High Wind Warning

[oregontocal]

Heads up, Echo and Kelly. This is the latest forecast for Blythe.

...HIGH WIND WATCH IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY
EVENING...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PHOENIX HAS ISSUED A HIGH WIND
WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY
EVENING.

* TIMING: STRONG AND POTENTIALLY DAMAGING WINDS WILL DEVELOP LATE
TONIGHT AND PERSIST THROUGH EARLY THURSDAY EVENING. STRONGEST WINDS
ARE LIKELY THURSDAY AFTERNOON.

* WINDS: SOUTHERLY WIND 30 TO 40 MPH...WITH GUSTS 50 TO 60 MPH...WILL
BE POSSIBLE.

* IMPACTS: TRAVEL WILL BE DIFFICULT...ESPECIALLY FOR HIGH PROFILE
VEHICLES ON WEST-EAST ROADWAYS...INCLUDING INTERSTATES 10 AND 8.
BLOWING SAND OR DUST WILL RESULT IN REDUCED VISIBILITY AT TIMES.
OUTDOOR FURNITURE AND OTHER UNSECURED LIGHT ITEMS COULD BECOME
AIRBORNE.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A HIGH WIND WATCH MEANS THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR A HAZARDOUS HIGH
WIND EVENT. SUSTAINED WINDS OF AT LEAST 40 MPH...OR GUSTS OF 58 MPH
OR STRONGER MAY OCCUR. CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS.

[VickieP]

Yall better hang on to your knickers!

[mitch5252]

..

Om my gosh...make sure you batten down that little black cutie of yours!
Good night for a Motel 6...

..

[Liz]

Yep, don't want you hanging onto your tent and parasailing over the cg. Be careful!

[Echo]

Well I wonder if I use my other tent fly like a cape if it would do me any good???? Super Echo!! Ta Daa!!! Nope no Motel 6 for us. Will stay here and try to make sure nothing goes flying off. We are gonna put some stuff in our tents to protect it and for the added weight too. So between us and the added stuff the tents wont go sailing, we will just have to hope and pray they don't collapse! Or we might be seeking refuge in the Blazer!

Kelly did find a few more of my heavier stakes so will be using them and maybe all the little ones I have left. Now to find the extra rope. Gonna be busy for a while.

[Getupngo]

A few extra stakes might be in order .... stay safe!

[Echo]

On a good note!!! Kelly had torn the trailer apart getting stuff out and sorted. I found my heavy tent stake spikes and my extra rope. So have been going around putting extra stakes in the tent, vestibule and screen room and some extra guy ropes. Have 4 heavy stakes left which Kelly is gonna put on the 4 corners of her tent to keep her from sailing away tonight if the wind gets really mean. We now have our camping supply totes in the screen house, my duffel of clothes in my tent, Kelly has her's in her tent, have put other needed to be protected items in the tents. Only have some stuff left in the trailer. What's left is stuff that we can easily cover and protect. I am gonna take one of the extra tarps and put it up around inside the screen house for protection from the wind blown rain. And I also found my other cans of waterproofing so have done the side walls of Kelly's tent and have sprayed the living crap out of the inside or the screen house ceiling. Hopefully that will put a stop to the drippys that were going on the other night and last night. Feel a little better about the wind coming tonight. Tho we still might have flappings and what not if we get the 50-60mph wind gusts they are saying might accompany the rain storm.

So ya'll be keeping your fingers crossed we stay put and don't go sailing off to where ever. I don't think we would land in Oz from California!! And I've never really cared for the name of Dorothy!

[Echo]

Hello, got as much battening down as we possibly could do done. Have extra stakes in the tents, have extra guy ropes on everything. Have stuff in the tents for weight and to protect the stuff. Have just a little stuff left in the trailer. Good grief it looks empty! Have all the camping supplies and food stuffs in the screen house. Redid the one tarp and added a second one to cover the one end wall and have my extra tent fly ready to hang for later if it starts before we go to bed. Either way it will get hung up before we go to bed. Now all we can do is cross our fingers that everything works the way we have it overnight! Whew!

Have met and spoken with more than a few our neighbors, very nice people. One couple came walking by while we were working and they, the neighbor and us all got to talking. The couple are from AK. They ended up cutting thru our spots to get to the back row. They said that they had a friend on the back row who was not home but had left their awning out so they were gonna roll it up to keep it from being damaged. Super nice couple. Any way when we were finishing up and wrapping the old monster tarp over what is left in the trailer the AK woman came back to our site...........She said that they were in site #14 and that if the wind and rain knocked over anything or even if it just got bad enough for us to worry or be scared that we were to come over to their RV and stay the rest of the night!!! The offer just blew Kelly and I away. What an amazing offer from someone who doesn't know us at all! I simply could not believe it. We both thanked her profusely. Now if one tent does blow down we will still have the other one. But if both tents blow down we just might take them up on the offer!

I thought that this was a super neat thing and wanted to share the fact of how generous and kind people can be.

