Rain Makes A Splash Some Find Reason For Delight As Gully Washer Slams Region

A deluge that dumped up to an inch and a half of rain in the region separated the optimists from the pessimists Sunday afternoon.

The rain came in the middle of a four-day holiday weekend for many campers, boaters and cyclists.

While the downpour sent many fun-seekers running for the living room, an equal number seemed determined to have a good time anyway.

On Spokane’s South Hill, Robbie Jackson and Matt Keller, both 6, ran outside in yellow rain slickers and bare feet. They stamped through a knee-deep river that raged along Monroe Street near 10th Avenue.

“It’s too cold for swimming, but this is better fun anyway,” Matt shouted as a passing car drenched him in muddy water.

Nearby, homeowner David Daugherty poked around a puddle-turnedlake with a rake.

“I know there’s a (storm) sewer in here somewhere, and it’s clogged with leaves,” he said. “If I don’t do this, all this water will end up in my basement.”

At Riverside State Park, Rod Charlton and Tracy Maggs arrived just as the rain let up. Had they come a few hours earlier, they would have been stuck at a small campsite next to the public bathrooms.

But as the couple from Kelowna, British Columbia, pulled in, drivers of two dozen other cars and trucks pulled out in a mass exodus.

“It’s good for us,” Charlton said. “We don’t care about the weather anyway; we’re here to shop.”

At Idaho’s Farragut State Park, office aide Pam Ellis said the weather hadn’t driven out many campers. People still were coming in for hiking and mountain-biking maps, she said.

“I really don’t think it’s affected people,” she said. “I think they’re enjoying the relief from the heat.”

Farther south, Heyburn State Park ranger Ken Paulson said the rain had thinned out some of the park’s daytime visitors.

“The die-hards, they’re going to fish,” he said. “But the picnickers and campers thinned out. The majority of them are going to tough it out.”

Sunday’s rain most likely was the low point of an otherwise decent holiday weekend, said Jim DeBerry, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Today and Tuesday are expected to be partly cloudy with highs in the mid-70s. There’s a slight chance of an afternoon thundershower before the fireworks Tuesday.

Officially, only a trace of rain was recorded at Spokane International Airport. But people on the South Hill and the North Side reported heavy downpours, up to an inch and a half, DeBerry said.

“We had a few boomers move through, but it really wasn’t that bad,” he said of Sunday’s showers.

As soon as the raindrops had slowed to a sprinkle, golfers raced for the tees at Downriver Golf Course in Spokane.

“My feet might get a little wet, but I won’t get sunburned,” said Anne Mueller. “I think the ball goes farther when it’s wet; maybe I’ll have a better game.”

Tom Pearson said the rain brought relief from Saturday’s heat. He and his wife are camping in a recreational vehicle at Riverside State Park through the Fourth. “This is more comfortable if you want to do anything like hike or bike-ride,” he said.

As the rain let up, Pearson took a rag to his truck and began wiping it down.

“If it wasn’t for the rain, I’d have to carry water over here to wash my truck,” he said.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: BYLINE = Kelly McBride Staff writer Staff writer Rich Roesler contributed to this report.