The Caged Human and Bad Clouds

My Alaska Adventure Trip (Day 7): Let me tell you about this interesting human we met today! After a few sleeps at my sister's house, we settled back into Graycie van to watch new things pass us by. I realized we had entered New Mexico when Mom sang me a cheerful little song about my first trip out of Texas. I’d been napping in her lap for a long time when I noticed that the scenery passing by our windows outside had changed. 

I had just begun to get bored with New Mexico when we stopped for Mom and I to walk each other on the leash while Dad fed Graycie some gas. That’s when the weirdest moving den ever pulled up nearby! Seriously, it was the funniest thing I ever saw—a little moving den wrapped in a cage. I laughed so hard, I nearly marked myself.  

The Caged Human ("storm chaser")

The human man in the moving den got out of his car without help from anyone and my Dad walked over to talk with him. When Dad came back, he said the guy was a “storm chaser” and he was headed in the same direction as us. The guy told Dad that we needed to hurry to get past some “bad” clouds. (I have since learned that clouds are not really “bad” like when one goes oopsie in their den. But, “bad” clouds mean bright flashes and loud kabooms, and sometimes those twisty tornado things with falling rocks.) 

Dad drove onward. (I’ve figured out that when Dad is in his seat behind the round wheel and Graycie van is purring, we are "driving".) It wasn’t long before Mom and Dad started getting anxious. They don't whine when they are worried like I do, but I can always sniff it out when they are. Mom kept checking the weather on her gizmo thing and updating Dad. We stopped in a big parking lot, and they kept looking at the "bad" clouds. Maybe these clouds would throw rocks on us again like they had at my sister’s place? I started feeling uneasy too, remembering how scary that had been.

"Bad" Clouds

Dad talks to the Caged Human (Storm Chaser)

As the sky got darker, Dad found a spot to pull over and stop. We sat there, debating whether to stay or go, when Mom spotted the guy in the strange cage car from earlier! Dad drove over, rolled down Graycie’s window, and chatted with him. I didn’t catch all the words, but afterward, Dad said the storm chaser suggested we leave quickly because this is exactly where the storm was headed. I couldn’t understand why anyone would want to be near "bad" clouds if they had a moving den that could take them away. So, I buried my head in Mom's lap and waited for the loud rain to stop pounding on Graycie’s roof while she purred us on past the bad clouds as fast as Dad could drive. Thankfully, it wasn’t long before the rain stopped and the sky cleared up. Mom and Dad agreed the guy had given us good advice which kept us safe.

I wondered if that man might have been Angel…? --Max