And it Rained...

Lisa and the boys came for a visit this weekend and while it rained almost the entire time, we still had fun. Previous to them coming, we had talked about taking the kids miniature golfing and I had planned on taking Lisa on a romantic walk to one of Baraboo’s most scenic places, Parfrey’s Glen. Parfrey's Glen (a Scottish word for a narrow, rocky ravine), is a beautiful gorge deeply incised into the sandstone that is typical of the Baraboo Hills. The sandstone walls of the glen are embedded with pebbles and boulders of quartzite. The moss-covered walls are moist from seepage, cool and shaded and a fast, cold, hardwater stream flows through the center of it. The rain kept us from enjoying most outdoor activities like miniature golf or going on that walk (I’ll save that for another time), so we decided to take everyone bowling…and so did everyone else in Baraboo! When we got there, they only had one open lane, so we packed everyone up and headed to the Dell’s to one of their bowling alleys…They had an hour and a half wait! So…you got it, we went all the way back to the bowling alley we originally tried, hoping beyond hope that they still had the one lane open, but they didn’t! It was obvious that the rain had driven everyone indoors and faced with the fact that every indoor activity, here in Baraboo or in the Dell’s was going to be jam packed with locals or vacationers seeking a dry place to entertain the kids. We decided to just go back to my house, pop a movie in for the kids and just have a low-key afternoon.

The real excitement came late Sunday afternoon when Lisa and the boys were preparing to leave. We had attended church earlier in the day and Lisa had put her cell phone on silent during the service and had forgotten to switch it back. She checked her phone just before leaving and she noticed she had a number of messages, upon calling she found out that Winona and several surrounding towns had flooded and many of the roads leading to and away from Winona were closed. Unknown to us at the time, many of the phone lines were down, making it difficult for Lisa to get a hold of anyone to obtain solid information. While she was trying to find out if her town had flooded, I hopped online to see what I could find out. Several smaller towns had been evacuated, 4 people had died and many people had to be rescued from their homes by boat. Travel to and from the area was not an option. As Lisa started getting in contact with people, she started to worry for her own home and her dog Kirby. She got word that 4 families from her church were displaced because the water had flooded their homes. She finally heard that her house was alright and that there wasn’t any flooding in her town…Whew!

Please keep these people in your prayers as they face cleaning up and expenses that many can not afford. Prayers for God's goodness, peace too.

~ Vince