Backyard campout: report

Yes, I did pitch my tent and sleep in my backyard on Saturday.

Here is a slightly more detailed report on what happened.

I spent the afternoon cleaning up the yard, as had to happen anyway. The grass needed mowing, trash needed to be moved into the driveway, the patio needed to be swept and hosed, and the patio furniture needed to be cleaned. So that was a nice, productive afternoon for me.

In the evening I had a couple friends over and we sat on the patio by the light of some fantastic citronella candle/torches from Crate & Barrel (that they don't seem to sell anymore). We sat, chatted, and drank two bottles of shiraz.

My two wonderful greyhounds and tortoiseshell cat kept us company. Before it got dark I pitched the tent, tossed a sleeping bag and pillow inside, and spread out a couple blankets on the grass for the dogs to sleep on.

• At 12:15am my guests left.
• For the next fifteen minutes I got ready for bed.

• At 12:30am I was safely and comfortably ensconced in the tent with my dog Maple just outside. (Dazzle was already asleep in the house and had no time for our camping shenanigans.)
• At 12:35am it started to rain. I got out of the tent, let Maple go into the house, and put the fly on the tent. The forecast hadn't sounded at all serious about rain, so while I did originally spread the tarp under the tent, I did so only to prevent dew from seeping through, and I never use the fly unless I have to so I had simply kept it at the ready. I got back into the tent and fell asleep to the gentle sound of rain.
• At 3:30am I woke up in a puddle of rain water. In my preparations, I had spread the tarp too far outside the footprint of the tent, so water accumulated on top of the tarp and underneath the tent. Plus, when securing the fly, I didn't secure its flaps far enough out from the tent. So basically I had water seeping in through the bottom and two sides of the tent for three hours.
• At 3:31am, when I realized it was wet no matter which direction I rolled, I collected my sleeping bag and pillow and went inside the house. I changed clothes and went to sleep where normal people usually do: in bed.

I'm thinking of repeating the backyard campout idea as soon as my schedule allows. (I'm not doing it on a school night.) So the first opportunity will be the night of July 3rd. It's fun sleeping out there! I especially hope it doesn't rain, so I can see if my dogs enjoy sleeping outdoors.

Americans, go camping tomorrow night...

Go camping in your back yard!

Tomorrow night, June 28, 2008, is the day that has been chosen for the 4th annual Great American Backyard Campout. The idea is for thousands of our countrymen (countryfamilies!) to come together in spirit and enjoy the great outdoors. Even if you can't get away to a proper campsite any time soon, I think this is a great opportunity to drag out your tents, sleeping bag, lanterns, and s'mores fixins, and do something different. I especially think this is a great opportunity for people with kids who have never gone camping. It can introduce them to the experience in a non-threatening way. (That applies to introducing your spouse, girlfriend, etc, to camping for the first time ... it's not as much of a wilderness- or away-from-home-experience, but it can get non-campers used to sleeping out of doors, in a tent, in the vicinity of mosquitoes, etc.)

So if the weather cooperates as much as my local weather forecast suggests it will, I think I'll pitch my tent in the yard, spread out some blankets in the grass for the dogs, and give it a go tomorrow night.