We kicked off Memorial weekend and the beginning of summer (i.e. no school) with a camping trip to the Wichita Mountains. We had visited there several times for day trips, but loved the idea of having a bit more time there to do some hiking--in theory. It also met my criteria for camping sites. Since we could not make reservations there, it needed to be within an hour or two (in case we couldn't find a spot and needed to come home). It needed to have a relatively large number of sites to increase the chances of of finding a spot. And of course something to do there. We headed there on Friday morning since the kids were out of school and to give us a better chance of getting a spot. Rain and maybe even some mild storms were possible, as is usual in May in Oklahoma, and when we tend to go camping.
It was a quiet spot, not too crowded although it started filling up toward the early evening.
We did a bit of exploring , resting, and enjoyed a few smores before dinner. We also visited the visitor center and overheard a bit of the weather forecast, confirming that storms were indeed coming our way that evening.
After dinner the ranger stopped by to let us know to expect some rain and strong winds at around 8:30, and that he would let us come by honking if we need to take cover. Our shower building was near our campsite and looked to be a good place to head for cover it it was going to hail or something like that--anything that we wouldn't want to try to survive in a tent. We watched our new neighbor try to set up his tent and dining canopy for a while with his 4 year old. As the clouds start moving in, we hop over to help him, staking down his tent as the gust front winds pick up. Then the rain starts. We decide to hang out in our car for awhile. It was a LOT of rain. It slacked off for a bit so we decide to get out of the car and go to the tent. And discovered we REALLY need to do a better job of reading the landscape when picking a tent site, especially since it does rain some every time, the downside of trying to avoid tent camping in our brutally hot summers. Our tent was right in the middle of all of the water running off from one side of the camp site to the road on the other side. Sigh.
The kids headed into the tent, while Shannon and I tried to make some trenches to help the water runoff quicker. It was pooling around our tent quite a bit. We worked awhile, got drenched and finally headed into the tent when the thunder and lightening started back up.
It was a LONG night. I think the rain stopped for good at around 1 or so. That little yellow spot in the lower let corner of the state was where we were. 3.88 inches of rain.
So the next morning we changed into dry clothes. More rain was forecast for that night too, and with our water logged bedding, etc., we decided we should tour the area a little bit and then just head home. We all needed sleep and were not in any condition to do any hiking. We did have to make a quick stop to see the prairie dogs for sure though.
The wildflowers in the area and on the drive home were amazing, a visible reminder of the importance of all of that rain. Next time we will be more prepared!
Comments
Post a Comment