edeevee

We've reserved a night in a tipi on a ranch in South Dakota but I'm having second thoughts. I'm not sure if our son and his fiance can go on the trip now, and besides ... the weather forecast calls for thunderstorms, showers and a low temp of 52 degrees that night.

None of us are seasoned campers and when I picture us damp and shivering in a dark tipi while mother nature rages outside, or worse, running through a downpour to the bathroom a football field away, I cringe.

I'm thinking of postponing the tipi experience until a time when I know my son can come along and a period of drier weather -- but maybe I'm wrong. The Blue Bell Lodge in Custer State Park has a cabin available that night with real beds, a real bathroom and a real roof. What would YOU do?

DebitNM

Based on what your are expressing as concerns, do yourself a favor and take the cabin. Your anxiety level should drop considerably. It's a vacation, you are supposed to look forward to it and enjoy it. Doesn't sound like this is the case.

nytraveler

Well you could never pay me enough to stay in any sort of facility - never mind some sort of tent without a private bath.

And I doubt very much that you will ever get a guarantee about the weather - if it;'s not rain or chill i might be 90 degree weather.

If you don;t like camping/roughngn it - why do it?

starrs

Based on what you say, I think you should book the cabin.

Personally, I'd stay in the tipi.

Surfergirl

Stayed in a teepee on Catalina Island, and it wasn't the rain that bugged us. It was the ants. Agree w/NYtraveler on the heat vs. the rain or chill.

I'm sure they have it set up right, but my experience with camping in the rain is this: do NOT set up camp at the bottom of a hill, especially with the door flap of the tent facing up the hill.

Go for the cabin.

edeevee

The forecast has changed! They're now calling for isolated storms during the day and clear at night. I'm going to cross my fingers and go for the tipi. If the weather stinks when we get there I guess we'll just bite the bullet and get a couple of cheap hotel rooms.

sludick

Well, let us know how it goes. And pack your sense of humor, of course.

november_moon

I've slept in a tipi on many a rainy night. They are generally cozy in a storm - wind and rain howling outside, but you are snug and dry inside. It is esspecially cozy if you have a small fire in the middle. You probably can't have a fire in them at the ranch you are going to though. Liability issues and all of that. The walk to the bathrooms in the rain is less than ideal, but at least there IS a bathroom My experiences with tipis have always been more rustic than that.

edeevee

A bathroom half a football field away is as rustic as this girl is ever gonna get, lol. And yeah, sludick, along with wienie roasting sticks, pudgie pie makers and beer, I'll be sure not to forget to toss in my sense of humor.

Actually, I'm pretty stoked for this. I look forward to seeing lots of stars and soaking in a spring fed warm water river. If the weather holds out, it's sure to be an amazing time. If the rain comes, well, it'll still be an experience I'll probably never forget.