I grew up on a dairy farm in central Minnesota. When you own a dairy farm you are tied down to the farm because the cows need to be milked twice a day. Any time we went some place we needed to get back home within a few hours so that the cows could be milked. I think it was this feeling of being tied down that has added to my need to feel independent and free. My favorite thing is to be able to wake up on a weekend morning and decide to take road trips. The ability to do this was not possible in my growing up years.

Through the years I have gone on dozens of road trips. Some of them have been for a few hours and others have been for a few days. The main criteria I have for road trips are that there is no planning involved. This means that there is no hotel rooms reserved and no itinerary set. Sometimes I go on road trips with a friend or my husband and other times I go on my own. There is something very liberating about getting into your vehicle and just driving. I will stop along the way to check out a store or restaurant that I may have passed by many times. I will also pull over to read historical markers and to take pictures at scenic over looks. It has been during these road trips that I realize how many times I have driven a familiar road and have not taken the time to really notice what is along the way.

Two weeks ago I had a Friday afternoon off. The weather was cool and raining so I used the time to do our laundry, dust and vacuum and go grocery shopping. When we woke up Saturday morning the sun was shining and the sky was clear blue. I told my husband to get dressed for one of my road trips. I went into the kitchen and made coffee. I dug out our travel mugs and thermos so we could have our morning coffee along the way.

There was a gentle breeze blowing from the west so that is the direction I drove. We went down a road that we had both traveled many times, yet we each discovered things that we had never noticed before such as a flower garden in a yard, or a name on a mailbox or a location of a building. We stopped and had breakfast at a café that we had driven past many times. The food was home cooked and delicious and the owners were very welcoming. I am sure that we will stop in again in the future. We went into a ceramic shop that is based in the artist’s home. We stopped at a park next to a lake and went on a walk along the lake on a paved path that we had never noticed before. We drove for a couple more hours then had lunch in a small town that we had never stopped in before. After lunch we decided that we needed to head back home. We had great memories of another one of our successful road trips.

Lightning can be a source of wonder and fear among any group of individuals. Once shrouded in mystery, the magnificent displays of nature’s power have been the center of awe and amazement for many, especially for those of us interested in the phenomenon of ball lightning. The major difference between traditional lightning and the latter is it’s form. The former moves quickly from one point in space to another, while the latter forms a sphere that hangs in the air for a relatively prolonged period of time.

The lighted orbs have been the subject of interest for storm enthusiasts and scientists alike. Nicola Tesla tried to explain ball lightning in 1904 and others have followed suit. The phenomenon remains an enigma among the scientific as well as the regular population. Some scientists believe that lightning can be reproduced in a lab, while others contend that it can not, simply by it’s nature. Fundamental differences like this could attribute to the confusion about the occurrence.

Part of the mystery lies in the rare incidence of ball lightning. Very few people have witnessed it and the ones who have seem to have very different experiences. Eye witness accounts vary greatly from report to report, making the strange occurrence puzzling to those who try to research the subject. Most encounters happen during thunderstorms. Many eye witness accounts claim that they have seen ball lightning without the presence of storms. Some describe ball lighting as oval in shape, showing three dimensions, while others maintain that it is circular in shape. It has also been described by some as being transparent while others argue that it appears solid in form.

Color is another object of debate when it comes to the lightning. It has been described as red by some and yellow by others, both of which are vastly different from the other. The orbs are also said to carry a fire or spark in some cases. The sparks carry a white to blue hue normally associated with traditional lightning that we commonly see.

Another thing that baffles sky watchers about the phenomenon is how the occurrence ends. Some assert that the orbs explode in the air. Others argue that it is absorbed into the ground or other element. Still others maintain that ball lightning simply vanishes into the sky. The only consistent contention is that ball lightning hovers for an extended period of time.