Medora Storm

I got back from doing laundry and the kids were playing with the new National Parks version of Monopoly we had just gotten at the visitor’s center. They were sitting in the T@B with the AC on to escape the severe Badlands afternoon heat. I was about to take a shower to get ready for the show we were going to that night, when I saw a black cloud coming over the hills from the west. I had the kids help me close the windows on the tent room we had set up for the first time the night before, and we brought all the chairs, shoes, towels and other things we had lying around the campsite. When the storm started, quarter-sized hail came down with heavy rain. I waited for it to stop before going out to take my shower, because I would have gotten hurt. It cleared up soon--the whole storm consisted of one large cloud—and as I went to go take my shower, I discovered that the tent room had leaked. Not just through the windows, but through the roof. The air mattress, sleeping bags and blankets were all damp and the tarp underneath them. I had the kids help pick everything up. I set up the tent, because if it rained that night we would need it. We deflated the air mattress and put it in the tent. Winds had picked up, so for the first time on the trip we made sure to put in the tent stakes.

I’m disappointed in the design of the T@B tent room. What’s the point of having a tent if it leaks? In the morning we had to pack up both the tent room and the regular tent. I cannot believe how mature and helpful the kids have become. It must be from their month at camp.