Weather – 1; Don and Amy - 0

It started months ago, with a desire to become one with nature through the use of a cabin at a local mountain resort, so reservations were made. As it turns out the resort lost power the weekend we had reservations, so we decided to go camping at the resort instead.

The tent, air mattress, clothes, bug spray, gluten free food, ice chest, dog stuff, and other odds and ends were crammed into the little van and we set off on our adventure. At the time, the weather was “nice” and muggy, the perfect kind of weather to let a homemade loaf of bread rise outside.  The weather report stated that there was a chance of rain and lightening, but the weatherman is usually wrong anyway, right? As native Californians, 90% chance of rain means your good to go with your plans; if it rains it might drizzle.  Due to our background of little to no rain in our corner of the Earth it is easy to infer the same meaning in other parts of the world.

We got to the resort around 8 pm and made our way to the campsite. It was spacious, and private due to the surrounding forest; a large fire pit was centered in the grassy field with two picnic benches. The ground looked relatively level, so a spot was chosen next to the forest not too far from the fire pit. Ashta was let out of the van and proceeded to check out the grounds, then continuously barked though the duration of setting up camp. 

Finally, it was time for dinner, roasted campfire hotdogs! We relaxed by the fire, and continuously Ashta circled the campground, barking nervously at the dark or something worse. We went to bed around midnight just as light raindrops fell over the tent. Ah, nothing like some rain to listen too as one falls asleep. 

Hours past.

Something wasn’t right; Ashta was circling the tent and shaking her collar wildly. I surfaced from a deep sleep, “Ash, what’s wrong?”

I uncovered myself, and stepped out of bed, SPLASH! At this point sleep completely evaded me as my sensory organs told me we certainly going to sink; “Don. Don, wake up. DON!!”

“What?”

“The whole tent is filled with water. Ash’s bed is completely soaked.”

“Well, move it,” he said in a state that indicated he was still in dreamland.

“Honey, the tent has FLOODED!”

“It’s not that bad, just put her in the van.”

“Don, put your hand on the floor of the tent.”

“Oh, yeah… I guess this is a problem that needs immediate attention.”

“Turn on the light, please, above your head,” I requested urgently.  We surveyed the situation, and Ash’s bed was not the only item submerged in the nearly floating tent, our clothes bag and other personal items as well as the bed had fallen subject to the wrath of the monsoon.

We opened the door for further investigation; the fire pit was now in a small pond along with our camping chairs and ice chest.  Looking behind the tent, we soon realized that we were also sleeping half way into another pond.  Convinced we would be drown by morning and there was no hope of ever drying out, we started to pack up. 

“At least the mosquitoes aren’t out now!” I said smiling, “Hey, do you want your rain coat? Wait, never mind, it’s already soaking wet!”

We worked for 40 minutes packing as quickly as we could.

“You know, we are only a few zombies short of this being a horror flick.” We laughed, though we were more than damp, our sense of humor had not left us and continued to crack jokes until we left. 

Eventually, we finished and drove 45 minutes back home, hungry, tired and defeated. Due to the wetness of everything we owned in the van, we unpacked it and hung out the tent, mattress, and ice chest to dry out. It was bitter sweet returning home as the weather looked partly cloudy and perfect for camping. We rested for most of the day, remembering that the weatherman isn’t always wrong!

** Due to the heavy rain, no photos were taken. :(