Is it just me or do other RV boondockers have trouble with summer? There are two choices, basically: shore or mountains--and neither one is all that good. Ocean shores or cold mountain lakes can certainly cool a poor devil off, but you need some activity to keep it interesting long-term. I've tried sea kayaking, swimming, and sailing during my life, and just couldn't make them work.
Do you really want to hear some heresy? The ocean shore of the Pacific Northwest is rather dislikable. The fog ruins most of the morning. The air has all the charm of a cold wet sock. The forests are like a dark, mildewed bathroom that is suffering wood rot. The camping is expensive or crowded.
Still, I admit that "inner coast" locales like Bellingham or Anacortes, WA, have a marvelous summer climate. I've spent a couple Julys and Augusts there. The camping was lousy.
The other option, mountains, would be great if it weren't for the dreary forests that coat them. Perhaps one should deliberately seek out forests that burned five years ago.
We need a third choice. Grass-covered plateaus, up to 5000 feet, can be found but that isn't high enough for mid-summer. It is hard to find high altitude parks (clearings, grassy open areas) of large size, but that is what I've tried until now.
I've overlooked another possibility until now. Recently we humped the continental divide, traveling east over Wolf Creek Pass in Colorado, and watched the land open up at 8000 feet. Normally you would be fairly cool at 8000 feet, but have a forest to put up with. Here it looks like BLM land. In fact some of it is BLM land. Presumably the San Juan mountains have wrung out the clouds so the land is graced with sparse vegetation. But it's still pleasantly cool.
In the trailer the other evening I happened to glance up through the roof vent. What's this?
It was the aftermath of afternoon cloud buildup. The sky is starting to turn "monsoonal." We don't really need the clouds--it is comfortable in direct sunlight here. But the clouds will make it delightful. We'll soon have the season of the clouds to enjoy: sage-scented breezes under a kindly sky of sacred sombra.
Indirectly I owe this satisfaction to $4 gasoline. Sweet indeed are the uses of adversity.
