Under a steady drizzle Friday afternoon, the campground at Dash Point State Park became an object lesson in the ancient Pacific Northwest art of tarp rigging.

Tarps covered bikes, tarps covered picnic tables, tarps covered tents, and some tarps even covered other tarps.

At one site, campers used the stick-in-the-mud method – propping a branch under the center of the tarp to allow proper drainage to the sides. At another site, the campers went with the classic A-frame. Many used the traditional four-point technique – stringing each corner to a nearby tree with a nylon cord, the tighter the better.

The best method will be determined sometime overnight, as the pit-pat of raindrops adds up and the inferior shelters begin to sag.