The most exciting thing that occurred while we were at Pecan Grove was a fierce storm that blew in one evening. Being trapped in a metal RV shaped box during a thunder storm is like being stuck in a washing machine during the rinse cycle. There is wind and water, and rocking, and banging, and the gnawing feeling that this whole trip was a really bad idea.
My cell phone really doesn't capture the intensity of the storm but it was coming down in buckets.
A storm of this magnitude really brings out the botanist in me because suddenly I'm looking at the condition of these large trees in a whole new light! I suddenly see lots of limbs that look diseased, tree roots too close to the surface, and branches with way too much overhang!
It Is really hard for us to sleep during bad storms because this is all still very new to us. We aren't yet comfortable being separated from the elements by only a thin piece of sheet metal. And, we all know, for some reason, tornadoes have a life-long grudge against rv/trailer parks! It was going to be a restless night.
Suddenly, around 10:00pm there came a banging on our door. We both looked at each other and wondered who the heck would be out in this storm, at this time of night!?
Standing outside was an eighty year old woman, soaked to the bone, asking for assistance. The vent cap had blown off the top of their RV as they drove in and rain water was pouring into their bedroom.
Lorraine quickly volunteered me to climb up on their roof and remedy the situation. She is awfully brave when it comes to putting me in harms way. So I quickly threw on some rain gear, grabbed a tarp from the under-belly and the heavy, rubber welcome mat we keep out front of our door.
The electricity had gone out leaving the park in total darkness. The only illumination being the occasional flash of close-striking lightning (thanks for the help, Mother Nature!). I ascended the slippery, wet ladder and crawled over to the opening. As I peered down, I saw her 80 year old husband holding a bucket to catch the falling water. The vent was right over their bed. Not the time for lengthy introductions, I quickly positioned the tarp over the hole, laid the mat on top of the tarp and then placed some heavy pieces of lumber to hold everything securely in place.
They thanked us profusely and offered to compensate me for the help but, of course, I refused. One of the things we've found true during this trip is that RVers, on the whole, pretty much help each other. There is a shared "we are in this together" mentality. And with all the assistance we have received from kind strangers along our journey, it felt really good to be able to pay some of it back.
The next morning I retrieved my things and they drove off to have their RV repaired. I hope everything went well because we never saw them again.
There were many downed branches, one toppled tree and fortunately no serious damage to any of the other RV's.
Whew! It was quite a memorable night.