Made it to Norman.....please step out of the vehicle with your hands where I can see them

So the first major hurdle in our VORTEX2 experience has been crossed.....we've made it to Norman, OK! We'll be here for the next several days doing training and preparations, learning how to launch the balloons, getting aquainted with the navigation/radar software, etc.

Overall the trip out was long, but uneventful....that is until we reached OK this afternoon. About an hour across the border we stopped for gas, and upon re-entering the interstate, were passed by several police vehicles running full lights and sirens. I was figuring there was an accident ahead, and worried that we might be delayed. Finally, we rounded a bend and saw that there were several police cars off the right shoulder with two other cars up ahead. In about as long as it took me to think "Oh good, whatever it is doesn't look serious and it's all off to the side," I realized that the police officers were all positioned behind their vehicles with guns drawn, including shotguns and assault rifles... and we were closing in on this scene at 70 mph.

The car in front of us stopped and pulled far to the left, and we did the same, trying to put some distance between us and what appeared to be an impending showdown. One of the officers stopped the traffic coming up behind us, and they began issuing instructions to the occupants of one of the cars over a loudspeaker, ordering first the driver, and then, one by one, the four other occupants out of the car and onto the ground. It was literally just like an episode of "Cops", only in live action from a couple hundred feet away. All the occupants were eventually taken into custody, although the last one out of the car kept dropping his hands down instead of keeping them raised over his head, making for a couple tense moments. Once they were all cuffed and under control we were allowed on our merry way. Welcome to Oklahoma!

I've included some pictures below....quality isn't the greatest but they were shot through a window, with me trying not to draw attention the the fact that I was taking pictures!

The scene as we pulled up:


Securing the suspects:

Securing the vehicle. The guy in the green uniform on the right was packing some serious heat...looked like an M-4 assault rifle.