Re: About all of those supposed warnings and barriers
Posted by Rob Nelson on August 20, 2004 at 16:59:36:
In Reply to: Re: About all of those supposed warnings and barriers posted by Bill Clinton on August 20, 2004 at 09:28:30:
Actually, this was well before 3:30, and the activity mentioned was due to previous flash-flood activity, and the Nevada authorities a ran into mentioned the storm as a passing storm -- I am pretty sure the one I later ran into was another storm way way out in the distance. It passed me at about 35-40mph, so this being a few hours earlier would make the storm very far away are still developing -- either way, far out of the scope to consider at the time.
Trust me, if I had any indication it was still happening or going to happen again, I would have turned around and gone to Vegas. But, when I got to death valley, everything seemed just fine. Tourists were everywhere, even down in Badwater. There was really no indication that anything was going to happen until about 4pm or so, but I was so far back and had to turn around, it was just a little too late.
If I made one mistake, it was to leave Furnace Creek. My Jeep would have been destroyed, but my personal safety would have been less in jeapardy.
As it was, I was thinking that 190, going back up into the mountains would be safer, as my understanding was that it was the valleys that were the dangerous areas and that the mountains would cause a more natural runoff.
That part was true, but apparently, I ended up in exactly the wrong place at the wrong time, at a natural runoff point real close to the road, but was prevented from going any further or going back.
Oh, and to defend myself a little bit regarding being stupid that night -- I ran into a couple guys who lived there for 10 years and got caught in the same place I did. They said it came so fast they didn't realize anything was happening until it was too late, and that they had no warnings, either. And I was just driving through.
Rob
Rob