I ran into two very intense thunderstorms with hail. The first only being a mile outside of Whitefish with quater sized hail. I had to stop in a driveway lined with tall pine trees because I couldn't see. The trees provided some protection. The size of the hail soon changed to pebbles but it wasn't any less intense. Once it cleared up (20 minutes later), I was on my way!
I took a slight detour to Rexburg, Idaho to visit a cousin I haven't seen in a year. I had lunch with her and her little boy. It was so fun spending time with her but it was a quick visit because I had to get back on the road. There are two exits in/out of Rexburg. Instead of going out the one I came in, I decided it would be easier and faster to take the other exit (as I had already traveled through town and instead of backtracking would just continue onward to the other exit). You have to cross some railroad tracks before you get to the onramp and as soon as I crossed, I heard the distinctive THUMP THUMP THUMP of a flat. I pulled over and hopped out of my jeep and heard the loudest hissing I've ever heard. UGH! Thankfully, I was only a 1/2 mile from a dealership and had slowly thumped my way to them. The guys in the service department were so kind and put my spare on and got me going again. A shout out to the guys in the service department of Taylor Chevrolet Buick Cadillac. They saved the day. This is what popped my tire.
I decided I'd better get a new tire and not drive on my spare so I hightailed it to Pocatello, Idaho. About 8 miles outside of town I got caught in another wicked thunderstorm. Lightening was flashing every which way and the hail...not that big...was coming down fast and hard! I pulled off the side of the highway (as did several other vehicles) and I waited and waited. Thankfully, the intense part of the storm only lasted ten minutes or so and I was, once again, on my way!
I made it to Logan, Utah two hours behind schedule and thankfully was still allowed to set up my tent. The wind was blowing a lot harder than I liked so I didn't set up completely. The next day, I was excited for the show. What would it bring? Well, the first day it brought wind. So much so that is blew just hard enough that a large painting blew away from the display and caused my display unit to put pressure on the tent frame and bend it in such a way that my tent collapsed. Thankfully, none of my paintings were damaged and none of the frames &/or glass broke, but several frames were dinged up :(. I don't know everyone that helped me but a lot of people shopping ran over and helped me out. They were angels waiting in the wings! I don't know what I would've done without them. My friend, who I was staying with, was kind enough to run to the nearest sporting goods store and find a tent that would allow me to finish the next couple days of the show. I arranged everything as best I could on the ground while waiting for the new tent to arrive.
Before she returned, I did have the cutest family stop by my booth. Michelle & Remington. Remington was drawn in by my paintings of horses. He sat down on the ground in front of the paintings and just stared at them. His mom came over and sat down and he crawled on her lap. He pointed at the picture to show his mom. "Horsey". It was soooooo cute.
The wind didn't stop though and I was so paranoid that my new little tent would suffer the same fate so I took everything off, including the top! Boy, my booth was an odd site to behold.
(notice my sign off to the right hand side of the picture. UGH! WIND)
It was a bit embarassing, but everything was safe...or so I thought. With a 1% chance of rain, guess what the weather decided to do! Yup. It rained for a bit...well, it was more like sprinkles but still! Too much moisture falling from the sky I say! I covered everything up best I could. Thankfully, that day of selling was near a close and I just started packing everything up for the night.
The next day was pleasant. A tad chilly, but at least I was able to confidently set my booth up and sell some art. I think I might try this art fair again next year. I didn't do as great as I wanted but hey, I have a new tent for the next couple of shows, none of my work was damaged, I got to chat with a lot of fabulous people and I got to explore a fun town! OH! And before I forget, I want to give a shout out to my AWESOME neighbors! Catherine Novak - who makes the most beautiful stone creations and Armik Malekian - a large format painter who loves movement!
Here are some pics from the other two days
Oh! And one of the coolest things is I got to see a bunch of friends that have moved away from Missoula (my hometown) and all happen to be in Logan! It was such a wonderful surprise to have them drop by my booth. TOTALLY made my days! :D
2 comments:
Looks like a great fair. So sorry you had all the mishaps that you did. Glad no great harm came to you or your work.
OH Kim!! What a disaster with the tire and weather! But you always see the good in a situation. Your optimism shines all the time. Keep it up girl. You're going to go so far!
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