Camping in the Rain

Now this brings back memories... a lot of good ones, actually, as long as we avoided "monsoon" season! 
   Camping in the rain meant we taught our children the real meaning of making the best of the "worst" of times.  It also taught our children the importance of being prepared.
    Being prepared meant we brought games, raincoats, umbrellas, and our best "sunny" outlooks on every situation.  Being prepared meant we had a good rainfly as well as ground protection for our tent.  Even though our family of four has remained with a 4-6 sleeper tent (and graduated to 2 of them as the children grew to teenagers), these items have been our best friends.
    Let me share a little story of our honeymoon, to give an example.  My husband and I have always loved camping, so being the crazy workaholics we are (for non-profits, in those days), we decided to make our honeymoon a 3-day weekend at the Pacific Coast.  The weather reports mentioned a slight chance of rain, so we weren't particularly concerned.  Well, that report was a huge understatement.  The slight chance of rain turned into a heavy downpour for 3 days!  We laughed and played cards in our tent for quite awhile.  Then we noticed it seemed to be dripping inside of our tent...from our breathing!  Just normal breathing, folks☺  So we opened the window flaps a bit to let more air flow through, but then we realized our bedding felt a bit damp.  Thinking moisture was the culprit.  We let it go, and continued to play cards.  Then the bedding became really soggy, and we realized there was a "moat" of water around our tent, which we didn't realize from the grass covering, and the moat had overflowed onto our tarp.  Back in the day, we hadn't realized the importance of a waterproof bathtub tent floor, so the water was seeping into our heavy foam pads (sponges) and then into our sleeping bags!

  Okay, so we laughed our heads off and finally gave in to a hotel room that weekend, but with a little wisdom (experience), we have never had to repeat this story.  Yes, we do still go camping in the rain, and our children still know how to handle it.
Here's what we bring:

• Tents with a great rainfly and bathtub floor.
• Tent footprints that match the size of the tent (and don't collect rain as easily)
• A pop-up for sun and rain protection over our cooking and table area.
• Umbrellas/raincoats for walks
• Cards and other small games (not video!)

For activities inside the tent or under a rain shelter:

• Story telling
• Games of all sorts
• Beauty Salon day for the girls (hair, makeup, facials...)
• Puzzles of many kinds (books, jigsaw, or 3D)
• Sewing/needlework
• Leather skills
• Wood, soap, or soapstone carving

Our children are very happy to go for walks and visit nature in the rain.  In fact, they look forward to it.  It's amazing to see how beautiful the colors turn, how fresh the air becomes, and how quiet the rest of the world becomes in comparison to nature's own sounds.  Banana slugs and other creatures, usually unseen, make their way out into the moist air.  The ocean can capture our imagination and provide the best setting for reflection, as well as the mountains or the hills, as we regain our sense of balance with nature.

    Oh yeah, let's remember to look for the rainbow!☺