A Cold and Rainy Camping Trip

This last weekend, we decided to go camping near Palisade, CO (where my marathon was) since there is a lot of good mountain biking in that area (Grand Junction, Fruita, etc.) Don's sister and her husband came down from Vernal and our good friends, Rick and Emily Rampton and their little 9 month old girl, Adelaide, came with us from Boulder.

We had been watching the weather and as the day for our camping trip drew closer, the chance of rain kept steadily increasing. Rick and Emily weren't sure they were coming and even Don and I were on the fence. The morning of the camping trip, though, we all just got excited about it and went despite the risk of rain.

We drove the 4 hours out to the campground and set up our tent. Sam and Adelaide busily crawled around trying to eat sticks and rocks, very much enjoying themselves. Em and I hung out with the babies while Don and Rick went on a quick ride before it got dark. Christine and Josh showed up with their dog, Rodrigo. We put the babies to bed and made ourselves some delicious tinfoil dinners and doughboys and had a fun time around the fire. We all felt a raindrop or two, but it really wasn't raining.

Then, we all headed to bed. As soon as we got inside the tent, suddenly it started to pour. Don and I had just bought a 6 man tent with our REI dividend and were really excited about it because we had plenty of room for Sam's pack n' play and because it was 7' tall so we could walk around in it comfortably. Also, the fact that it is called a "Hobitat" was pretty awesome, too.

This being our tent's maiden voyage, we definitely put it to the test. It rained cats and dogs all night. I had forgotten how loud rain was in a tent, but despite the loudness of the rain, the train that passed through the canyon still managed to wake Sam up. He did pretty well the rest of the night despite it being very cold and wet.

When we got up in the morning, Sam was miserable because it was so cold and damp. Our tent had held up exceptionally well and was only slightly wet near one of the doors. Rick and Emily, on the other hand, were completely soaked. They had used a tent they found in a giveaway pile and it definitely wasn't deluge-worthy. They ended up with about 2 inches of water inside their tent and Rick had to sleep sitting up because the water had wicked up their bedding and Emily and Adelaide were occupying the only dry spot in the tent. (Go here to see their post about the camping trip. There is a picture of Rick sleeping sitting up under a blanket that makes me laugh. Poor guy.) They packed up immediately and went home. Christine and Josh's tent didn't hold up much better than Rick and Emily's, but they stayed with us while we packed up and got ready to go. We went over to the river and skipped some stones before heading in to Palisade to go get some breakfast at a little bakery. We had some delicious pastries and then started the long 4+ hour drive back home.

Christine and Rodrigo after a cold, wet night.

Walking along the mighty Colorado

Don and Josh looking for the perfect skipping stone.

It was so cold but Sam was a good sport as always. I love his little plaid suit. It was given to me by a friend in family housing and has been passed through many families through the years.

In Palisade again. I have a soft spot in my heart for this little town now after doing my marathon here and finding warmth and pastries after a long, cold, rainy night in a tent.

It wouldn't have been that bad to drive this far for a rained out camping trip if we hadn't just driven all that way and all the way back the weekend before for my race. In the last two weekends, we drove over 18 hours. Despite the drive and the rain, we had a really fun night around the campfire. I am excited to get out camping again, just maybe a little closer this time.