Sunshowers: The Big Trip 2025

I'm starting week two of the trip at 6,000 MSL--that's a big deal for a flatlander. One of the things I've noticed is that my position reports to loved ones back home filled with joy and wonder as last week wound on. I think back on my first two nights in Missouri and Iowa, and that my reports all began with "it rained the entire time we were here" and "I should have known better than to book a campsite in a wetland preserve," followed by a description of puddle and mosquito size. Then I caught myself. If all I am going to do is look at the weather, I can do that from my deck at home. The next morning, my pup and I crossed into South Dakota, and endless blue skies opened to vast fields of sunflowers, sorghum, corn, and tall grasses. In the distance, the sun shining through billowing cumulus clouds, sifting rain made the fields shimmer like spun gold.

Most cultures have a name for the meteorological phenomenon where rain falls while the sun is also visible. Oftentimes, this is due to rain from a distant cloud being carried by strong winds to an area where the sun is still shining, creating the illusion that it's raining without any visible cloud overhead. To a six-year-old, it's magic. In Texas, where I spent most of my childhood, people would say, "The devil is beating his wife." This saying, made popular by Jonathan Swift in the 18th century, referred to the Devil, who, annoyed by a sunny day, hit his wife, causing her tears to form raindrops. This expression always made me sad because one, the phenomenon is beautiful, and two, I thought the Devil lived "down," not "up." Up was for angels.

In Japan, they use the expression "Fox's Wedding," as they believed foxes to be shapeshifters and tricksters, and used the rain to hide their secret wedding ceremonies. In South Africa, a similar Zulu is saying "umshado wezinkawu," which translates to "Monkey's Wedding." And finally, I've heard the event called "liquid sunshine." As children, we called them "Sunshowers."

There's a lesson here as I've moved across Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, the Dakotas, and Wyoming this past week: to start and finish each day by looking for the sun shining through the rain. Not every place I've visited has panned out to be what I'd expected, but most of the time, I find something unexpected, something better. This morning, I'm giving thanks for this life, for the opportunity to see this country, and to meet new people along the way.

Here are some highlights from Week One: The Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD; The Badlands National Park, Badlands Loop Road, SD; "Dignity of Earth and Sky" in Camberlain, SD; Devil's Tower National Monument in Devil's Tower, WY; and my happy place: journaling with my Springerdoodle, Dakota.