5/24/09: North Platte to Amarillo

Today was a travel day. For a couple of days, we anticipated moving south for better chase opportunities in the Southern Plains as the southern jet stream began to lift northward. We left North Platte about mid-morning and began the long trek to Amarillo.

I traded spots with Brian Baker, allowing him some much-needed rest after several long days of driving. The drive was quite scenic, as we saw many different kinds of wildflowers arrayed across the countryside. Additionally, we “cored” a weak thunderstorm south of Perryton; we stopped very briefly to take pictures. The gust front was actually quite dynamic, much to my surprise.

During the evening, Sean Waugh and I went to Chili’s for a bit of food. Afterwards, we went to the local theater and watched a late showing of “X-Men: Wolverine.” The movie was quite good, and it was nice respite from the reality of the “Death Ridge.”

Gust front south of Perryton, Texas.