Careful what you wish for

For the past several years I’ve been wishing for the return of old-school colorado summers, when the monsoons would sweep through each afternoon, cooling & cleansing the city and offering a sweet drink for my gardens.  Yet Each year Denver seems to get more and more dry, with less snow in the winters and less rain in the summers.

But this July has been different, bringing epic rains and breaking a few records.  Thus it appears that my longtime wish was granted, at least temporarily.  Our dry state is currently getting pounded with daily thunderstorms, bringing rain in amounts up to 3.5 inches of rain in as little as 90 minutes.

And two days ago, as I was celebrating my kickball team’s season finale with a sangria, I became stranded at Pasquini’s Uptown as a rainstorm brought walls of water into the area.  Unfortunately I drove that night (I never drive, my bike is my transport here).  But this time my car was parked directly out front, and as you’ll see from the video below, 17th Avenue was no place for a little car that night (even one with a big attitude).  The video hardly shows the reality – as it’s too dark, and too early in the storm to show exactly how high waters rose on July 12th.  There were trucks driving down the street, creating wakes like I’ve seen coming from double 200HP outboard boat engines.  My poor little subaru was flooded inside and out, and my insurance company tells me it’s probably beyond repair.

So, moral of the story: be careful what you wish for.  Epic rainstorms bring flooded engines and glove compartments.

Still, I say “bring it!” Colorado, I’m not backing down from this fight.  I will take any rainstorm you can deliver.