End of the Drought

We have really been blessed on our camping trip. Not so much for the farmers, though.
But the drought has come to an end. Our tent holds up pretty well to the rain, even though we have not sealed it. We also didn't lay down a ground sheet under either of the tents.
With the rain comes a decrease in humidity and sweet relief. After days of hot humid weather, the rain was a welcome (and wanted) relief.

On the first night of rain, several weeks ago, one of the boys got a bit wet during the night.  That was a sleepless night, since we weren't used to the rain. But now, the kids seem to sleep right through it.

Oh, but we don't just get rain. That would be nice in itself. We get storms. Thunder, lightening, and wind. Fortunately, the most severe storms have passed us by. Once, according to the radar on my phone, we were in a corridor between two storms. It was kinda neat to sit out and watch the sky light up. We got some rain from that, and not too much wind.

We have lowered our canopy a few times in anticipation of strong wind gusts. I would hate to lose the shade I paid $100 for. Of course, we have the materials to make a new one with a tarp, but I like this one. We have now added an "addition" to the side of the canopy for more space (and shade and protection from rain!), which came in handy.

Last night we had a good storm. I went to bed around midnight, and it was a bit humid, but did not warrant using the fan. I slept very well until about 4 am, when the wind woke me up. I checked my radar, and saw a strong line of storms approaching. I woke up the hubby and we zipped up and tied everything down. Then I rechecked the radar and saw a severe thunderstorm warning until 4:45. Needless to say, I stayed up until 5 am to make sure I wouldn't die in my sleep. And I had to keep an ear out for the boys in the next tent, even though they'd have to be screaming bloody murder for me to hear them. Heavy rain on a tent is extremely loud. 

I am so thankful that the storms weakened before they reached us. There was so much thunder and lightening, it felt almost like it was daytime out.  We lost power for a brief moment (our big light outside went out), but it wasn't as windy as I expected, or as severe. The storm lasted about 15 minutes of heavy rain, intense lightening, and thunder. Rolling, deep thunder that we felt in our bones. Awesome!

I did wake up to a small puddle by my bed. And the area in front of the door is soaked. The carpet is damp, too. I guess it just wicked the moister right up. But we stayed dry on the bed! We did get some seam sealer but got home after dark last night and was unable to apply it. I'm interested to see how it holds up to the rain. We're looking at some more this weekend, too.

It's mainly rained at night, while we're in the tent sleeping anyway. It rained once or twice during the  day, but it wasn't heavy. The kids played in it and had a good time, while the adults huddled under the tarp and froze! It was great! I wonder how it would be if it had been a rainy summer instead of a dry one. I think our camping trip would have to end, because I don't like  being soggy and damp.

Today is a wonderful day with a cool breeze and blue skies. The birds are chirping and the grass is green! I'm going to look at the river to see how far it's come up!

Beating the Heat

Last week we survived a 5 day heat wave. It got to 100 degrees during the day and only down to to 75 at night. By 9 am, it was 90 again....day after day after day.
The first day of the heat wave wasn't so bad. The night before was fairly cool and we were well rested. I have a weatherbug app on my phone, and the warnings stated that the effects of the heat were cumulative. I didn't know what that meant, until Saturday. So Tuesday wasn't so bad. We spent the day like normal, even though it got a bit hot. Lots of time in the water, and we even went wading in the little river/stream next to camp.
It didn't cool down much that night, and Wednesday was pretty hot. We spent the entire day in water. Got up, went to the lake, ate lunch, back in the water, ate dinner, back in the water. Wasn't so bad. We had to go and get a fan though, since sleeping the night before was nearly impossible. The heat itself wasn't so bad, but the humidity was killer.
Our sheets felt damp, and with the sand sticking to them, sleeping was less than pleasant. Our kids got up a few times, tired and cranky. (And to top it all off, we had a bad case of poison oak making the rounds). The fan did help, however, making an impossible miserable night tolerable.
Thursday was bad. By this time, it got to 90 by 9 am.  I was exhausted just sitting there trying to breathe, and got a bit nauseous because of the heat. The kids sat around, limp and drained. We went to a friend's house and spent most of the day in the cool AC. Thank God for our friends!!
Friday brought more oppressive heat. We did our weekly laundry and went to our friend's house again. It was very relaxing. The kids got to watch a few movies and we just soaked up the AC. Saturday was the breaking point. I was expecting storms, but none came. We trudged through the day and the next morning it was so much cooler.
If we didn't have friends we could have  hung out with, the week would truly have been miserable. I don't doubt that a few of us would have wound up in the hospital with heat related illness. There were other options: stores, movies, library, cooling station. None of them offered the hospitality and relaxation that we got at our friend's house. And the thought of trying to wrangle all the kids in one of those places is just exhausting in itself!
We went through 48 bottles of water in two days, between the 7 of us. Lots of bags of ice, and the food didn't stay that cool. At one point, the top of the cooler was scorching hot, even in the shade with a sleeping bag over it.
Getting the fans really saved us, too. Granted, they only blew out hot air, but when you're sweating, any breeze helps to cool you down. Staying next to the cool river also helped. I had the kids dip a washcloth into the water and bring it to me. I put the dripping wet cloth around my neck and it was sublime!
I really don't know how people live in the desert and other tropical places. The heat and humidity sucks you dry, leaving an empty shell behind. But we survived!!!
On Sunday, we moved campgrounds. The new campground is about $350 cheaper a month, and we have both water and electricity at out site.  We aren't next to a river and there is no lake (though by the time we left the old campground, the lake felt like tepid bath water), but the campground is on the mighty St.  Joe River, a bit more dangerous than the stream/river we were used to.  It's quiet and nice, with a lot less raccoons.
I'll leave you with some photos of some of our adventures this summer so far.

 The full moon in June. Stunning, isn't it?

 daily campfire.

 camp kitchen. Our youngest daughter doing the dishes.

 The big tent.  Me, hubby, and the 3 boys fit in here! With all our stuff.

The girls had their own "room" off to the side. 

 A view of our "living room". The river is just beyond that tree.

This is a photo of the beach/bathhouse from our site. My superzoom camera is amazing!!!