Gal-Gone-Camping

Hello Friends!

I’m Running Behind!

It’s been a little longer than usual since my last post, but I have been busy–busy on the business end of GGC! The website is undergoing a few changes and rearranges, I’ve also been doing product reviews, destination/travel research, am working on other social media pages, deciding what merchandise I want to include in the online store, AND I’ve been writing–not only content for the blog, but a couple bigger literary projects that I’m super excited about!  I can’t wait to share with you, but it will be a while before they are finished. There just aren’t enough hours in the day!  All this along with some nagging health issues has got me “running on empty.”  Everything is a song with me ya know!

What’s Up With This Heat???

I hope all of you are enjoying your summer and safely made it through the extreme heat we had recently.  We seem to have a heatwave every summer, but man, it’s been HOT!  It’s pretty much been nationwide, so wherever you are, I hope everyone has ‘weathered’ well.  Looks like it has broke for now and temps are getting back to the normal summer range.

You Can Survive Without AC!

I thought this would be a good time to talk about tips to keep as cool as possible when camping/RVing in the summer heat.  I just recently shared some tips about campground camping in excessive heat on the Gal Gone Camping Facebook page, but more importantly, I want to discuss things you can do to cool down when you’re boondocking aka dry camping–with no services.  Yes kids, there was a time when we lived and survived without air conditioning!

No, I didn’t walk X miles to school both ways in the freezing cold to a one-room school house with a pot-belly stove (although a lot of folks did in the mountains where I’m from and a lot of other rural areas too), but I DID DO WITHOUT AIR CONDITIONING until I was 15 years old; that’s when we had it installed at the house I grew up in.  Yes, I survived and no, I wouldn’t want to do without it now, but I can because I did then and I do now when I’m summer camping.

Just think about how people handled the heat before the invention of electricity; before all these modern conveniences! They had to deal with it, and they made it just fine.  The truth is, we don’t miss what we don’t have.  Our bodies become acclimated (notice the word climate within this word?) to our environment. We have it made now because we have the luxury of AC, but in the process we have become soft and spoiled and think we can’t survive without it.  You can make it without AC, but it would take time for your body to adapt.

Think Up & Down, Not North & South

I do not suggest camping in super extreme heat like we had recently; as it can be dangerous and it is just not enjoyable.  Those who live the nomadic life full time (as I plan to eventually–am a part-timer now), move with the weather and head to higher elevations in the summer because it’s not about north and south when it comes to temperatures, it’s about the difference in elevation.  8000-9000 ft. is good, 10,000 ft.or more is ideal in the summertime.

The farther you go above sea level the cooler it will be; the farther you go below sea level, the hotter it gets.  The temperature decreases about 3.5 degrees for every 1,000 feet.  In this country, you’re only going to get that high elevation option out West (another reason I love it out there so much!) because the highest elevation in the Eastern US is only 6,684 feet in the Blue Ridge Mountains, a sub-range of the Appalachian Mountains at Mount Mitchell in North Carolina.

16 Tips To Keep Cool Without AC

There may be times when you are on an extended camping trip and get caught in a major heatwave or maybe you are living off-grid full or part time without any electric service. Maybe you are living in mainstream society but simply can’t afford air conditioning. Whatever the case may be, there are ways to cool down during summer while camping/RVing or otherwise–without AC.

Here are 16 tips I’ve found to be helpful to keep cool:

1.  USB, battery and/or solar powered fans–I’m a huge fan of these fans (pun intended!) Place them in various places in your rig as well as outside to maximize their effectiveness.

2.  Don’t cook in your rig, cook everything outside. You don’t want to add any additional

heat to your rig.

3.  Utilize the shade completely–Park your rig or pitch your tent where you will have maximum shade. 

Use awnings, tarps or umbrella’s to create shade if there’s a portion that does not provide it naturally. Aluminet or other shade cloth is great to use but if you don’t have that, a light color sheet will work well too.

4.  Use cooling towels.  They’re inexpensive, but you can make your own by soaking a bandanna or hand towel in water, wring dry and wear around your neck.

5.  Use shade block in your rig where the sun may be coming in and use a cab cover if it’s a motor home or van. You can create your own cab cover with a tarp and magnets.

6. Open windows and place fans    mentioned above to create a cross breeze and suck hot air out.

7.  Use light colored cotton sheets on your bed.

8.  Turn off all lights in your rig, don’t use at all until night–then use sparingly. Use solar or battery powered lights only. Electric lights create heat.

9.  Use ice water in a hot water bottle, place in bed to cool down. Just as hot water in the rubber bag/bottle radiates heat, cold water will emit coolness.

10. Van campers–use screen covers for passenger windows to allow air to flow through.  You won’t have to worry about bugs either!

11. Block off the cab portion of your rig–if it’s a motor home or van.  I use a thermal black-out curtain.  It blocks out heat in the summer, cold air in the winter, and also blocks out light at night.

12. Of course, keep hydrated–drink plenty of water.

13. Speaking of water–camp near

it if possible so you can take a dip.  Let your body dry naturally; providing a cooling effect.

14. Do all activities in the early morning or late evening. Don’t exert yourself during the heat of the day.  

15. Keep a mister with you.  If you wanna get fancy, buy the battery operated kind with the little fan on top.  If not, just fill a spray bottle and mist yourself throughout the day.  It’s cooling, refreshing and moisturizes your skin as well.

16. Wear light colored, loose fitting clothing–the least amount of clothing you can get by with legally!

I never did keep the AC really cold in my house; partly because I freeze easy and because I can’t afford to cool the whole house–I block half of it off.  (Another reason I will be hitting the road full-time eventually–no utility bills!)  Air conditioning is great and I love it, but it shouldn’t be so cold that you have to wear a sweater–like I have to in nearly every business in the summertime!  They could save a fortune on their electric bills!

Treat AC Like A Luxury

The point is air conditioning is a luxury not a necessity–although we have become conditioned (pun intended again!) to “need” it.

Do I want to do without it? H to the NO!, but we shouldn’t be so dependent on AC or any other modern convenience that we think we can’t live without it. Sadly, that’s 90% of how people think in our society. But remember, like I said on the home page,  https://wp.me/P9ZVBe-N if you’re following my blog–you are probably among that 10% of lovely misfits who think differently and flow toward simplicity. There may come a time when you have to do without modern conveniences such as electricity and air conditioning. Don’t you think it would be a good idea to learn how to do well without them before you have to?

Change Your AC Setting-Acclimate Your Body To Change

Keeping the temperature very cold inside, then going outside into the high heat, is a shock to your system and is likely to make you sick.  Your body gets so used to the ice cold temp inside that it can’t handle any kind of heat.  Try raising the AC temp in your home little by little from the “you can hang meat in here” setting to the “slightly/moderately cool” setting.  After a while, you will become comfortably accustomed the the change–and you will save on your electric bill!

A lot of these ideas I’m sure you already know, but maybe some you haven’t thought of.  I hope you find them helpful. For more great tips on keeping cool while boondocking, check out Super Simple Tips to Not Fry in the Heat Living in an RV or Van on Carolyn’s RV Life You Tube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp8GHJHvosU  

Please share any tips you may have to stay cool in the heat without AC in the comment section below.  If you haven’t already, check out Gal Gone Camping on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter & Pinterest– comment, like and share.  That’s what this blog is all about–sharing and learning from each other.  Stay cool and be safe out there!

Until next time, remember…DON’T WAIT TO LIVE!

See ya down the road,

Catrina