A Soggy Camping Trip

Instead of taking a trip to Cedar Point for the 4th of July weekend we decided to take our 3 boys camping. So I purchased a 15 X 7 Coleman dome tent. We also purchased some camping items we needed such as a Coleman stove, coffee perculator, sleeping bag for me. We also had a small tent for our 10 yr.old twin sons.

We headed up to a campground about 45 minutes from home. It was a warm sunny day. Our troubles began when we all tried to put up the new tent. My husband was crabby and frustrated and the hot sun was beating down on us, making it difficult to get the darn thing up quickly. Once we did get it up, it looked like nice roomy family tent.

The rest of our day went well, the boys and Dad went fishing. I stayed at the campsite to get organized and relax in the shade with a good book. We made a fire and cooked dinner. We made roasted marshmellow. It was a fun evening. We all went to bed about 11:30 p.m. My husband and one twin slept in the smaller tent . The rest of us were in the big tent. All was peaceful and calm until about 1:30 a.m. I heard someone coughing and vomiting in the other tent. It was the older twin. So he and Dad had to come in the big tent and shared one sleeping bag and beach towels to sleep on. Then it started to rain. It continued to rain the rest of the night. Drip, drip, drip, drip, drip, drip, all night long. Then the it started to leak in the tent above my head, at the bottom of my sleeping bag, from the ceiling. I switched on the flashlight to where else it was dripping, the whole tent seemed to be leaking. Everyone's sleeping bag and pillow was damp or soaking wet. I couldn't sleep the rest of the night. About 7 a.m. my husband got up and decided to pack it up and go home. We had no dry place to go. We had no canopy or tarp over the picnic table, no shelter from the rain. Everyone else at the campground seemed to be asleep, snug and dry in their tents. (they came prepared)

It took us several days to get everything washed and put away. We took the Coleman tent back and exchanged for a smaller more waterproof one. The kind salesman advised us to take the new tent home and set it up and hose it down good. Then go inside and see where the water has leaked in. After it dries apply seam sealer and also spray the tent with silicone spray to help it repel water. Eureaka! Seam sealer! We should have done that the first time. We should have been better prepared for rain. Sometimes you learn the hard way!