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!