June 18, 2014

In The Rain




Camping in the rain is unquestionably a hassle. There are all of the logistical challenges, darting to set things up without getting soaked, keeping the stove and firepit lit with the wind and wet, mud on every surface, and the slightly damp sleeping bags, pillows, clothes... everything. This particular camping trip was evenly split, two days of rain followed by two days of sun, and something kind of wonderful happened... I actually enjoyed the rainy camping!

A major factor was definitely being prepared. I made a Target run just before we left town and bought a giant 'shade tent' to cover our picnic table. I have always laughed when I passed campsites with these things and favored stringing up a tarp, but post-kids I suddenly am appreciating practicality. The sides of the tent were mesh, so it wasn't completely water tight, but it gave us a reasonably dry place to prepare and eat meals as well as store our provisions. 

We fell into a routine of hunkering down in the tent during heavy downpours and then exploring as much as we could between showers. There was a certain peace in it all, everyone was just quieter, even the kids. We read books, collected slugs and newts, and waded in the water with our rain boots. Everyone slept so soundly with the roar of the rain on the tent all night long. It was the only night baby Roo slept in fact. She loves white noise and we even came prepared with a battery operated sound machine, but there's just no substitute for the real thing.

*Full disclosure, we actually only spent a day and a half in the rain. We drove forty minutes to my mom's for the afternoon and a tasty and dry dinner on the second day. We did resist the temptation to take her up on dry beds though, and headed back to camp to sleep in the storm. Little Smith was insistent that we had to be in the tent, and we were all glad we listened to him ;)

3 comments:

  1. I am loving your camping posts! We are planning one of our first car camping trips with our toddler (after being backpackers pre-baby...it's a totally different mindset). I would LOVE a post about camping food you make with kids- especially since your food always looks so good!

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    1. I love that idea, thank you! Jotting that down for next time... And yes, it is such a different world car camping with kids. Traveling light just ain't an option ;)

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  2. I love your camping posts too. It seems like you guys figure it out so well. I can't even begin to imagine how to do this! The rain pictures are just beautiful. I would not likely be as positive, ha!

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