July 10, 2011 -- In Leech Lake

At 10:00 a.m. the temperature was 70 degrees, the sky was blue and clear, the wind was light at 5-8 mph out of the SSE, the lake was nearly calm, and the humidity was in the high 60s, which isn't too bad; certainly it's not as humid as it was yesterday (at least not yet!).

Kathleen sent me a text saying that she awoke early this morning, had already packed and is most definitely ready to leave St. Cloud and come back to Leech Lake. She's been gone since Thursday afternoon.

With the Newmans back at home and the group that's staying at the Poage's cabin set to leave today, it should be a quiet couple of days here at the lake; Kathleen's final few until a possible return this Fall.

Kathleen called me from Walker at 2:15 p.m. She had stopped at the DQ for an ice cream cone and then was going to do a little grocery shopping before driving home.

At 4:30 p.m. Kathleen finally arrived at Leech Lake. We unpacked the truck and put away the groceries and that little bit of activity had us dripping with sweat because of the high humidity. So we grabbed some cold drinks, got on our swimsuits and went out to the end of the dock. We talked for a little while then jumped into the lake to cool off.

The 80 degree water of Leech Lake felt refreshing and it definitely cooled our cores. After swimming for a while, we got out and Kathleen wanted to go for run down the dirt road; something she really loves. So off she went.

Just before 8:00 p.m., with Kathleen still out running, the sky turned a sickly color green-grey, the air was very still and it started to lightening directly overhead. I jumped on the ATV and drove down the road to find Kathleen. Luckily she was already past Paulson's and nearing Schiebe's so she wasn't very far from home. She climbed onto the back of the ATV and we raced home just as the rain started to fall.

The temperature was falling and the wind was now very strong at 20+ mph out of the SSE and the lake roiled with waves and whitecaps. And one of the strangest parts of this summer thunderstorm was that the sun was shining below the big storm clouds and yet it was raining. This produced some amazing sites, such as the pictures below.

A huge rainbow stretched across the eastern sky over our woods


A small gap opened up between the giant layer of clouds and the horizon

Looking south on Sucker Bay as the storm rolled toward us

The craziness of the evening extended south to St. Cloud as well. Our daughter Liz was waiting in the car with Kathleen's mom when a large tree fell across the front of the car smashing out the windshield. Luckily, no one was hurt, but emergency crews including firefighters and police were dispatched to assist in removing the many fallen trees that littered the area.
A wild night of storms in Minnesota.