Macho man to girlyman in less than 5 seconds

Last Sunday I was cruising East bound I-70 about 60 miles West of Burlington, Colorado. The weather was extremely hot and clear. Off in the distance I could see a dark cloud hovering off to the North. I had been to Silverton,Ouray, climbed Pikes Peak again and roamed around Rocky Mountain National Park. I was feeling pretty good about my stock Commander as I had challenged a few moderate trails and completed them without difficulty. I was amazed at how capable my Commander performed. About 30 minutes later the visibility was down to about 5ft and a hail storm began spewing the largest hailstones I have ever driven through. Cars were stopping all over the highway and you needed a reservation to get under any underpasses. I could see huge hail stones hitting my hood and 3 sunroofs. I then heard what sounded like a little girl whimpering in the back seat. I realized these sounds were coming out of my tough guy persona as I had been reduced to a wimp by the thought of my Commander being destroyed and there was nothing I could do about it. I must have said OMG a thousand times. Each time the Commander took a hit I felt it's pain. I chose to keep driving rather than park roadside as it seem too dangerous to park among the other panicked drivers.
Five days prior I was the recipient of a free Colorado souvenir when driving out of Bristol. I did not see another car for over 30 minutes. Off in the distance came a pedal to the metal 18 wheeler, whiskey bent and hell bound. As he passed me he fired an RPG at my windshield hitting the upper passengers side leaving a dime sized chip that I could not take my eyes off. Within 10 seconds I had exhausted all my cuss words, and I know more than most people. I stopped in a little town (Del Vista or something similar) after seeing a curb side sign that said (windshield chips fixed). $20 later I was still staring at the chip which didn't look any different to me but he was bragging how he filled in the biggest cracks that would keep my windshield from cracking further....Really?...looks the same to me..
At any rate for those still reading I survived the hail storm undamaged except for my ego..At least a damaged ego is free.
I had a great time in Colorado and loved traveling the Million Dollar Highway. I would post photos but don't think anyone really wants to see them.
Be safe, enjoy your Commander...What a beast these things are.
HT

Colorado is a beautiful place to visit, maybe now you will plan to attend Camp Commander 2011.

ANy significant hail damage?

My traveling lady friend was unable to make the trip during Camp Commander because of family obligations. I'll try and make it next year although Silverton doesn't have much to offer in the way of accommodations. Ouray is way better and much more to offer...I did like the steam engine in Silverton though. I only stayed there one night then moved up to Ouray. I'm not a camper and prefer A/C and other civilized amenities. My camping days are a thing of the past. It poured rain the night I was in Silverton and the people in tents sure looked miserable. Some with babies.
HT

Oh, forgot. NO hail damage as stated in original post.
HT

While we were driving home from Camp Commander this year on I-70, we encountered one of those thunderstorms crossing Utah. We were lucky though that it was only rain, not hail. Many drivers (including some poor people on motorcylces) did as you described and had stopped along side the highway. It was raining to the point that even on the sections of the highway on a hill, there was so much water falling it was pooling on the road. It was so nice to have the confidence brought on by driving my XK and be able to keep driving, although at a reduced speed. Full time 4X4 is very nice in those sorts of times.

Yeah, there's nothing quite like hail to bring out the screaming little girl in just about anybody.

A few years ago, we were in SD doing the Mt. Rushmore, Badlands thing. A bad storm came through about the time we left Wall Drug. We hid out under the I-90 freeway overpass in the RV and waited out the storm. After it passed, we went on down into the Badlands. Most of an hour later, and in typical South Dakota summer heat, we stopped to pick up hailstones almost the size of baseballs. The thought of just how big the things had to have been before melting for an hour made us start quaking in our shoes.

Later, we reached a road junction where there's a large RV park. It looked like a war zone, with shredded awnings, broken windshields and glass on about every vehicle there, and people walking around looking dazed. As we got closer, we could see big dents on every car and truck hood. THAT would've been bad news to try to ride out under a Commander's three sunroofs!! :eek: