When last I left you I was settling into my campsite, grateful for a loaner tent because I forgot the rainfly that belongs to my tent. And it was raining.

Now I like the sound of a light rain on the roof of my tent. It’s a soothing sound that will lull you to sleep.

But when the wind rises and the rain comes harder you’re pretty sure to wake up. And in the darkness, when you realize your sheets are damp, and you start feeling around to figure out the source of the water and you figure out there’s quite a bit of water on the floor along the edge of the tent, well, you start to worry.

And as the wind increased and the rain pounded down harder you start rethinking this whole adventure thing. And you start thinking back on all the tent adventures you’ve had this summer and how every single one got cut short due to torrential rain.

Maybe all those people that advise staying in a hotel have a point.
When the rain slowed I ran to the car and grabbed some towels, then dove back into the tent to mop up the mess. I settled back in bed. Then splat! Water dripped on my face. Then another drop. And another.

That’s it. I grabbed my pillows and a blanket and high-tailed it for the car where I slept the last five hours of the night nice and safe and warm and dry.

I had planned on getting up at 6 a.m. so that I could be over at the Seney Wildlife Refuge by 7, because sunrise was 7:30 and I figured there’d be more animal and bird activity at sunrise. I turned off the alarm when it went off.

Still…I’d hate to miss anything over at the refuge. And it wasn’t raining, though it didn’t look like it was going to be a sunny day either. So reluctantly I got up, stretched, threw the pillows and blanket in the back of the car and drove the couple of miles over to the refuge.

And, as you saw in yesterday’s Wordless Wednesday, I was treated to the most beautiful full, Harvest Moon setting over the water of the Seney Wildlife Refuge. It was going down just as I got there, and I raced to a place to park and stood there grinning while it sank gracefully into the next day.

That alone made sleeping in a wet tent and then the car worth it.

The pictures in this post are others I took on Tuesday as I drove around the 7 mile wildlife loop. There was more bird action, but in total not a lot. I decided I’d just enjoy the dramatic skies and hope I saw some wildlife.

And I enjoyed every bit of it. I hope you do too.
But that was only the morning…stay tuned.
September 23, 2021 at 7:01 am
My kind of day: alone. Except for slogging around in a wet sleeping bag. That’s no fun at all.
Love the duck butt pic.
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September 24, 2021 at 5:27 am
This summer I have spent about 3 weeks camping alone. Some of the best parts were when I had someone with me for a bit, but I savor the alone time too.
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September 23, 2021 at 10:41 am
Drama is right! But what beautiful pictures, especially of the setting harvest moon, which I did indeed see on Wednesday.
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September 24, 2021 at 5:29 am
It’s a beautiful place, Seney Refuge, but I sure didn’t see the wildlife I expected. Wouldn’t you know, the one day of the 3 I was up there that I didn’t go to the refuge, someone posted on a Michigan wildlife FB group, her picture of a bear cub. Yep. I saw tracks in the sand I thought might be bear, but that’s all I saw!
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September 24, 2021 at 4:06 pm
Yes, wildlife is like that. Elusive and shy. That’s how they survive, I think.
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September 23, 2021 at 11:29 am
Although the second moonset was as lovely as the first, and the scenery is great – worth a night divided between a wet tent and a car? Not so sure I would find that value. I did that kind of camping trip many many years ago when I was very pregnant with my daughter, and I decided then wet camping was not my idea of a good time. I’m definitely a fair weather camper. You are obviously made of much tougher material than I am.
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September 24, 2021 at 5:29 am
Wet camping is the worst and generally I head home after a monsoon night. But this time I’m so glad I didn’t!
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September 23, 2021 at 11:43 am
I think camping in the rain is what turned me off of camping, so I admire your determination in sticking it out. A buddy of mine texted me to ask if I was taking picture of the Harvest Moon…I had not a clue. So thankful to see your beautiful shots. Swan butt….cracked me up!
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September 24, 2021 at 5:31 am
Camping in the rain in a tent sucks. Thee is no other word for it. Everything feels wet even if it didn’t get wet. I see sooooo many people with all their possessions hanging up the next morning. I swear it mostly storms at night. I keep a minimum of stuff in the tent for just this reason. This time, I was sort of glad to be in a rented tent (though it turned out not to be waterproof) because I could leave the wet, muddy tent behind when I packed up!
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September 23, 2021 at 2:59 pm
Did your borrowed tent spring a leak? I’d have hopped into the car, too — might not be as adventuresome, but at least you didn’t have to keep wiping the rain off your face! Your trees are already showing some color? I fear our leaves will just turn brown and drop off. We’ll see. Looking forward to the continuation of your adventure!
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September 24, 2021 at 5:32 am
It was an inexpensive tent that wasn’t totally waterproof as it turns out. The water seeped through pretty much everywhere. But it was such a sweet gesture and I had lots of towels so it all worked out in the end.
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September 23, 2021 at 4:26 pm
Beautiful images and oh how I loved that swan butt 🙂
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September 24, 2021 at 5:32 am
I was THIS CLOSE to the swan, the closest I got to anything.
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September 23, 2021 at 6:14 pm
When I asked for more adventure I didn’t think it would be a soaking one… Not a fun night but the images the next day hopefully made up for it. I do love a cloudy, dramatic sky. Great images Dawn!
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September 24, 2021 at 5:34 am
I love a cloudy sky too, and the stripes of clouds everywhere were a lot of fun to focus on. But after awhile I thought to myself…how many pictures of clouds do you need? LOL! I follow a Michigan Wildlife FB page, and the day after I was at the refuge a woman visited and ran into mama bear and her three cubs. I didn’t see anything like that, though I did see a track I wondered if might be bear. The closest I got to any wildlife was the swan butt.
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September 24, 2021 at 3:32 pm
Sounds like a lot of fun making the best of the situation. The moon is a beauty. Didn’t get to see it in my area.
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September 27, 2021 at 6:55 pm
The moon was amazing!
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September 26, 2021 at 11:38 pm
Loved the swan butt. 🙂 Loved it all.
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September 27, 2021 at 6:56 pm
It’s an interesting place, lots of water and islands and places for animals to watch you when you don’t know they are there.
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September 27, 2021 at 2:28 pm
That moon picture is something else. I am thinking you probably stayed to the eastern/southern parts of the UP this trip.
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September 27, 2021 at 6:57 pm
The moon was amazing. Yes, I pretty much stayed along M-77 this trip. Working my way west I guess! I was up there in June but stayed around the pictured rock area.
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