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Full-time RVers- Full-time Friends (Married over 20 years, TO EACH OTHER!)

Thursday, June 9, 2011

How to avoid a COLD night in the wilderness

Dean  (the husband) 
Shalane  (the wife)

30 miles of gravel road leads to a state park so remote that I'm not sure if the park ranger even knows where it is!  Really!  We never saw him even once.  We never saw ANYONE!  I was just thinking of the good time my wife and I had last year at Beaver Dam State Park in Lincoln County.  So FUN!  Perhaps it was the most memorable because it was the most  remote place that we stayed last summer and the coldest.  Yup!  I froze.  We had to go to Vegas for a few months for me to thaw.  We decided early last summer to make sure that we visited all 5 state parks in the Pioche, NV area.  So one perfect summer day, we decided to check out the one park that was most difficult to reach.  We went ahead and took our tent and our car, because we weren't really sure if we our motorhome would even fit on the road to the park.  We didn't get out and measure the road, so I'm not going to tell you the size of vehicle that would fit, but I certainly wouldn't worry about a large truck and overhead camper.  I was glad, however, that we didn't take the motor home, and I would probably not pull Gertie, our current 26 foot trailer, on that road.   As soon as we got there, we picked out our site and set up camp.  We had plenty of sites to choose from, as NO ONE was anywhere in the park.  After setting up camp, we did a little exploring.  It was a BEAUTIFUL park.  We closed up the evening with some hobo dinners and roasted marshmellows.  We have a dome tent that can be covered with a protective outer shell.  Since it was such a nice, warm, summer day, and we wanted to be able to see the stars, we decided to leave it off. BAD idea!
That night the stars were incredible. It is so difficult to see any stars while living in the city, so it was a real treat to stare up at them while drifting off to sleep.  However, this is where the fun ended.  By about two oclock in the morning I was so cold, that I could hardly move.  It didn't exactly destroy the whole experience, but it did leave me wondering if I would ever do this again. NO!  I can't even describe how cold we were!  I don't know what the actual tempurature was, but it felt like 50 degrees below "freeze my butt off!"
Awhile ago, Shalane suggested that we go camping in the back of our truck.  At first, I thought she was crazy, after all, we live in a travel trailer.  But, having had a chance to reflect on that night at Beaver Dam, I look forward to taking her advice and making the trip out there in our truck this time.  He always looks forward to taking my advise.  :O) We are now set up for just about anything.  A solar generator for electric needs, a collapsible five gallon container for water, solar shower, solar oven,  portable toilet (to avoid the outhouse flies), etc., should make this adventure much more enjoyable.  However, the most important thing that we will have with us this time is an electric heating blanket!  This is the best way to guarantee a successful night to sleep.  It will run off the solar generator, so the noise won't keep us awake.  :)))  Dean, I don't understand this smiley face!  No nose?  A double chin?  Strange.

Thanks again to all of you who choose to read our daily blogs.  We'll let you know how our next trip  to Beaver Dam turns out.  It should be MUCH warmer.  Tomorrow we pack it all up to be ready to get on the road EARLY Saturday morning!  Until then, Happy Trails!

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