The Long Drive Home And The Experiences We Took Home With Us.

We all woke up the next morning still in disbelief with what happened the day before. I can't say we were all awake when we woke up, but we had no choice but the leave Ogallala at around 7:15 am, despite getting into the hotel so late. The drive ahead of us was very long, as a matter of fact it was 932 miles which was 13 hours and 48 minutes. Now, don't forget the time zones! During this drive we drove through 2 time zones (from Mountain time to Eastern time) losing a hour each time. This made the trip technically 15 hours and 48 minutes, and we had to do it all in one trip. No hotel stops along the way. We were on a tight schedule and had to be back to Indianapolis that night. I must admit, I didn't think we were going to do it. I really don't think any of us did. Jason though, he knew he was going to do it, and nobody was stopping him.

The route we took from Ogallala NE to Indianapolis, IN.

Now, one might think that a car ride of this magnitude would be extreme torture, especially after traveling all over the country for the last 8 days in a 12-passenger van, but actually it wasn't. After all this traveling I became immune to the car ride that day. As for the others, I can't speak for them, but they seemed to be doing just fine. Every time I looked back they were either sleeping, taking selfies for SnapChats, taking video, having a sing-a-long, or playing some sort of game. For mostly all of the trip, Kat sat up front to navigate (that was her job). After we got closer to Indy and drove more into Jason's territory, he relieved her of her navigating duties. I think she was pretty excited. At this point I jumped up front just to see what it was like to help co-pilot the van. Man, despite what Kat might think, she had it made up there. It was so comfy and there was leg room and places to put stuff and it was harder to get car sick and well the list goes on forever.

While sitting up front, I got the luxury of being the DJ. When I played my music it seems everyone fell asleep. Ha ha, guess my music bored them! Naw, they said they couldn't hear it. They weren't lying though. The difference in sound between the front of the van and the first row was tremendous. It was super loud up front and really low in the first row. Now I know why Jason kept turning it down all the time, or kept it at, what I thought was, a low level.

While up front, Jason made a wager with me that we would be back at the hotel by 12:31 am. I was having none of that. I didn't believe him...my navigation said 12:45 am. We didn't bet anything but it sure was fun to see how it turned out. After leaving at 7:15 am we arrived in front our hotel at yes, you guessed it, 12:31 am. Teaches me to doubt the professional!

So this was it. This was the end of what has come to be one of the most memorable experiences of my life. The friendships that were formed on this trip will remain with me forever. Our group was so tight-knit and everyone loved everyone. Oh, the snapchats that were sent during this trip! I saved some of them just to look back on. And oh man, all the antics that occurred! Especially the singing of Summertime Sadness, that song became our anthem! There was never a day where I woke up and thought that I didn't want to be with our group. Matter of fact there was never a dull day with this lovely group of young, free-spirited, Meteorology college students. We all just got along so well, like we were all meant to be on this trip together. I love every single one of you guys so much, and I am so thankful for the experiences that we shared together. Thanks for making this the best 10 days of my life, seriously!

Our fantastic group!

It was so sad to get out of that van for the last time. I seriously think I got separation anxiety that night. A few of us even gave the van a goodbye hug....Jake! It was something that we had come to know and love on our trip around the country, almost like an old reliable friend. This thing got us all around the country and never once let us down. Not even in the middle of no where, where for 100's of miles you didn't even see a house. I think it deserves at least a little bit of praise!

I want to take the time to thank Jason from all of us! Without him there really would have been no trip. All the time and planning he put into this blows me away. Not to mention all the driving he did to take us to where we needed/wanted to go. All the nights he went to bed completely exhausted did not go unnoticed. He worked so hard and made sure we got a very meaningful and educational experience from this trip. I learned so much from him. He taught us about Cumulus fields and the dynamics to look for ahead of them to spot potential for storm development. He introduced to backfilling in storms, quizzed us on our cloud formations and so much more. He even showed us how to have a little fun by taking us go-karting. Oh boy! That night was some of the most fun I had in a really long time. I also picked up a few new favorite songs to listen to compliments of him. Thank you for openly sharing your knowledge with us and leading us on the chase of a lifetime! You are a pretty awesome dude, if I can say so myself.

After settling into the hotel and spending a few more hours of quality time together we all went to sleep to wake up the next day and travel back to State College, Pa. Our drive back took roughly 8 hours and 40 minutes and we covered 550 miles.

Stick around for a summary of total time and total miles traveled. I'm working on a map to show the aforementioned and a list of all the states we visited. Also, during our trip we taped a lot of home videos. I hope to get that posted as soon as Jake finishes editing it! It will be worth the wait, I promise!

Our drive home.