How are You Doing with All That Rain?

This was posted on wunderground.com on the morning of June 19, 2009. It was followed by warnings of more rain and flash-flooding.

Record Report

Statement as of 2:16 am EDT on June 19, 2009
... Record daily maximum rainfall set at Kennedy Airport NY...

A record rainfall of 2.25 inch(es) was set at Kennedy Airport NY yesterday. This breaks the old record of 1.49 set in 1972.

Public Information Statement

Statement as of 10:35 am EDT on June 19, 2009
... Unusually cool and wet weather continues in June...

June 2009 in Central Park NY been marked by persistent wet weather and below average temperatures
Through June 18... the average monthly temperature is 64.7 degrees... 5.0 degrees below normal.

Total rainfall for the month through June 18 is 7.62 inches... which is 5.33 inches above normal thus far. Rain has fallen on 15 of the first 18 days this month.

And the rain came and more came and I've not looked at the record-breaking info any more but ... Here we are into July and even more rain ... rain of some sort nearly every day. It loves to rain on our moving days. (But not as much as on Fridays.) How am I doing with all of this? In a word? Resigned? I would say "resentful" except I don't resent it 100% of the time.

The tent (EMS Pallas 6 Tent) has been amazing. It deserves it's very own post.

The facilities are dismal for tent campers and pop-up campers who might not be able to access a vehicle in order to escape the danger of the lightning.

The amazing lack of education about lightning is alarming. The blatant disregard for the safety of children ... especially after the adults are informed ... is discouraging on so many levels.

Example:

Me to man who was bringing children to the restrooms: "Please tell me you know that the trees and canopies do not protect you from the possibility of lightning strike."

Man: "Oh yeah. We know. We're just taking it in stride waiting it out under the canopies ... just part of the adventure."

Me to man: "That is fine for you to make that decision for yourself but please do not endanger the lives of the children who do not really have the ability to completely make a truly educated decision for themselves."

Man gave me a startled look and left with the girls ... after making sure they washed their hands ... priorities you know.

I have worked to become more and more resourceful and resistant to just giving up:

• I can stake down the tent as well as Billy (if not better than -- just from practice)
• I've learned to keep moving. Either put on the water proof jacket and pants or do housekeeping inside the tent that requires moving from spot to spot. (Yes, the tent is large enough to do this.)
• I have links to several weather info sources in both my pc and my cell phone. The cell phone is so helpful. One link is to the local radar image. HUGE help!
• I am becoming much more able to discern when I should take the dog and lurk around the bathhouse ... in case ... OR ... take off at break-neck speed.

All the same, Billy will be the first to tell you that I am more than grumpy about daytime thunderstorms that leave me stranded at bathhouses. Uggg. Boredom and (depending on the location) anxiety about having the dog in a "no pets" zone and deeply resenting the odor of the area (again depending on the location).

I have been working on this post in bits and pieces since June 19th ... Two weeks later I might be able to actually complete this. But let me tell you yesterday was the absolute topper.

• Camp director told me that the only place I could go during a daytime rain storm with the dog is under a pavilion. I have a news flash for him and you -- this is not a safe solution. Most of the large pavilions are just dirt floor; therefore, the current that would travel into the ground from a strike would still harm/kill me. It is akin to standing under a tall tree. The pavilions that do have flooring are small and filled with aluminum tables. Yeah ok.
• Billy told me that he didn't consider me replaceable ... so leave the dog in her crate in the tent.
• I left the dog in her crate. With all the zippers to the three doors and two windows zipped up tight.
• I went to the bathhouse. Visited with the lady who was cleaning the place. And as the rain and lightning let up a bit ... I realized ...
• WAIT I only zipped up one of the windows. Worse: the window I didn't zip is right beside the container that holds some of our rain sensitive equipment ... and I had had the lid off earlier ... and I couldn't remember putting the lid back on.
• I decided that the rain had let up enough to make a run for it and maybe be okay.
• I reached the tent only to find Shelbie out running around the tent ... wet & upset. She had banged the crate around until the door fell out (not hard to do since i didn't really have all the screws in it ... silly me thought that 40lbs of weight on top would hold the top down) and then she nosed open the zippers.
• Sigh
• The thunder and lightning was moving back in ... I zipped up the window ... quick glance in ... the lid was mostly in place ... grabbed the dog's leash and the dog and took off for the closest small pavilion.
• For the record ... mosquitoes have an amazingly easy time biting right through wet jeans.
• In the mean time Billy came through and we managed to cross paths. He was waiting for me at the bathhouse ... scaring little girls by calling into the bathroom. "Pam are you in there?" Ermmm one of the girls was named Pam ..
  
• Fortunately I was able to get a text msg off to him and we made a connection ... and left the campground and ate at McDonald's and got on the Internet for a little while

Today, dog and I are in White Plains waiting for Billy to finish off what is traditionally a short work day. Me? Resent the rain? Yes.

Not on Vacation

We are not on vacation.

First, this is true because Billy is still going to work every day.

Second, it is true because we are still keeping up with various church activities.

Third, it is true because -- even in a tent -- we have to keep house ... we still have a home and a home has to be tended.

It is very difficult for Billy to leave every morning. The area is beautiful. It is relaxing -- in spite of the rain and the noise. It makes going to the cubical farm very difficult.

We have not been at the campground on the weekends because of various obligations at church. There was one Saturday event we could have skipped -- except that the list of things we needed to accomplish to run a home was also long: Visit the storage unit, collect mail, buy Shelbie's Abady dog food from Utter Brothers Feed Store, visit the BaklaJava coffee shop.

