Back with a vengeance, really.
In case you've forgotten, the Madsen Curse is that it rains when we go camping. Always. And profusely. We now think the curse is/was (as you will soon read) linked to our tent, because we've now camped at three different spots in Indiana and have gotten rained on at all of them.
This year we decided to go to Lake Mississinewa, which is about an hour and half northeast of Lafayette, by Peru. It had everything we wanted: a big lake with a beach, good campsites, niceish bath houses and bathrooms, etc. But it also had rain. So much rain.
Things started off well. I packed up the kids and what felt like all our earthly possessions, bought everyone a drink at the gas station (gas station drinks have been the key to happy children this summer), and we were off. Everyone was happy!
Poor Tess was stuck by her lonesome in the back, but she didn't seem to mind.
So happy and excited!
After an unexpected detour to the reservoir dam (thank you, Google Maps), we finally made it to the site. Hooray! Only Josh decided he didn't like the campsite. I don't know why. No one knew why. So while we had a quick potty break and started to set up the tent, Josh pouted and moped. It was super fun.
Wait, no it wasn't. It was maddening. Because he fully expected us to go home just because he didn't approve of the campsite. (The campsite which was really quite great.) After a bit of yelling and threatening, he got his act together and we were finally able to get our tent up.
At this point I could see thunderclouds in the distance and I knew it was imperative that we get the rain fly on the tent. Also at this point Gigi and her kids had arrived. But within minutes of their arrival Gigi had somehow opened a bag weirdly, causing a chef's knife to jump out and slice her nose.
I know. WHAT THE WHAT?!?!
But it's true. She really did. There was quite a bit of blood, and we agreed that she probably needed stitches. Good heavens.
During all of this the storm clouds loomed closer.
So while Gigi went off to Logansport to get fixed up, Spencer and I finally got the rain fly on the tent - just before the heavens opened.
It POURED. I had to put a few things away and grab the box of games and got completely soaked in the process. Lance had all of our sleeping bags and such, so we didn't even have anything to sit on. This didn't seem to bother the kids at all, though. The fact that I had grabbed some snacks from the van probably helped with the mood.
While the kids played and made an incredible amount of noise, I stewed and contemplated my lot in life to always camp in the rain. And then I noticed that the tent was leaking. Gosh dang it. I texted Lance about the situation. He teased that he was not coming. This is the reply I sent, hoping it would convey what a dangerous decision that would be. (The photo never went through; cell reception was spotty at best.)
The rain finally stopped and we were able to set up the rest of the camp, including another tarp over our tent. It's a good thing we put that up because it rained off and on the rest of the evening and ALL night. I am not exaggerating.
It was wet enough that evening that we could not build a fire to cook dinner. Fortunately, I had brought my big propane burner and we were able to cook our steak bites and veggies that way. It was delish, if I do say so myself.
The night was long but dry. (Well, as dry as you can be in Indiana humidity.) And the next morning was beautiful; cool and breezy and mostly dry. We enjoyed pancakes and sausage for breakfast and sat under the canopies when it rained a little off and on.
After lunch the kids convinced us that we should go swimming. I had no intention of getting in the lake because it wasn't that hot and I knew the water would be freezing. This didn't stop them, though, and they swam and played for a good 30 minutes before another thunderstorm chased us away.
As soon as we loaded into our cars the heavens opened yet again, sending torrential rain and wind. On our drive back to the campsite a tree fell in front of the Reams' car, which they barely missed - SCARY. (Seriously, it took a while for the adrenaline in my body to wash out!)
But even scarier? The next 90 minutes we spent trapped in our tents because it was raining so hard. The canopies don't do much when it's raining sideways. Our tent was hot and sticky and stinky. The kids kept going in and out, getting their few remaining dry clothes wet, despite my protests.
It. Was. Awful.
I wanted to run away. I wanted to shake my fists at the heavens. I just wanted it to freaking stop raining!!! @##*^@*#%@(#!!!!
Eventually we decided that there was no way we'd be able to cook dinner that night, so we went into Peru and ate at Dairy Queen. After dinner it was STILL RAINING, so we went to see Despicable Me 3, which was fun and DRY. (Lance claims that dinner and the movie were the best parts of camping. I kinda had to agree...)
Finally, after the movie the sky cleared. We went back to camp and were able to enjoy a couple of dry hours.
We had glow sticks and the kids had fun running around free, enjoying not being stuck in a tent or as wet as fish.
It took quite a while because it was just so dang wet and humid, but Lance and Craig finally got a decent fire going.
That night it didn't rain. And it even cooled off a bit, which was a relief. But that night Lance and I both agreed it was time to get a new tent. Our old one was 10+ years old, and despite it's claims, it no longer kept us dry.
The next morning was beautiful. We enjoyed breakfast and chatting and the fact that it was no longer raining! I like camping, I really do. Just NOT IN THE RAIN.
I decided to take one last picture of the old tent. I got it for a great price and it was well used. I'm not quite sure when or how it lost it's capacity to keep us dry, but it did.
The kids had so much fun riding scooters and playing!
Instead of using my phone I found my old point-and-click camera, which the kids loved. Cole couldn't believe that the screen on its back wasn't a touch screen! They had fun taking pictures of us.
Lance is a very, very patient and loving man. I don't know that there are many things he wouldn't do for me. But I don't know that I dare ask him to go camping any time soon...
And we sure love the Ream family! Cole claims to have taken a picture of Craig and Gigi, but it wasn't on my camera. Dang it. There's no one I'd rather be miserable with than the Reams!
A few last pictures of the kiddos in front of the cursed tent. They're pretty sure once we get a new tent the curse will be lifted!
(I'm not holding my breath.)
It's hard to tell in this picture, but there's a puddle of water there in the tent. NO WONDER it was so muggy in our tent! This pretty much sealed the deal, and instead of carefully taking it down I just stuffed it into the trunk of the car and unceremoniously put it in the dumpster at the entrance of the camp! Gigi was with me and it was cathartic. I felt a few words needed to be said, and the first thing that popped into my mind was "Good riddance to bad rubbish."
So, after days of laundry and drying everything out, we're finally over this year's camping trip. I have until May (for the Father/Son campout) to find a new - very waterproof - tent. Fingers crossed that we won't have to find out the hard way whether or not the new tent works better than the old!
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