Day 21 (Conclusion)- March 29, 2007

Around 2115 hours last night Des Moines sent a full assignment to 2315 East Madison. The assignment was E3 -7-2, L3-7 and a Bn Chief. I thought I could heard sirens from my motel room and when I looked up the address on my DeLorme map program, the run was only about two miles away from the motel. Engine 3 and Ladder 3 handled whatever it was and the other companies were cancelled.

I didn’t hear any other Des Moines full assignments, but I did hear a number of medical calls while in the area. I spelt in relatively late as I only had a three-hour drive home on the last segment of my trip. In the morning, after I’d cleaned up, I heard the end of a hi-rise response in the downtown area that apparently involved an electric motor.

I checked out of the motel around 0900 hours and headed north on I-35 towards Minneapolis. It was very foggy in the Des Moines area, but visibility was good enough to not cause any driving problems. It’s nice that the State of Iowa upped the speed limits from 65 to 70 mph on their freeways. It’s not as good as the 75mph speed limits you see in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Nebraska, but better than the old 65mph limit.

I made it back to Minneapolis around noon and stopped to pick up groceries before going home. I’ve never before had to so modify a trip I’d planned out as much as this trip. It seems like the weather is getting more and more unstable no matter where you are in the USA. My five-day stay in Texas had to be eliminated because of the severe storms in Texas. After that, I had to delay my return by one day because of the severe storms and tornados in New Mexico.

I had to alter my journey home because of severe storms in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, which forced my return trip north through Denver to bypass the bad weather. I would have liked to have spent more time in Denver, but snow predicted there (which happened later the day I left) and predicted severe weather in Nebraska forced me home three days early. Luckily I made it home without having to drive through any severe weather. I only had to contend with 50 mph winds driving through Neraska.

I wish I could have avoided running over whatever it was in Texas that ruined my catalytic converter (and costing me almost $1000 in repairs). But, it could have been much worse if I’d have tried to avoid the debris at the last second in the driving rain and lost control of my car. I suppose I could have been in the hospital with my car totaled.

That is why I’m just happy to be home alive, in one piece, even though I’m $1000 poorer. I took about 12 rolls of 36-exposure slide film and about 500 digital photos on the trip. I had a great time with family in Phoenix and got to see a lot of fire stations as well. I want to give thanks to all of the many firefighters I met along the way. They greeted me warmly, were so very helpfull and accommodating. They will forever be my heroes.

Thanks for riding (reading) along with me and I hope you enjoyed seeing some of the fire apparatus and scenery photos along this buffing (and family) trip out west!

Your Roving Reporter

(No photos today - Ed.)