A Vacation Gone Sour

I realize this photograph is not exceptional - it is nothing special. But my story that goes with it is what matters.

I've been vacationing in Colorado all week and currently am in Fort Collins/Windsor/Loveland. And it just so happens that we made national news...when 100+ mph winds and countless tornadoes devastated the cities this morning.

I woke up early and my friends decided to go shopping today. There was heavy fog but nothing major. I decided to stay back because I have a deadline approaching and I needed to get some work done on my laptop powered via the cigarette lighter of a car. I also wanted to get an early morning/afternoon run in because it gets so hot here during the day. So I laced up my shoes and headed for this mountain trail I discovered yesterday. I had been jogging for about 45 minutes when a huge WWII siren went off. It got really cold suddenly. I was freaking out. This air raid siren was resounding through the mountains and I am a tourist so I have no idea what it means. Was it a bear attack? a test siren? does this happen a lot? I was scared and decided to start running back. I was a couple miles away from where I started, no one was around and this siren wouldn't stop. I can't even run anymore I am so dead already. My stamina is dying and it starts to hail. Oh my god, what is going on. I'm running, crying, alone in a foreign place.

About 15 minutes later I see a sign of human life. There is a Jeep Grand Cherokee in the distance and I know I need to flag it down. By this time the temperature had dropped at least 20 degrees. The sweat all over my body had cooled and was causing me chills. I waved my arms all around and the Jeep came to my rescue. I get in crying and the ranger was like oh my god, what are you doing out here? Semi trucks and train cars blew over and are blocking the highway. All the schools are on lockdown. No one is supposed to be outside. Don't you know 3 tornadoes just ripped through a few miles around the road. Oh gee thanks, I was not aware of that -- please rescue me.

So I was rescued. I managed to take this shot through while we were speeding down the road to safety. I really wish I could take some pictures of all the devastation. Buildings are destroyed. Fatalaties and serious injuries are reported. It's all over the national news. My camera battery died shortly after this and I don't have my computer to photoshop anything, but I felt like an event this momentous in my life can be blipped, even if the picture is not that great.

I have my cellphone now and everyone I know is safe. Ambulances are everywhere and entire neighborhoods are destroyed. Thank gosh I was a few miles north of where the big funnels hit.

I just can't believe it. Apparently this never happens here. I'm just glad it wasn't worse. Here is another shot in color.