Ready for the Rain

"What time are we leaving in the morning?" I asked Dad, even though I already knew the answer. 

"4:00 AM of course!" he replied enthusiastically. "What Roussel vacation would start any later than that?!" He threw the freeze dried Mountain House meals and extra Starbucks Christmas Blend instant coffee packets into a plastic tub, which was lined up next to all our dry bags, packed and ready for the river. All you need to be happy can fit in a canoe, I do believe. 

So our annual Buffalo River float trip began that next morning at 4:00 AM, and I started it off just like I do every year - sleeping in the car all the way there. 

My dad and Mike did wake me up once to see a gorgeous sunrise that lit up the whole sky in a fiery red. "Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning!" Mike jokingly added, because we already knew that the forecast for that night and the day after was 100% chance of not just rain, but thunderstorms. 

That's why we got on the river early, paddled to our first camp, and set up at a descent hour so that we would be ready when the rain hit. 

Most people don't go camping in the rain. In fact, 99.9% of camp outs get automatically cancelled at the sound of a rainstorm. We are among the 0.1% that don't. In fact, we slept dry all night long (except for the time Mike hollared when four cold drops dripped off the inside of the tent onto his forehead) while listening to the rain hit the tarp. That's one of my favorite sounds in the whole wide world. I listened from the inside of my warm down sleeping bag and couldn't help but smile. 

It rained the entire next day as well, but that's okay because we had a sturdy tarp and a deck of Phase 10, which kept us classically entertained for hours as we watched the rain keep coming and keep coming.

It really was quite amazing how dry we stayed for the amount of rain that we experienced. Against all odds, we just had the best time out there in the middle of December, the middle of nowhere, and in the middle of a downpour. What made the difference? It was all because we had good gear and good attitudes. We were prepared and we had what we needed, so we stayed warm and dry as happy campers. 

Dad, who is in the middle of studying and teaching the book of Revelation, aptly drew the most sincere application from our camping adventure in the storm. "We have to be ready," he explained. "That's what makes all the difference in the world." When the end times come, we don't want to be like the virgins who didn't have enough oil when the bridegroom came, or the hillbilly campers who didn't have the gear they needed when the storm hit. You don't want to be caught unprepared, and you certainly don't want to miss the glorious redemption that will be awarded to all believers who have placed their faith in the risen and returning Christ. 

It was a good thing we chose high grounds when we selected a campsite because when we woke up the next morning after the rain, the river had started to rise, so we stuck a stick at the water line to see just how fast it was happening. We watched it go up and up all day long, until reaching a crest at what we suspected was around six to eight feet higher, which would have flooded out the other shore where we had considered pitching our tent. It wasn't until we got out on Tueaday that we saw this graph online and realized the Buffalo had risen ten feet on us! 

Another online source said, "This water level is rated as "High" according to the National Park Service, and is recommended for experienced paddlers only." We laughed as we remembered what Mike had said while we were still on the river during the flood. "You better send Jana a message tonight so that she knows we are okay," he said. "Because if she talks to any park ranger, they are gonna scare her when they say, 'You'd have to be outta your mind to float the Buffalo at this stage. It's certain death!' " 

We kept the "certain death" joke going all weekend, but we were never in any serious danger. We could have been, since we heard and watched the muddy water rip trees out of the ground and wash them downstream. The calm little Buffalo River that I know quickly became a powerful force to be reckoned with, and I certainly didn't want to tump a canoe and swim in that danger. Thankfully I had "experienced paddlers" with me. In fact, they are experts if you ask me. 

Experts who come prepared. Experts who stay dry in the middle of downpour. Experts who grill Alaskan salmon and corn on the cob for dinner in the middle of the wilderness, and who can make Spam with cavendars and pepper jack cheese into a delicacy. (Now only experts can do that!) They can turn any rainy day into a fun one. They watch the river rise and keep us on higher ground. 

"Be ready," we are warned, "because you do not know the day or hour." All I know is that when the river rises, I want to be on higher ground. When the rain comes, I want to be dry and happy. And when my savior comes, I want him to find me ready and waiting.