SUCK IT IN GUYS!

Wheatland, Oregon may not be known for excitement, but we found plenty. JimJ and I parked at Fran and Leo Perth's house where we enjoyed dinner with great company and plenty of laughter. When I went to photograph the two long time friends, they complained I didn't give them enough warning to suck in their guts. Hah! You be the judge of which photo is best.

During the evening we heard two loud explosions, like gunfire. Fran called from work to warn us she heard a tornado warning was in effect for the area. The winds were fierce. Rain pounded the roof, windows, lawn, and street with such ferocity we knew we were in for a gully washer if not worse. The power winked on and off several times, lights dimming.
The next morning, while walking Leo's Dobies, we saw where a huge cottonwood tree lost a main leader, the size of a medium tree. Plus a second tree went down beside it. Both hit the power lines and put out the transformers, explaining the gunfire sounds. Debris was spread across both sides of the road

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We departed for Seaside, OR. and met fallen branches, downed trees, cemeteries covered with debris. Clean up crews were everywhere clearing streets and public parkways in many little towns on the way. Even so, it wasn't much of a tornado.
At Dayton, we stopped to photograph a historic blockhouse and wondered how they fended off the cold in such buildings as we rolled along, safe and warm in the motor home.