The Lifestyle of Living with Rain

 Once again I want to praise Pacific hurricanes to the sky.  Despite being so far inland, Central Utah felt the most recent one (Rachel) to smack southern California and northern Baja.  I got a reminder of how much care a camper needs to use to stay out of the mud.  It is ironic: when rain finally comes to this gawdforsaken wasteland, I go into a mild panic instead of enjoying it as much as it should be enjoyed.

Clothing is important.  Rubberized boots certainly help.  And rainsuits (jacket and pants) with the all-important property of the pants slipping on and off over shoes.  Even something as simple as a baseball hat helps, since it keeps rain off you face and eyeglasses.

It happens so rarely that I am 'out of shape' when it comes to the flexibility that rain requires.  A momentary break in the rain must be used to walk the dog.  As many things as possible must be done then.  Such as driving to a paved road.

Tiny details about your campsite are very important.  I like to wallow in an appreciation of how radically life changed for our not-so-distant ancestors when the world started graveling, grading, crowning, and culverting dirt roads!

Before or after a storm, there is actually a reason to look up at the sky.  It isn't just monotonous blue.

  

 

Possible rain over a forest burn?

 

Weather at a cliff edge. Despite the thinness of the cloud, 'Thor' was still active there.

  

View from camp: a bad air day in central Utah forced me to turn up the contrast.

 

"Come on, Pops, take this leash off so I can skedaddle over the steel grate and go to the cliff's edge."