The truth is, my family has bad luck in the weather department when planning a camping trip. Three years ago, the first year we attended Maine 4-H Days at Windsor Fairgrounds, we had hail and tornado warnings and sought shelter in the pulling arena for the night. No tornadoes actually passed through our area (although we did get some hail) and we laughed about the craziness of it all.
Last year a few thunderstorms rolled through town. The rain moved quickly and we had periods of sun that dried things up between storm clouds. The lack of tornado warnings and hail kept our glass half full attitude alive and well for that weekend.
But this year was a testament to our resolve.
In anticipation of wet weather (I’ve learned a thing or two about camping in the rain these past few years), I decided to spray a new coat of water repellent on the fly of our tent as well as an extra fly we had as a backup. I also made sure our tent had a correctly sized tarp to serve as a ‘footprint’ to prevent water from seeping through the bottom. I also purchased a couple of extra foam mats to put under our sleeping bags. I was excited to add to our packing line-up our as-yet-unused Christmas gift from my mom - an EZ-Up shelter with the tarp side attachments.
I was ready for some rain, or so I thought.
This was the forecast I thought we were in for but it was oh so much more intense rain-wise.In watching the weather reports we decided to leave Thursday night because it wasn’t forecast to rain in Windsor until after midnight. We arrived at midnight and got our gear set up in a nick of time. An hour later it started to rain and pretty much didn’t stop until we left.
The deal with Maine 4-H Days is that the kids sign up to take a variety of classes over the course of three days. G. was jazzed about all her crafty-type classes, which included making wooden roses, friendship bracelets, flower pounding and making seed paper. And L. was really excited about learning how to make goat milk cheese as well as making strawberry jam, doing decorative painting as well as the rollerski biathlon workshop. We also had a 15-year-old friend accompany us and she was all about her all-day ‘tech wizards’ class to make her own movie from start to finish.
Needless to say, we were motivated to take the weather in stride so the kids could attend all their workshops.
It rained, hard at times, on Friday with only an hour or two of light drizzle. The EZ-Up shelter was a lifesaver for not only my crew, but another family as well. I had my large hot water pot going pretty much the whole time in the shelter to make tea, hot cocoa and what turned out to be the popular dinner item of the trip, Ramen noodles. The hot meal went a long way to keeping my crew, and their friends, warm. We had packed some good rain gear but it just doesn’t keep dry for an entire day – or two - in the rain, especially our footwear (sneakers get soggy, sandals in 50-degree weather just keeps you cold).
Around 10 p.m. Friday we got some perspective on what heavy rain really is. That’s when the true torrential rain started. Both of our tents, set up on the down-slope of a small hill, stayed relatively dry. There was a small wet spot on the floor of my tent and a small puddle in the kids’ tent the next morning and I thought that was great considering the amazing amount of rain that fell all night.
Our friends didn’t fair so well. One of my friends with three children woke up soaked from leaks from the top of her family’s tent as well as the bottom. But they were on the same small down-slope we were so didn’t have any big puddles of water inside their tent. Our other friends were not so lucky. They were on leveler ground and ended up with about 6-inches of rain at the bottom of their entire tent. In the middle of the night my friend, her husband and their four kids made a dash to their SUV and slept in it for the rest of the night.
On Saturday my mom (and dad) friends and I compared notes on how many inches of rain we had (2-3” was the conservative guess) and how much of it ended up in our tents. All of the families had a good sense of humor about it.
“The things we do for our kids!”
“What were we thinking!?”
“At least we don’t need bug spray. The rain is keeping all the bugs away.”
“Wendy, it always rains when you camp? Then we aren’t planning any more camping trips with you!” (This was said in jest, I think.)
But the sentiment that me and two of my tent-dwelling friends uttered more than once to confirm that we were all leaving Saturday night (a day early) was…
It’s been an incredibly wet two nights and two days in the tents but it has offered some amusing stories to share in years to come. Every year there is some crazy weather event during Maine 4-H Days. But if we stay a third night it just won’t be funny anymore. We’re leaving, tonight.
I checked in with my girls and their friend to see how they felt about leaving a night early and they all concurred they were tired of being wet and cold.
Despite the wet conditions, the kids had fun and my friends and I shared some laughs.
So less you think I’m a hard-core outdoors-y type, I do have my limits.
I didn't take many pictures (for obvious reasons) but I did manage a few.
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