The Spirit of Vincennes

It's going to rain this weekend. Terrible thunderstorms and tornadoes very, very likely. Are they in the weather forecast? No, but that matters very little. The Spirit of Vincennes Revolutionary War festival is this weekend, and the "Spirit" of Vincennes is violent weather.

We attend this event every year, and we've learned to expect a massive storm system to arrive, generally, Saturday late afternoon or evening.

Since we live in these canvas tents at reenactments:

there isn't much in the way of shelter. Storms and high winds are fine (apparently some of these tents have been tested in wind chambers...fortunately) but tornadoes we just can't stand up to while living in canvas.

So we've on several occasions decamped to the damp, dank foundations of the George Rogers Clark Memorial Monument:

which is a lovely limestone structure, whose innards are considerably less lovely. In fact, the floor is dirt intermixed with old building schrapnel and other dangers. Safer inside than out? Hmmm...

Fortunately, we have never been blown to Oz. Though watching a storm system ride across the Wabash River behind all the men lined up at attention, carrying their muskets with fixed bayonets at the shoulder (fixed bayonets on muskets = portable lightening rods)? A sight to behold. And the year that we decided we'd had everything else at Vincennes, we may as well have a volcano? Pure genius--the Volcano Party will live in memory, as will the tiny plastic redcoats destroyed by the volcano's reign of terror.

Will report on the happenings and goings on of the event upon my return! Anyone in the area--come on out for a fun (and hopefully dry) time.