The newly oriented Tour 5 group was herded into the vans, and Tempest guides Chuck, Woody, Brian, Justin and I abandoned Oklahoma City midday for southwestern Kansas. By late afternoon we were watching some new high-based storm towers struggle some in the Sublette, KS, area.
New storm development eventually drew us eastward into a somewhat moister low-level air mass, and one or two storms started to get a good look to them. These were near Meade, KS, looking northeast.
This impressive supercell dumped tennis-ball-sized hail on Fowler. Instead of getting involved with the core of the storm by going east on 160 from Meade, we dropped south and then east on unpaved roads through southern Meade County to keep the nice structure in view. We stopped near the Meade/Clark county line near sunset and observed a menacing wall cloud to the north and a colorful sky.
During this time frame I was a complete nervous wreck. It was game 7 between the Kings and the Black Hawks, conference finals! Both teams were one win away from advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals. I was listening to the game on my iphone, and the Kings were struggling and behind most of the game. We finally tied the game up in the 3rd period, and it went into overtime! I reserved a bunch of rooms in Dodge City and we headed north on U.S. 283 for the night. My phone/radio connection was intermittent. Maybe I would be able to watch the end of the game in Dodge City! My dumb iphone was quiet for two minutes, and then it came back on. Nick Nixon, the Kings radio announcer, was ecstatic, the Kings had just won the game in overtime!! YES!!!!!!!!!!
Now how about this for coincidence:
The Los Angeles Kings have advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals by winning deciding games on three separate days in their team history, which began in 1967. In late May of 1993, the Kings beat Toronto in Game 7 to advance. I was able to watch the end of the game at a motel in Ness City, Kansas, following a chase. Yes, I was screaming and crying tears of joy. In June, 2012, the Kings dispatched Phoenix to advance to the finals. I listened to the last part of the game on my computer from a motel in Wakeeney, KS. And this day, the Kings advanced to the finals while I am headed to Dodge City from Minneola, Kansas. Now, it is not unusual for me to be on the Plains and in chase mode during the last few rounds of the NHL playoffs. But, what are the odds that for each of the ONLY three times the Kings have advanced to the Stanley Cup finals that I, a Kings fan from the beginning, a guy from Los Angeles and still lives there, is in western Kansas, and along U.S. 283??!!
The answer: a zillion to one.
I suppose the moral of this story is to make certain that I am in Norton or Hill City or Jetmore the next time the Kings need to win a game to go to the Stanley Cup finals.
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