Desert. Again. and Again.

November 10, 2013CampingCamping, Desert, Joshua Tree National ParkNick Gatel

THE WEATHER IS HERE, WISH YOU WERE BEAUTIFUL.

A variation of the popular post cards that are sold in Palm Springs gift shops; which proclaim, “The weather is beautiful, wish you were here.”

Many people I know who are campers and/or backpackers are winding down their camping and hiking activities as we head towards winter.

So this past week I headed out to camp with my beautiful wife in the high desert area of Joshua Tree National Park. Unfortunately, it didn’t dawn on me that Monday the 11th was Veterans Day and all the camp grounds were full.

So we headed to the lower Colorado Desert to a place I knew would not be crowded, where we enjoyed our fourth consecutive week of desert camping.

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I Am Tired of Cheap Chinese Crap

November 6, 2013Camper Upgrades, What's Up With That?Camper Upgrade, RV Faucet, Travel Trailer FaucetNick Gatel

What’s Up With That?

Ah, you may think this is a rant about balance of trade, or the evil Chinese Communists. Nope, none of that. It is about the water faucet in the kitchen in our new camper and the one in our 2006 Fleetwood Niagara.

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Which is Better: Camping or Backpacking?

November 5, 2013Backpacking, CampingBackpacking, CampingNick Gatel

Over the past several weeks posts have been primarily focused on camping in our new Milan 26RLS Travel Trailer. Does this mean backpacking has taken a back seat? Is camping better?

Yes and no.

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Desert. Again.

November 4, 2013CampingCamping, DesertNick Gatel

Got back late last night from our 5th camping trip in as many weeks. As we did the previous two weeks, we spent time in the desert. Unlike our past two trips in the lower desert in Anza Borrego and Joshua Tree, we headed to the high desert.

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Lighting Solutions for Your Camper

October 30, 2013Camper UpgradesCamper Lights, Fluorescent Bulbs, Incandescent Bulbs, LED bulbsNick Gatel

If you don’t camp in full service campgrounds (I hope you don’t) then you are forced to power your camper with a 12 volt battery bank. You may have charging solutions such as solar (preferred) or maybe a generator (I hope not — too noisy).

Camping off the electrical grid requires monitoring your power consumption and in most cases conserving energy to some degree. Most campers come with automotive-type incandescent bulbs, which aren’t very efficient and are power hogs.

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