Baptism of Fire, Missouri

Felt sorry for these folk: Montauk SP (click on photo)

Current River, Missouri

View on our morning walk

Dogwood Blossoms

Can you believe it was only our 3rd night in the RV and we got hit with our first tornado warning for this trip! To top it off, we were in a campground in Montauk State Park, Missouri, which has no phone, TV or Internet reception, so we couldn't see what was happening with the weather. Our only warning was when the camp host drove around to the campers around 9.30pm advising them to put up awnings and secure any loose articles in preparation for the tornado that was heading our way. We had our jacks down, so not much else we could do but sit tight - so we turned off the lights, filled up our glasses with an aussie merlot, and sat and watched the lightning show around us. Then we were sent a shower of tiny hail, only a fraction of the size of the hail we had at Lake Audubon, North Dakota last summer. We were most thankful to be spared the wind, though, as that is my pet hate. There was a whisper of wind early, but then it was gone. Phew. It was still raining when we were going to bed, and then we noticed the carpet was wet in the hallway - rain was getting in somewhere - Murray got up on the roof and checked the vents on the side, but there doesn't appear to be anywhere that could allow water in, except if torrential rain hitting on that side. Hmmm.

Next morning I went for a walk and noticed that several campground sites were almost covered by water - we didn't think that we got that much rain, but we must have. The occupants of one site couldn't even get out of their rig without stepping in water as you can see in the top photo. Unfortunately I wasn't quick enough to get photos of the two beautiful red cardinals or the blue jay that was playing with them!

Next day was Good Friday, and we forgot that here in the US it is a regular day and stores and the post office etc are open. Unlike Australia where most offices, stores and service stations are closed on Good Friday. Yesterday we arrived in a campground in a town called Van Buren in southern Missouri where we will stay for 2 nights, then we will drive SW to Arkansas on Easter Sunday. On arrival at 1pm it was a chilly 53 C (10C) but today it is a glorious spring day - sunny and 66 F (18 C).

Today is Easter Saturday and we went for a walk this morning and took pictures of redbud trees, dogwood blossoms and the river. Most trees are still waiting for their greenery, and with the dogwood, the blossoms are blooming at the tops of the trees closest to the sun, but on the lower branches, the blossoms are still tightly closed. Spring is still springing here.