Tuesday, August 16, 2005

the weather at the state fair

When we arrived at the State Fair campground in Sedalia on Thursday, Cliff and I realized that they were in a worse drought than we were at home.  At least we still had green grass!  All the grass on the grounds was brown and dead.  Thursday and Friday, the girls and I had temperatures in the mid-to-upper nineties.  Saturday was worse, because of the humidity.  We were winding down, getting ready to end our visit to the fair.  We'd done lots of fun things, but had not seen the card-stacker yet.  There's a new Isle of Capri casino being built at Booneville, Missouri; and this fellow was erecting a model of it out of playing cards.

We were admiring his work, when suddenly both entrance doors (a double door on his left, and one on his right) were thrown open and a mass of humanity came flooding it, wind blowing in behind them.  A cold front had arrived, and with it, 70-mile-per-hour winds and driving rain.

As the left end of the card structure began to topple, the poor fellow shouted, "Shut the door, shut the door!"  To no avail, of course.  I was glad we weren't in the camper, but I was also concerned about what state the camper would be in when the rain and wind stopped enough for us to return.  Cliff was going to be there to take us home around 5 PM.

We ducked from one building to another, getting closer to the campgrounds each time, until the rain let up and became only a sprinkle.  Here's what the camper looked like when we got there.

As somber as Monica looks in this picture, the only real damage was that one bent pole that supports the awning.  You can see how brown the grass is here, too.  Tents had blown down, and I saw lots of awning damage on large RVs.  But as far as we saw, there was no major loss from the storm.

The camper is, at present time, set up in Cliff's shop with fans blowing on it.  Perhaps everything will be dried out by this evening so we can fold it up and put it away, probably until next year.  Cliff has decided gas is too high to go to go to the Old Thresher's Reunion in Iowa, as we had been planning to do.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

You were lucky that kind of wind didn't blow the camper all over the place. Helen

Anonymous said...

I'm glad no real damage was done to the camper.  That poor kid with the card display, LOL!  I don't know which would be more entertaining, watching the cards fall, or, watching his face as the cards fell.  Sorry gas prices have forced a change in your travel plans but, boy!  Do I understand!  Good luck drying out the camper.
Sam

Anonymous said...

If you could pass that cold front along, I'd be most appreciative.  It's still 89 degrees in the pouring rain over here...bleh...

~Amy

Anonymous said...

I think storms are exciting, especially if everybody is safe.  Poor card guy!  I am loving this cool weather in August but I don't suspect if will last long.   Anne

Anonymous said...

Glad everything was "ok" with your camper - know you had a great time at the fair with those grands !  They are so much fun to be with !

Anonymous said...

Thank you for visiting my journal. How I envy your land. It must be wonderful to be so close to nature. My children would have a field day exploring everywhere, and I'd certainly get more exercise as I tried to keep track of them all.
Tilly.
http://journals.aol.co.uk/tillysweetchops/Adventuresofadesperatelyfathouse/

Anonymous said...

I'm glad you are all safe and sound.  When we have fair week here - it's always a guarentee of rain !  We go anyway but just for a day to look things over, not stay in a camper like you.  There are lots that do and they must enjoy it, because there seems to be more campers every year !  Fairs also mean back to school and that summer is at an end.  Sort of sad in a way and in another way I'm looking forward to be a little cooler.  We've had the hottest summer I can remember.  'On Ya'  - ma

Anonymous said...

Dear Mosie,
Wow! What an ordeal!
I really felt sorry for that guy with the cards
love,natalie

Anonymous said...

Gas is just rediculous.  I'm considering what to do when it hits $3.00.  I may not want to commute anymore.  Or we may have to find someone willing to take our daughter after school so Hubby & I can commute all year instead of summer and Christmas break.
Sonya