Absolutely incredible 10 days with a wonderful crew, and an amazing guide team. I have been wanting to this since I was a kid, and this tour did not disappoint one little bit. As a photographer, I obviously wanted to be able to get a little more than just the "experience" side - I wanted to go home with a bunch of stunning images - and I did that and then some.. The tour was a great mix of getting right up close to experience it, and providing ample opportunity to spectate from a good vantage point to take in the entire scope of these amazing storms. We got amazing storm structure, mind-blowing lightning shows, 9 tornadoes (some were small and brief, but they were there), gustnadoes, shelf clouds, BIG hail... really don't think we left many stones unturned... Can honestly say that we have left the tour with irreplaceable memories, and a whole bunch of new crazy weather loving friends - the guides included.
Vehicle review:
The vans were super comfortable, with enough room to spread out a little, and move around a bit if the better vantage point was on the other side of the van. We had a great dynamic in our vans, so we kept the people the same most days and just switched the seats up to give everybody a chance to enjoy different views. There are power outlets and USB ports to stay charged up on your cameras/devices. The windows are reinforced to withstand big hail. I should probably mention the music. Satellite radio with your own personal DJ and karaoke masters up the front cranking out crowd-pleasers. I'm pretty sure our van should be up for a Grammy for our sing-along work.
Tour guide review:
Nick is made for running these tours. We had a great group of guests overall, save for one very difficult person. The only reason I'm even mentioning that, is to highlight how brilliantly Nick handled it. Spot on. As for the others - Kevin, Blake and Christian - these guys are seriously good at what they do. A lot of ego exists in storm chasing, and the way these guys work together is phenomenal. Their knowledge was immense - they could answer any question thrown at them - and their accuracy and decision making was freakish. We were on the storm of the day, every time they fired. The guides also have a great balance of "let's get in and dirty" and knowing when to keep safer distance. Most importantly, the guys have fun. I can't remember ever laughing so much.