[BarbaraRose]

I remember when I went on one of my first camping trips (about 15 years ago). I bought a tent and set it up in my dad's backyard the week before to waterproof it. When I saw those teeny little stakes that came with the tent, I figured they wouldn't hold the tent down in a light breeze, so I went and bought 4 big, foot-long stakes and a big mallot. It was good that I did that, because the first night out, a big storm hit and the wind was fierce. I would have been blown right into Lake Superior if I hadn't had those new stakes!! Very scary! It was bad enough that I got rained on big time the whole night. Good thing I brought a plastic drop cloth that I used to cover everything in the tent including me until morning! Then the drop cloth went over the tent for the remainder of the camping trip!

Hope you don't get blown away! Those storms really hit the California coast bad yesterday. Stay safe and dry!

Barbie

[Echo]

Well I feel pretty comfortable about the staking on the tents now that we've added extra stakes and guy ropes. Normally I wouldn't bother with all of this. Yesterday Kelly's tent wasn't staked at all and did fine. But with the 50-60mph gusts they are calling for I wanted to make sure. The only thing that I'm really nervous about is the screen house. It's a good enough screen house but it's kinda flimsy too. And the idea of those wind gusts make me worry about it going down. Just told Kelly that I think I will bring in the one last tarp that is folded up and use it to cover the table where everything is sitting. I have rope left so will be able to tie the tarp right fast to the picnic table. The picnic table is metal and heavy! Took the both of us to move the thing in here when the guy brought it over so I don't foresee the table going anywhere in the wind. But the tarp will cover and protect the stuff we have on the table and will probably put our camp chairs under it too.

[oregontocal]

Have met and spoken with more than a few our neighbors, very nice people. One couple came walking by while we were working and they, the neighbor and us all got to talking. The couple are from AK. They ended up cutting thru our spots to get to the back row. They said that they had a friend on the back row who was not home but had left their awning out so they were gonna roll it up to keep it from being damaged. Super nice couple. Any way when we were finishing up and wrapping the old monster tarp over what is left in the trailer the AK woman came back to our site...........She said that they were in site #14 and that if the wind and rain knocked over anything or even if it just got bad enough for us to worry or be scared that we were to come over to their RV and stay the rest of the night!!! The offer just blew Kelly and I away. What an amazing offer from someone who doesn't know us at all! I simply could not believe it. We both thanked her profusely. Now if one tent does blow down we will still have the other one. But if both tents blow down we just might take them up on the offer!

I thought that this was a super neat thing and wanted to share the fact of how generous and kind people can be.

They were taking care of the RV next to me. Yes, they are really nice people. I was very worried about that awning the other night during all the wind so am glad they took care of rolling it up. Quite a job, too, because there were Christmas lights attached and lots of tie-down straps to contend with. It was so nice of them to offer you and Kelly a place to stay. I hope you both were okay with the steady rain last night. Looks pretty soggy outside, especially out in the fields.

People here are very kind and thoughtful. You should have been here for our Thanksgiving potluck. Many of them have been coming here for years from Canada and the more northern states, staying usually three and five months. My friend David pumped up his inflatable kayak yesterday, and in talking with another couple, got an invitation to do a trip down the river with them before the weather got too bad yesterday. They drove a car down to the end, then all three of them took off in their boats. It sounded like there was a pretty strong current, but they had loads of fun. I'm assuming the daily lawn bowling won't happen today, but you can never tell.

[asirimarco]

thought about you guys - how did the night go? hopefully the forecast was worse then the weather. Check in when you can. Some of my kinds live in LA and it is terrible there - with more rain predicted until tonight. Take care

[wickedxgrl]

thought about you guys - how did the night go? hopefully the forecast was worse then the weather. Check in when you can. Some of my kinds live in LA and it is terrible there - with more rain predicted until tonight. Take care

I went to bed just before 9. It rained but wasn't very heavy. Didn't feel or hear very much wind at all. Was pretty quiet actually. I think the rain has just about stopped and what's coming down now is from the trees. If it dries up at all today and there's any left I might spray a bit more of my tent fly down on the sides. No leaks but probably a bit of dampness coming thru. If only the sun would come out like it did yesterday. While I was unloading the trailer I discovered some of the clothes in my suitcase were rather damp. Would like to get them out in some sun to dry up and keep them from getting moldy. Will have to do some laundry next wk. I know there's somewhere in Q we can do that. Yesterday was so gorgeous out. I'm hoping for/looking forward to many days like that. Would be a super nice change from all of the wind and snow and sleet and just yuck that we've dealt with since October. Did have a few nice days in TN after first getting there but it didn't last long. Wasn't too bad while visiting Vickie. But need lots more, lol!!

[oregontocal]

Kelly, there are two decent laundromats here in Blythe, one at either end of town, both on the main drag, Hobsonway. I like the one towards K-Mart the best, especially since there's a Starbucks across the street. Might be a little easier than facing the crowds this time of year in Q.

[wickedxgrl]

Kelly, there are two decent laundromats here in Blythe, one at either end of town, both on the main drag, Hobsonway. I like the one towards K-Mart the best, especially since there's a Starbucks across the street. Might be a little easier than facing the crowds this time of year in Q.

Kool beans, thanks! Mmm, Starbucks, haven't been there in forever! Have you done any shopping at the K-Mart? I may have to pick up some tank tops as all my shirts are regular sleeves and dark colored or black. And it's closer than Wal*Mart. Thanks again!