How to rig a rain tarp without trees -- poles, maybe??

This forum always makes me laugh, with its mix of very helpful and very non-helpful replies to posts :).

What I do is take the tarp down when I go to bed, so I do not have to worry about wind.

I have not yet needed a tarp in a place where there was nothing at all to tie to (base of a sagebrush, for a lean to effect?) But I've been meaning to get a couple poles just in case.

If you travel with a stepladder, it could double as a pole.