The final push

The Final Push: Tornado Alley and Home

After lingering longer than expected in Picher, I linked up with I-35 and started the final stretch home—1,235 miles through Kansas, Iowa, Illinois, and Michigan.

Kansas and Iowa are well-known for their tornado activity, and sure enough, the skies began to look ominous as I neared Des Moines. The temperature dropped, the sky turned that telltale mustard-green, and the radio was full of storm warnings.

While I made it through Kansas without issue, Iowa was another story. One moment, the sun was shining on golden wheat fields; the next, everything changed. A heavy downpour turned daylight into darkness, and in my rearview mirror, I saw two funnel clouds forming.

Thankfully, neither fully touched down, but I wasn’t about to stick around to see what Mother Nature had planned. At that point, all I wanted was to cross the border and head home.

What started as a potentially exhausting 600-mile day ended up being surprisingly smooth.

Iowa farm field with approaching storm

Within moments things turned to this.

Then the rain came.

What started as a potentially exhausting 600-mile day ended up being surprisingly smooth.

Now, just one thing remains: the epilogue.