As the storm rolled in my anxiety grew. This was the one eventuality we were completely unprepared for. No rain hats or rain coats or rain shoes or rain anything. The only real shelter we had was the van itself. If it started coming down, we might end up stuck in there all night. Never mind what might happen if the mud immobilized the van.

Luckily, it didn't rain that much at all. Just enough to turn the topmost layer of the terrain into a thick green adobe-like clay. It was the stickiest stuff you could imagine, and it instantly turned any pair of shoes into platforms that would make any glam rocker proud.

Also luckily, the stuff that was so impossible to remove when wet dropped right off of its own accord once it dried.