Behind us as the storm appeared on the northern horizon

When the youth group left on their first summer event trip in 2009, one leader shy, we got a late start by only a few moments. Still, it was enough time for former youth group member Tatia Verhoeff to notify leaders of a treacherous storm just then hitting Denver, moving east along I-70.

Blue skies to the south

Since the group was still leaving Lamar, they chose to travel west along US Hwy 50 and turn north on the I-25 corridor instead of traveling the open plains. One leader’s husband contacted her by phone shortly after the “no return point” to share the same information by televised weather cast. The group was already traveling the safe route.

Clouds shifting

Driving into the storm, the clouds appeared to move in a rotational direction, even from the distance. Storm centers were decidedly darker and members of the youth group discussed various changes in the clouds, as we took pictures. High in the picture, you can see the blue skies above us fading into the moving clouds. (This photo was taken near Castle Rock, as we entered the storm zone.)

Storm fading in the west...

Heavier, denser clouds still gave way to blue skies in some areas as we followed the storm, heading out to the eastern plains. Traveling up the I-25 corridor, we still had clear skies behind us, growing clear skies to the west and north,easterly directions held serious storm action.

Gray skies ahead?

Straight north, the clouds seemed heavier, closer to the deck. We watched in awe of the power of such a wide and vast storm center as it slowly moved across the skies. Still rotational in direction, the clouds appeared to be moving steadily east.

Lightening to the south

The high side of this photo still shows blue skies above us.

Tornado in the making?

At the time this photo was taken, we all thought the line was just rain coming down, but due to location and time, we later realized it was probably the dissipation of a tornado that actually touched down and did some damage in the eastern part of Aurora. The decision is still out - we haven’t decided what we say.

Storm Clouds on Youth Trip

White wall clouds indicated hail coming down in some areas still. We didn’t experience this phase of the storm, by changing directions.

Youth Trip Storm

As normal, youth kids toward the end of a trip have stopped visiting and curled up with books, hand held music or pillows and dozed off on a trip. The end of this trip was ablaze with discussion of the storm we’d skirted and were at this point, driving straight into the backside of, as we arrived at our destination.

From the Motel Parking Lot

From the Motel Parking Lot, we were looking east at a ridge and the storms were on the other side.

Lamar FBC Youth Trip

Lamar First Baptist Church - Youth Trip

Youth Trip to Denver

Youth Trip to Denver