Our family is getting ready for Memorial Day weekend. Every year now we hope to pick a different camping location. We pack up our tents, canoes, hiking gear, and tons of food and head out for the prairie, the wide-open spaces.
Ruhiyyih is flying in from Washington D.C., and my sister, her husband and daughter will drive over from Montana. My oldest daughter Laurel and her husband Mehran will join us, and maybe both of my youngest sons will attend (if they can get time off from work.) George and I arrive on Wednesday to select the best campsite, set up camp, and the others arrive the next day. We camp through the weekend.
George decides the location (must have water and toilets for family reunions), and it is up to all of us to bring the necessities. For me that is food, clothing and bedding. For our kids it is media - iPods, computers, boardgames, movies and music. Buddy, Laurel's dog, hopes someone will bring his ball, and leave the leash home.
Our oldest son Ruh has just purchased a two-room tent with a screened-in porch, and he's setting it up early so he can baste the seams with a water-sealant.
Basting the seams will prevent moisture from leaking into the tent. (Rue is listening to some advice from his inlaws ...thanks to Kathy for the photos.Wind, rain and unpredictable weather are always a concern to campers, and we've had our share of tents collapsing in the rain - and some even blown across the desert into the sagebrush. That time, the pegs had not yet been installed. Ruhiyyih had to run to catch her tent!
I remember one year I told George that I was going to secure our tent and a protective covering over it with heavy rocks. He looked around at the calm weather, no clouds in the sky, and thought I was wasting my time. Come midnight though, a violent storm broke out over the lake, and our tent was simply pummeled with wind.
The rocks held the tent-stakes down, the liner down, and the canopy down. Ever since, I find big rocks and haul them down, secure them onto the tent, and then I can sleep easy. (I can just imagine how delightful it will be to sit with morning coffee inside this little porch - no mosquitoes.) Last spring all of us went into an early spring camping trip knowing we'd have rain, but Rue was well prepared. He'd basted the seams of his tent, secured ropes carefully, and pulled a huge tarp over the top to keep the rain out. We put a huge canopy over the picnic table so our food would stay dry, and we stacked the wood under the table. It poured rain that night. Of course the sound is delightful, the patter of rain. But by morning some of our bedding was wet. Water had gotten into the tent. When
that happens, you wake up cold, and you try to figure out how that had happened. We learned to pull a tarp over the tent - and beyond - to keep all of the tents out of the rain. (Rue's father-in-law, Tim, has done extensive canoeing and camping, and hopes to join Annie and Rue on some camping.) Our tent gave out last fall and I purchased another one, the most inexpensive one I could find. The zippers give out every few years on these 'affordable' brands like Glacier's Edge or Coleman. They have plastic zippers, not metal, and the wear and tear takes a toll. The better tents are from REI and you pay several hundred dollars for those. We used the tent several times, but I was disappointed that it didn't have a back window right over the bed. I prefer to have at least two windows, front and back, so that if I need to check out back in the middle of the night I can do so without having to get out of bed. I just unzip the window. I also missed not having the view, as part of the fun of sleeping out under the stars is in being able to enjoy looking at them while you are laying in bed.
So, I've purchased another one, which gives us that back window. We'll take both, as there is always a need for an extra tent when we camp - people who want to bathe at bedtime can use this old one for their bath. (Our grand-daughter Daisy is enjoying the tent's front porch.)I'm still down with a cold and bronchitis, coughing and coughing. Just waiting it out. I loathe the energy lag that comes with this, as I have a million things that I want to do to get ready for this trip. If I'm up to it today, I'll go to REI and get the sealing baste, and we'll set the tent up outside on the weekend. We'll baste the seams of our new tents, just as Rue suggests. However important that may be, I plan to have tarps and ropes next time, just as a precaution. If I'm still recuperating from this bug, I want to stay warm and dry.
