Memorial Day weekend campers aren’t stopped by rain and cooler temps

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Despite the possibility of storms over Memorial Day weekend, plenty of people set up camp Friday at Pawnee State Recreation Area near Lincoln.

“Every year it rains. Some years we don’t get any rain, but most of the time it rains,” camper Mike Heany said with a laugh.

Christy Firestone, a spokeswoman for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, said there have been no reservation cancellations that she knows of.

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Many campers at Pawnee Lake welcomed the rain. Some even saw it as a challenge to embrace all elements of nature.

“I personally prefer to be out in cooler weather rather than hotter weather, so for me, this is perfect,” Nel Gilette said. “I’m happy to be to here.”

Camper Zach Tucker came ready for whatever the weekend weather could bring because he learned a harsh lesson before while camping while underprepared.

“We were thinking we were tougher than the weather,” he said.

SEE ALSO: Some Lincolnites skipping out on Memorial Day cookouts to save money

Tucker said that time, not covering his firewood or bringing enough warm clothes actually led to a bout of pneumonia.

“We didn’t put the firewood under any type of shelter,” he said. “And it took an hour to get the fire going and another hour to get coffee brewing, and after another hour, we got the heck out of there ”

This time, he brought warm clothing, some rain gear and a little extra firewood.

SEE ALSO: Memorial Day weekend forecast

Game and Parks said the rain actually makes this a good time to camp.

Firestone said the extra moisture in the air has good timing. It comes right after the campfire ban was lifted, so now is a great, safe time to have a campfire.