2012--Day 12

Day 12

The day started with promise and hope, or at least as much as is readily available in Aberdeen, SD.  Sometime on Friday in northwestern South Dakota I saw a billboard that said ‘Fight Suicide;’ I’m guessing that the best possible way to fight suicide in that part of South Dakota is to move out of that part of South Dakota. 

Today was the slight risk day that had been  advertised for about a week in advance.  Of course, a slight risk implies just that: a slight risk, in which there is some indication of severe storms, but the pesky problem of getting all the puzzle pieces to fit in the same place at the same time.  The biggest problem of the day is that for as much instability there is/was, the cap was pretty strong, thereby preventing the instability from being released.  This is a similar situation as last year in nearly the same area.  There is a cold front to the west, but even in its vicinity there was little happening, even during the heat of the afternoon.  The biggest threat appeared to be on either side of the North Dakota/Manitoba border, which could pose some significant getaway challenges.   

We left Aberdeen shortly after the morning briefing, and headed straight for the car wash.  It was unreal how many bugs we killed last night, including some the size of small birds.  The car wash actually cleared most of them (to my amazement), and the rest were dispatched via squeegee and elbow grease.  The front bumper and grill, however, could serve as evidence against us in our bug court trial.  We headed east on Route 12 to pick up I29 and head north toward Fargo and Grand Forks in the hopes of seeing something good.  Ate lunch at a Wisconsin-based chain (where even the cheese comes with cheese) in Fargo, and then continued the northern trek in the hopes of seeing…crepuscular rays.  Think I got some good shots of them.  The clouds that accompanied the rays are called stratocumulus fractus perlucidus, meaning that you could see light around the edges of the broken clouds.  Personally, I think they should be called scrudus (long ‘u’ sound) clouds, because their presence basically indicated that our chance of seeing storms today in that area are basically zero.  Ironically, there were some serious-looking storms north of Winnipeg, our current destination.  Just before crossing the border into the Great Green North (it is almost summer, after all), we made a quick detour into one of my favorite states and former home, Minnesota. 

Crossing the border was an interesting experience.  I haven’t done so in several years, prior to the need for passports.  Crossing in a van with 12 people was a bit more complex.  A rather constipated customs officer, who apparently doesn’t watch the Discovery Channel because he seemed quite confused about (aboot?) the concept of storm chasing, asked us questions and gave forms for us to fill out, with a promise of returning in 10 minutes.  Apparently 10 metric minutes means I’m not coming back, so a much more pleasant customs person came over and checked on us.  This resulted in a third (again quite pleasant) person coming by, who checked with his superior about our suspicious story.  This apparently was the highlight of his day, so he came to speak with us too.  He joked about Canadian storms being bigger and better than American storms, and today he might just be right.  Of course, the timing will be an issue, as chasing lines or chasing after dark is not a good thing.  Chasing lines after dark is even less of a good thing.  He also mentioned that we’re probably looking for the ‘twisty whirly’ storms.  He was completely blown away (so to speak) that we were doing this as a college course, and said that things were better now than when he was in school.  They wished us well, and we entered Manitoba.

At first blush (and some of the others, too), Manitoba looks an awful lot like North Dakota.  One major difference: the speed limit signs are in clicks per hour.  One other major difference: the highway is nowhere near as smooth as the interstate.  You would think that with the taxes that Canadians pay they’d have better roads.  There are enough waves and bumps in the road that they should charge a fee for the amusement park ride.  As we approach Winnipeg from the south, we can see occasional lightning north of the city.  Payoff for the long day’s trip, I suppose. 

Gas prices here are amusing: they’re displayed in cents, e.g., 121.9 cents per litre.  Doing the math: 

C$1.219 litre^-1 x 3.78 litre gal^-1 x US$ (C$0.98)^-1 = US$4.52 gal^-1

Guess we’re not buying petrol on this side of the border!

After pulling in the wrong side of the lobby loa`ding zone, we checked into the Radisson (!) in downtown Winnipeg.  After Gustavo had one hell of a time navigating the parking garage, some of the students (while not watching the lightning) and the good Doctor went to the hotel restaurant to see about the bill of fare.  There was a misunderstanding among the staff and our party, so we decided to look for a pizza place that delivered.  The desk manager heard about the early closing and the mishap, and accompanied us to the lounge.  The issue was resolved, and our entire party ate on the hotel’s dime, including drinks and appetizers THEY suggested.  (The BBQ bison burger was outstanding.)  After I mentioned how much I enjoy the Canadian Coke (with real sugar), the bartender brought me a litre bottle of the good stuff.  To be sure, we tipped her well!

The room has sleepnumber beds, and when the shower handle came off in Gustavo’s hand, we were moved into the room next door.  Thank you, Priceline!

A long day for sure (443 miles) and no real storms, but still a good day—thank you, Winnipeg!