The rain was relentless. The mud was runny and sticky and slippery and completely covering my legs up to mid-calf. The shoes were long ago abandoned. Tents had rivers running through them. Countless cars were left behind in hopelessly mucky parking lots.

And it was one of the best music festivals ever.

OK, so maybe I'm a little biased, and maybe a little messed up in the head (I blame my high school cross country coach that, like clockwork, no matter how horrible the weather, would shout out, "It's a beautiful day to run!" and send us scampering into the rain, sleet, heat, whatever).

But I think crazy weather conditions can take just about any event and bring it to a new level of greatness.

Sure, you have to get past that first moment of "Ew, I'm getting wet/cold/dirty/hot/sticky."

But after that it's so worth it. You get the camaraderie of a group of survivors. You get to feel tough and proud of it. And you get the good stories to tell everyone else who stayed home and watched it on TV.

Maybe this is how farmers feel every day of their lives.

Gotta love this crazy place we call the Midwest.

Anyway, the nearly perfect forecast for this Labor Day Weekend and the Lifelight music festival in Sioux Falls is almost disappointing. Last year's mud will only be remembered there in pictures and stories of the thousands that stuck it out. If you show up, maybe we'll bump into each other and I'll tell you a few myself.