It rained over 90% of the 50-ish hours we were there.
And the high was about 60 degrees.
Perks were that we weren't in tents, we were in cabins. We had a large eating hall and a medium sized meeting hall, so there were places to be other than the cabins. The food was good and the company was fabulous. So, it wasn't a total wash.
Did you catch my sense of humor? 'It wasn't a total wash.'
The things I want to remember about this trip are my children's attitudes. It rained and rained and rained and rained and rained. It was chilly and muddy out, and while some kids braved it and played outside despite the mud and cold, mine mostly stayed in where it was dry. They got plenty wet, but the biggest part of their time was spent in the eating hall. They played clapping games, and cup games, and board games, and card games. The hall was large enough for them to move around in, and while it got a bit crazy occasionally with the 40-ish or so kids under the age of 12 (never mind the ones between 12 and 40), not once did I hear a single child complain of being bored. Not even one little time.
The first night, it was damp and cool, but not raining yet. Almost all the younger kids had bikes or scooters and the paved road that ran around the camp was full of kids whizzing around on bikes.
In the dark.
My mama brain conjured all kinds of accidents and worst case scenarios and I hyperventilated my prayers out for Jesus to protect all those energetic kids in the dark.
The conjuring of worst case scenarios and hyperventilated prayers are a part of my job description as a Mama. The miraculous protection of all those children are a part of His. I think we both did our jobs very well that night.
The rains started sometime between midnight and 2 AM Saturday morning. I know this because it wasn't raining when I went to bed at midnight but it was when Thomas fell off the top bunk onto the cold, concrete floor at 2AM.
That incident prompted a whole 'nother set of hyperventilated prayers.
Apparently, the between 12 and 40 set of kids (or the male ones, anyway) were feeling a little pent up on Saturday. So they set about a game of Rugby. Shirts versus skins, from the looks of things. I shivered as I watched them slosh around the field and be manly. More praying ensued.
At some point in the day, a friend asked me if I wanted to ride with her to do laundry. I leaped at the chance because it meant getting in a vehicle and turning on the heat. She mentioned that you could practically drive up to an overlook for the falls and, when we were done with the laundry, we managed to gather our families and make a quick trip to see them.
It was a very short trip. It was quite chilly and the kids weren't loving being out in the rain. Only one of them had a rain coat (am I the only mama who doesn't regularly buy raincoats and rain boots for her kids??) and more than that, Sarah Grace had grabbed someone else's shoes as we left the food hall. They were too small for her feet. Her brother very chivalrously gave his flip-flops to her and he went barefoot.
Those moments make a mama's heart melt, y'all.
We broke camp pretty quickly Sunday morning. I'm to understand that usually folks stick around and hike and see more of the sights in the beautiful area we were in. Instead, a handful of us drove to the falls as we were leaving. No one opted to stay long, but it was interesting to see how 30+ hours of solid rain had caused the falls to swell.
Also, those are the only two pictures I took. The poor blog is suffering from my abundance of words and lack of photos in posts recently. Apologies and I hope to correct that. One day. Hopefully.
So, in case you couldn't tell, it was a less than ideal outing. I won't say it was a major highlight in our family's adventures, although the kids might disagree with me, but I will say that I am looking forward to returning next year. I hear all kinds of stories about hikes and softball games and campfires.
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