I was going to a wedding in Silverton which is a long drive from where I live.  Silverton is also a very beautiful part of the state.  So, a bunch of us decided to make this a long weekend so we could spend more time there together.  The last two nights I shared a hotel room with a friend, but the first two nights I decided to camp to save money.

I arrived the first night around 3:00 pm and pulled into the campground I had reserved a spot at.  The sky was dark and threatening to rain.  The whole campground was muddy.  After I checked in, I drove over to my camp spot on the river. The camp spot was a small area with gravel and a picnic table.  If I had to pick my own spot, I’d never pick a spot so close to the river.  The river is flying by at quite a speed.  The water has over spilled the banks and is rushing through the grass and reeds on the side of the river.  The edge of the water only about 5 feet from where my camp site is.

Maybe it won’t rain and the river will stay where it is.  I pitch my tent, set up my sleeping pad, sleeping bag and pillow.  Then I head back into town to meet friends for dinner.  By the time dinner is done, it is pouring rain.  Maybe the rain will let up.  It doesn’t.  I go back to check on my tent.  My tent is fine and everything inside appears to be dry.  It’s hard to tell, because I’m no longer dry just from walking from my car to the tent.  The river has not reached the tent.  Whew.

I go back to town to hang out with friends.  But I cannot stop wondering if my tent will be in the river when I get back.  By about 10:00 pm, I decide to go back to camp and try to sleep.  On one hand, sleeping next to a river is relaxing.  The sound of the water puts you to sleep – nature’s white noise machine.  Everything is dry when I get in the tent.  I wake up in the middle of the night expecting my sleeping pad to be floating.  It is not.  I’m still dry.

Morning brings blue skies with white fluffy clouds.  I can’t use my picnic table because it’s soaked, but it’s not in the river.  The river does not appear to have gotten any closer to the tent.  The second night was similar to the first regarding rain, but it was easier not to worry about me and my tent floating away.