I'm still doing laundry. I'm still attempting to organize our stuff and keep it in order. If it ever ever stops raining, I'll probably learn to use the little camp stove and at least make coffee. I'm still tending to the dog. (Even more so now since she cannot be left unattended.) And I'm still attempting to work on my various art projects.

I think I might be out doing more sight seeing if I had my driver's license. More than likely, I'd just be traveling to more places to find more Internet options. But this is certainly another conversation for another post.

The Routine

Saturday, June 13, 2009
On the road between Syracuse and West Point
(We went to a Southern Baptist Relief Team Training)

Well let me see if I can get you caught up on a few things.

That really loud siren was a test for the local nuclear plant warning system. Seems that if I hear that sound constantly, I'm suppose to get like 60 miles north or some such non-sense.

In one way or another, every day here is never calm nor serene. Let me tell you the routine of the last few weeks.

As we have already established, the day begins with a surprising and loud noise. You may pick one of the following as your starting sound:

** Nuclear Power Plant Alarm Siren (ear-piercing and heart-stopping),
** Distant Cannon fire (possibly 106mm Howitzer, mortars & probably simulators),
** Black Hawk helicopters overhead (transporting trainees),
** Fighter jets overhead from a nearby Air Force Base (possibly F22 Raptors),
** And/OR a ear splitting thunderstorm complete with blinding lightening (aka speed dressing event and running with old dog & computer and camera to a nearby pavilion).

This is followed by rain.

Then during any break in the rainfall you will listen to artillery fire and machine guns. I was given a whole plethora of possible weapons M14 & M16 M240 M249 and a few that I missed.

This is followed by rain.

As you adjust to this routine, you may pick one of following afternoon delights:

** Do laundry dressed in your best rain gear. My personal favorite is a rain jacket and rain pants.

** Pout about the rain by reading for 8 straight hours.

** Walk the dog in her very fine rain jacket -- Our dog gets only the best impromptu designs from Glad trash bags. The drawstring trash bag works very well. Cut open one side and about 1/2 of the bottom. After cutting, open the bag and drape the it over the dog. Work Quickly from this point forward. Pull the drawstring to fit the top of the bag around the dog's neck and tie it under the chin. Tug the bottom of the sack over the dog's back end. Tuck the tail into the corner. Leave room for the tail-end business to function. And finally gather, tape & tie the open side under the poor, sad-looking dog's belly. No. I don't have photos.

** Sit in your tent (while reading or writing or resting) and listen to various ages of children present in groups of 3 to 130. Teenage girls scream the best. Boys between 8 and 12 say the funniest things about being out in the woods and fishing.

If you didn't notice, most of the afternoon activities include interacting with &/or ignoring the rain.

Evening activities can include:

** Sitting in the truck with your husband while eating either gourmet bbq from the local cafe (which really is pretty decent) or the equally decent gourmet cream of celery soup from Mrs Green's.

** On a rare evening without rain, you may show your darling husband a hidden quiet pond with a well defined walkway ... which he will somehow manage to turn into a plunge into the woods for at least one mile ... at dusk. Yes, a dark, dusky walk in the woods on a "rustic" "trail". And just a moment before dark you emerge at lookout point with a near full moon rising. This redeems him and the walk through the woods (even though the same destination can also be reached my mostly following paved camp roads).

** You may spend the evenings chasing Internet connectivity. This will land you at the local BBQ shop or McDonald's.

This is followed by rain.

Early retirement to bed is advisable.

And hope it is only followed by rain.

The reason "early to bed" is exceedingly wise is because somewhere in the wee-early hours of the morning unplanned and unpredictable activities can occur.

** Sitting in the truck waiting for the lightening to end happens two to three times a week.

** Waking in the middle of the night -- desperate to go pee -- and rather certain you shouldn't have been reading a book that discusses bear attacks -- because now you're pretty sure there's something sniffing & snuffling outside the tent -- finally you wake your poor husband and plead for his company on the way to the bathhouse. Then insist on taking the truck because there's something going through the bushes. Amazingly, He doesn't argue. The following a.m. you will discover a dumpster has been pushed over and ransacked. Sigh.

** Around 4:30 a.m. (one hour before the alarm clock goes off) you can find yourself greeted by a large cacophony of birds and sunlight (if the rain & clouds have mostly subsided).

Usually even the wee early morning activities are followed by rain.

Seriously, this is pretty much how the last weeks have passed: Wash, Rinse, Repeat.

The running joke with my friends is that I have not yet drowned, all artillery has missed me, the bear has not eaten me, I've not been struck by lightning, and the nuclear plant is still functioning.

And yet ... I enjoy this place immensely. We've managed to get the length of our stay extended by one week ... Through this Saturday. Then we are going to go try a state park for a week. Then we will be back here for two weeks. Well that's the plan at the moment.

A Friend and I did Tent Recon Today

Last night we put up our old tent to see if we would even get a few nights sleep in it. We quickly decided it would be a great way to start out challenged.

So, today, instead of doing laundry at the laundry mat, my friend and I took off for Danbury, CT. She knew exactly where she wanted to start: EMS aka Eastern Mountain Sports

I was impressed with the construction of the EMS Pallas 6 Tent. The construction design, the poles, the zippers, and the anchor strap design all match up with the large size of this tent. And the fact that it's currently on sale for $335 doesn't hurt!

So the tent is on reserve for the man to consider tomorrow afternoon.

Thennn the friend drug me over to the shoes and forced me to put some shoes on hold. They're her favorites. No. Wait. They're my favorites now. The pair I chose this trip is the MERRELL Women's Moab Ventilator Hiking Shoes

Huge thanks to Kevin and Walter! They made shopping very interesting and productive because they knew their products. More: they knew how to match our goals to invaluable information about camping in the area (and to more products but that's irrelevant).

So now ... about this packing avoidance issue .... hmmm ...