When I say this was a chase of bravery, there’s two reasons for that. One, the terrain is not the most ideal for storm chasing and with that terrain comes reason number two: unreliable cell service. Though, this would come to be my best chase of the year for so many reasons. Overall, this wasn’t new chase territory for me. Hardly over a year before this, I saw a nice and isolated tornado within the Fort Stockton, Texas area. What was different this year is I was going into the Pecos Valley, where hills and mountainous terrain can easily destroy a good view. There was one confirmed tornado this day in the area, which I did miss, but that would only come to be one part of the overall day. In fact, I’d say the bigger story was the storm which produced that tornado. When I say it was jaw dropping structure, that is a very big understatement. Everything about this storm was perfect. The view, the colors, the sounds, and so much more. The only imperfection: my location. Despite such a painful setback, I still got a view that made all of this worthwhile. As it was coming closer, I thought about heading north but the hail core was getting reported for baseball and softball size hail! Not knowing the terrain, I didn’t know if going south was a good idea either. While I’m sitting there trying to make a decision, some hail would fall but it was not a lot. As it was falling, I was talking to one of my closest friends, who is based out of Los Angeles. As we’re talking, one piece of hail hit so loud my friend thought it was a gunshot! He forgot I was chasing storms! I laughed, he laughed, then it was time to start recording again. The next day, I would see where that hail struck my car and it still stands as the best hail dent of 2023! Once the storm was starting to overtake me, I knew I had to just ride it out. I literally had no other choice but I was ok with taking that risk. Though, once things reached near white out conditions and that wind started doing its dance, I became a smidge nervous as I was not sure if something had gone rain wrapped or not. Remember, the terrain was wild! Finally, with the storm now moving on and into more unknown territories, I was ready to call it a day. Beginning my trek north, I was not aware of the flooding that was ahead. I mean, one could argue it was not that bad but I did walk out into it, to determine its depth. Based on my findings, I personally don’t think the risk would have been worth it, considering the car I have. Once I was finally back to I-10, this massive storm still had one more thing to show me. The largest and most beautiful and extravagant mammatus display I’ve ever seen was in the sky! Not just that but this storm seemed to stretch for miles in size! Though I don’t know the actual size, it just seemed like the mammatus display had no limit on how far it could be seen. Despite being so far away, I’m so grateful I was able to capture at least something out of it! Having said all of this, now you see why this was my best chase of the year!