July 27-29, 2025 (Sun.-Tue.) – T-Storms & Butterflies

After a wild, stormy night, we woke up to find the power still out. The forecast promised another hot day in the 90s, so we braced ourselves for more heat. Lynn was up at 7:00 AM, and Kirk—surprisingly early—was up by 8:15 AM. During Lynn’s usual morning routine, she discovered a dead moth on top of the bed. While it was already lifeless, she still felt heroic for “killing” one herself. The moth saga continues.

By 9:00 AM, we headed out in search of breakfast downtown, hoping to find a place with power. We swung by the campground office to check on the outage, but they weren’t open yet—they don’t open until 10:00 AM.

Breakfast was at the charming Phillip’s Avenue Diner, a local spot with a fun backstory: both Kyle and Kjersten Aspaas worked there back in the day! After eating, we wandered downtown to check out the sculptures scattered around the city. We even found the dog park we’d been searching for earlier in the week—but decided to skip it after two aggressive pit bulls made Otis uneasy and there was a lot of barking and growling. Instead, we opted for Fawick Park and walked the river trail, which turned out to be a much better experience. We went back to the dog park later just to check it out.

By 11:00 AM, we were back at the campground. Kirk checked in at the office and was told the power should be back by noon—though they said previous ETAs (3 of them) from their contractor had come and gone. With quiet hours over, we fired up the generator for AC and internet. Kirk spent the afternoon napping after a sleepless night, while Lynn caught up on the blog.

At 2:30 PM, Kirk returned to the office for another update—only to find it abandoned, with a note saying staff had left due to the power outage. Needless to say, Kirk was not thrilled with the lack of communication.

By mid-afternoon, news and social media were buzzing about a major storm system and something called “derecho” winds (thanks to the Aspaas’ for teaching us how to pronounce it). We’d never heard of it before, but apparently it’s a serious weather event. Lynn had a hair appointment scheduled right during the peak of the derecho and we also had dinner plans. We debated whether we should shelter in place, but figured if it were truly dangerous, the locals would cancel. Since no one did, we carried on with our plans.

Lynn got her hair done, and we headed straight to Morrie’s Steakhouse to meet Kyle and Wendy. The food was fantastic, and the company even better. Throughout dinner, the lights flickered and thunder rumbled, adding a dramatic backdrop to the meal. There was no derecho in our area thankfully. We’d left Otis at the RV, and while the power had come back on before dinner (around 6 PM), our cameras went offline during the meal, which made us a bit nervous that the power was out again and Otis was without AC.

We returned to the RV around 9:30 PM to yet another lightning storm and the power still on (just the cameras went offline). Thankfully, the rain was light, so Kirk was able to walk Otis, spotting fireflies and bats along the way. He ended the night with another moth kill, bringing the total count to 44.

A day that started with uncertainty ended with steak, storms, and a little bug-slaying victory.

Weather – High 91*, Low 68*. Winds 7-15 mph, gusts up to 23. Revised PM forecast = derecho winds, t-storms.

Traffic – None.

Food – Phillip’s Avenue Diner, Morrie’s Steakhouse – very good.

Notable – Dinner with the Aspaas’, Weather.

Moth death toll – 44.