Again with the flickr upload - not sure if I like this style, but we'll see. Will edit this later with a story about last night's ride home in the rain.
Ok, here's the story. Left my building to go home last night and fell victim to one of the best monsoon storms ever. Lightning, thunder, wind and torrential rain. It spilled and poured and blew the rain and in one minute I looked like I swam fully clothed to the bus stop. Even "drenched" really understates my condition. Amazingly, the bus arrived on time. A driver switch occurred, so I huddled (and puddled) in my seat, wishing for less efficient air conditioning. The new driver got herself organized and we took off.
The standing/running water in the streets was amazing and the bus created huge waves since it must ride in the curb lane, where most water collects. All seemed swimmingly good until we approached Apache. The traffic stopped moving about 1/2 mile before the intersection and I wondered if the railroad underpass was flooded. We inched forward and finally cleared the Apache Road intersection, only to see the fire department had blocked the street - as I surmised, the underpass was under water. They made everyone do a u-turn (why did they even let them through???) and that included the bus. The driver waited for things to clear a bit and then did an excellent job of turning us around. She didn't receive any directives from her dispatcher and had to create an alternative on her own. We talked to her and suggested she go east on Apache to Price instead of trying to turn left (west) on Apache to Rural. We took a vote, she accepted our decision, and she took our detour. Traffic, though heavy, moved steadily and we ended up back on McClintock at Broadway - a mere 3 mile detour. The rest of the ride played out as usual, although we only picked up two people the whole way. This ride normally takes 20-25 minutes for me and last night it took 65 minutes.
I took a few photos and picked the best three for blog viewing. I realize that in the world of floods, this doesn't rank; however, in the desert, this much water falling from the sky and collecting in the streets at one time - well, it's pretty amazing.
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3 comments:
It's been a lot wetter in the UK lately - we've just had the wettest July on record with more perhaps to come...
Tewkesbury comes to mind - any buses there would be distinctly under water rather than "so deep"...
Mind you... it all pales into insignificance compared to poor old New Orleans, which the media have conveniently forgotten...
Hi, MFebber! You don't know me, but I'm Mike (Engineering Guy)'s wife (Yes, even engineering guys manage to marry, sometimes) ;-)
I don't read your blog often, but check in from time to time, since Mike told me about it. I read some of your entries a year or so ago where you had mentioned Mike, and found them uproariously funny. I particularly enjoyed the one where you said, "Engineering guy is never at a loss for words," and I bring it up from time to time when he runs off at the mouth. :D I also liked you perspective on his discourse on crack propagation (hee-hee, he said "crack"!)
Thanks for the fun!!
How cool that you like the blog. Mike, aka Engineering Guy, is one of my favorite bus people and one reason I like to blog. He adds color and panache to the ride - a rare quality among bus regulars. I'm pulling for his graduation but will miss him once he's no longer a struggling, bus-riding, student. Take care and read when you can.
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