On September 21, the rains came and stayed. Jim went to work, but called and said that they were being delayed for two hours. Then he called and said the schools were closed because roads were flooded and there was no way to get students to and from the schools. Several of the high school students were already at school, and their parents had to be called to pick them up. Several roads were closed, and the waters kept rising. There were deaths and lots of basement flooding. We were not affected by the flood waters, but some in our Ward had water in their basements. For a time Highway 29 (that I usually take to work) was closed in one area, Five Forks was closed, Sugarloaf Parkway (where we go to Stacy's house), and several freeways in the North part of town were closed. The kids were home from school, so Stacy called late morning and said the pool was still heated and that she and Dahra decided to have lunch together and then let the kids swim in the rain. Dad and I decided to brave the elements, and we took off for Stacy's house. Thank goodness Dad was driving, because we got stopped at Sugarloaf and at Highway 29. He found a way around through Lawrenceville, and we had a great time having lunch and watching the kids swim in the rain. They had a ball, and it was a good way to while away the hours! We started home before the rush hour, but it was still raining quite a bit. Road closings and flooding continued through Wednesday...quite unusual for Atlanta! No one in our family seemed to be affected except with road-closings and inconvenience, thank goodness! Amy got a picture of the Brinkerhoff kids playing with a neighbor in the rain outside their house. There were buses at the parking lot at Parkview High School that were turned over and moved by the water. It was really powerful!
Later on in the evening, the kids and Lora enjoyed watching "So You Think You Can Dance". There were some lifts that the girls thought they could duplicate, so Lora helped them. Looks pretty good to me--future winners!
Bud fixed us a delicious lunch and dinner, and we were able to eat outside on their porch. They have a wonderful backyard with lots of plants and trees. The weather in Colorado is beautiful and cool, and we loved the peacefulness of eating with them and visiting!
Bud mentioned that there was a Museum a couple of blocks from his house in an old train station, and the printing press that Grandma's Dad used when he ran the paper in Hayden was located there. We were excited to see it, so after lunch he took us there. One of the ladies who volunteered there was just leaving, but Bud knew her and talked her into staying to show it to us. It was really fun to see different things about the area and to hear all the stories! Sure enough, the printing press was there, and not only that, but a receipt for a newspaper subscription that was signed, "A. Zabel" (Grandma's Dad). 
Remember the story Grandpa tells about the baseball mitt that his Dad ordered to be sent in the mail? He found one just like it at the museum!
Grandma and Grandpa wanted to check out the house in Craig, Colorado (about 20 minutes away) where they lived for a short time when Dahra was about a year old. They drove over there and took pictures of the house and headed back. After a detour to take pictures of the grave of Grandma's brothers (stillborn before Grandma was born), they returned to Bud and Carron's for dinner on the porch again. Before it got dark, Bud took us on a tour of Hayden. We saw and took pictures of the hospital where Grandma was born, and the house where her parents lived when she was born. 
