HOW WE DRIED OUT DAVID’S SLEEPING BAG
by Ellen Miz Ellen
On my family's first ever camping trip, my older brother demonstrated for the whole family what not to do when sleeping in a tent during a rainstorm. Finding the side of the canvas tent made a hammocky support, he leaned against it all night long. His sleeping bag became a wick to draw water into the tent, eventually causing a small flood within. In the morning his sleeping bag was sodden.
This was a serious problem. We were embarked on a several week camping trip. The old Rambler station wagon was crammed with supplies. Everything had to be stowed in a certain manner or there wasn't room for the family. In addition to the sopping sleeping bag, there was the wet tent and various damp items. Not only were we going to need them again the very next night, but there wasn't room to spread them out in the car. Nor would my dad let the tent be folded up damp--it would get moldy and ruined, he said.
He parked the station wagon in the sun and strung ropes to trees. Under his direction, the tent was collapsed. Every bit of debris and mud was swept off. He draped the tent over the ropes. Pillows and other damp items were put on the hood to dry. He got on one end of my brother's sleeping bag, and my brother and I got on the other. We started twisting it. We twisted and twisted it, until I could no longer hold it. We got a lot of the water out but it was still pretty bad. We draped it over another rope and then ate breakfast.
My dad did all the cooking on camping trips. That breakfast was pretty good. We had pancakes and bacon and Tang orange drink. By the time we'd eaten, and got the dry stuff packed, the tent was almost dry, and the stuff on the hood of the car was pretty dry. It was June and we were still in Texas, so by eight in the morning the temperature was already over 100. The rainstorm was some total freak of nature, I guess.
I know my parents argued about what to do with the still sodden sleeping bag. One idea was to shut it in the back door of the station wagon and just let it flap behind as we drove down the interstate. I think Dad was just kidding, though. He put down a tarp over the stuff in the back of the station wagon and we all climbed in to the car. Dave and I were being very quiet because Mom was still steamed. The baby was grouchy, too. Despite the heat, the atmosphere in the car was rather frosty with the parents being terribly polite to one another. We drove for about an hour.
Suddenly, Dad took an exit leading to a small town. Right next to a small grocery store was a laundromat. Dad chunked out some change from his coin dispenser and in no time at all, the sleeping bag and various other items were dry. We finished drying the tent at our next campsite before we went to bed.
