts saying "For the sake of science, don't tailgate!"  When we got back to the hangar, we were greeted by a beautiful storm.  The way the topography up here morphs the cloud bases is unlike anything I have ever seen.  It gives the sky this random, paintbrush texture.  Can you tell I'm in love with the mountains, or what?


Hiking

Beautiful Boulder Storm