Camping in the rain?

[SynthDoll]

I am so excited! I am going on my first camping trip! (yes; newb!) However, according to the forecast it will be pouring non stop and I am concerned. I am quite embarrassed for the questions I will be asking...

I purchased a Eureka sunrise 9 tent, which had some great reviews on Amazon. I also bought two tarps one which I plan to put underneath the tent and one on top of the tent. Here are my questions:

1. If the floor is muddy how can I really secure the tent to the ground?

2. Can I set the tent up while it is raining? If it is raining and I need to set it up... how do I carefully do this?

3. (I feel really dumb for this one) If the grill is wet, how do I cook on it? Should I put a tarp very high above it?

I am honestly lost and would GREATLY appreciate any advice!
Thank you

[JohnJohn]

When you first arrive and it's rainy...

Lay one of the traps out covering the area you plan to put the tent. If possible wait. Allow the ground under the tarp to dry a little.

While your waiting if your can...get under a tree(watch for lightning duh, blah, blah) and loosely set up the tent. Be sure to keep the windows and doors zipped shut.

Now with the ground somewhat dry quickly open the second tarp and remove the one on the ground. Quickly set the tent over the freshly opened tarp. Position the tent. IMPORTANT! roll up the edges of the tarp so they tuck UNDER the tent edges. Over the next few minutes rain will collect on the tent and on the exposed edges of the tarp. Any rain that collects on the tarp edges will be under the tent eventually. REMEMBER...under the tent, none of the tarp should be exposed to collect rain.

Set up as much of the ten that is needed to let rain roll off, not so little that the rain begins to collect in puddles. While setting up the tent use the tents rain fly to keep the top of the actual tent dry.

Don't use the second tarp to cover the tent. If your tent does not come with a rain fly, return it and get another tent. I like tents that provide a little outside shelter for gear. The rain fly is larger than the tent. Allows you to remove your dirty boots under a small area by the door. Then you can also store them outside the sleeping area.

[Familycampingguy]

Make sure when you roll the edges of the ground tarp, that you roll them towards the ground, not towards the tent. Water will have less of a chance to puddle between the tent and the tarp if a little rain gets on it. After spending 5 years camping with the boyscouts with the eureka tents without a rain fly, I would never dream of camping with a tent that didn't have one.

[mycamplife]

A good way to ensure your tent stays dry is to dig a small trench out lining your tent. make sure the trench runs on a slope to have effective drainage. That should help.

www.mycamplife.com