When you live full-time in your RV, the weather plays a big part in how you manage your lifestyle and where you spend your time. The great beauty of living in a home on wheels is that you can move it to wherever you can drive it to. Basically, you can drive your home to the weather that suits your fancy. AND you can even move it to places that you can’t actually drive it to, like islands that offer ferry services. I did it this summer when I spent time on Vancouver Island and Salt Spring Island, British Columbia.
I just returned from a 3-month road trip where I was pretty much on the move every single day unless I was visiting friends for a few days and staying in their driveways along the way. The main purpose of this particular 7,500-mile journey was to escape the brutal summer heat of the desert, where I have a permanent RV lot, where temperatures can reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit, and to explore new places in Gypsy Rose that I was curious about. As much as I love the desert, the summer heat can be overbearing and unproductive for RV dwellers.
Last summer I did an experiment and intentionally stayed the entire summer in the desert to see how, both Gypsy Rose and I, would be able to handle the heat. The result? It was very challenging. I practically melted and Gypsy Rose really struggled too. If it wasn’t for the main circuit breaker at the post that kept tripping at 106 degrees, it may have been bearable, but Gypsy Rose’s cooling system just couldn’t keep up. The air conditioner had to draw too much electricity at 106 to keep the system operating effectively. Almost every hour I was out at the breaker flipping the switch back and forth. Aside from that issue, it just wasn’t all that pleasant living in 100 to 120-degree temperatures from day to day, at least not in an RV. Being outside was almost impossible. I even cooked an egg on the asphalt, just for fun, to see if it was possible and indeed it was! And how much time can you spend in a pool? At times, the night time temps would only drop to 90 and sometimes 100.
I enjoyed living the summer in 65 to 85-degree temperatures – 35 degrees cooler than it would have been in the desert.
So, this past summer I decided to try a different experiment. The plan was to travel northward and stay the summer in Montana and Western Canada – Alberta and British Columbia. On the way there I would spend time in National Parks that I hadn’t visited yet, like Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, as well as do a lot of my usual exploring in small towns, big cities, and rural areas unfamiliar to me. I ventured through seven states and two provinces.
The great beauty of living in a home on wheel is that you can move it to wherever you can drive it to.
Although I encountered a 16-day stretch of rain, the temperatures, once I got to Yellowstone were very pleasant and for the rest of my trip, I enjoyed living the summer in 65 to 85-degree temperatures – 35 degrees cooler than it would have been in the desert. All-in-all the trip was incredible and a success, meaning I had accomplished my goals.
In addition to the traveling and escaping the heat, my goal was to create new photo collages for my upcoming art show season, add thousands of new images to my photo library and create a new body of work, my “Tiny Art for Tiny Homes (and Tiny Spaces) Collection.” Accomplishing these goals in comfortable temperatures for both myself and Gypsy Rose helped a lot with productivity. Being able to enjoy the outdoors for both work and play made the summer a very memorable one. Every day, I would check my weather app to see what the temperatures were like in the desert and every day it put a big smile on my face.
* All text and images are copyrighted and protected by copyright laws. Use or reproduction of any kind are prohibited. All rights reserved. © 2019 Carolyn Quan / The Happy Little Bird / Dream World Media LLC.
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