This storm was moving away from me, though, and others to my northwest and west were moving east into the area, so I decided to head up North Pagosa and Piedra Roads to see if I could intercept any of the new storms. The strongest ones were in and near the mountains northwest of town, backbuilding over the Piedra River valley. I began to see CG lightning and what appeared to be hail falling to my northwest, near or north of where Piedra Road crosses the Piedra River:
I continued north into the higher country a few miles past the river crossing, and soon found the ground covered by up to dime-sized hail:
Since the storm was now getting past me as it moved up into the roadless Weiminuche Wilderness in the San Juan Mountains north of Pagosa Springs, I decided to head home. Soon, however, I was treated to a view of a spectacular double rainbow:
Not bad for a local outing on which I never got farther than 25 miles or so from home!
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