Day 22

After a late start due to having to retrieve our camping gear and Scott having a conference call, we finally got moving out of town by 1;15pm. We were making pretty good time heading towards Balmorhea State Park when we saw dark clouds up ahead. At the same time we forgot about getting gas in Sonora, TX so we were running low quickly on gas. I know...it doesn't sound smart. But all things work out for a reason. We had to take a detour and head North about 15 miles off course in search of gas. As we approached the gas station the wind started in huge gusts and we could see lightening in the distance. The sky turned black and we could watch the clouds move very quickly towards us. We knew it was a thunderstorm and tried to head out of it. We weren't quick enough. Lightening stuck and forked 3-ways just off the shoulder of the freeway where we were. About 200 yards. It made the entire car shake and the kids got very frightened and started to cry. We flipped around and headed towards town again. The first building we came to happened to be a hospital. We pulled in and got inside just as the hospital lost power. A nice nurse showed us some toys as the generator kicked in and turned on a few lights. We waited out the storm before moving on. Now that we are 100 miles away, we can still see the lightening as it moves on. Very beautiful to look at...from far away. We got to our destination, set up camp and got online to check the radar...nothing more heading this way. In my mind, the fact that we were so low on gas was a good thing. It got us to a town and eventually a safe building. Otherwise we would have been driving on the interstate when the storm hit with almost no shoulder to pull over on.
All is well and safe. Don't mean to alarm anyone. Very tiring day. Moving on tomorrow afternoon.