Springtime in the Rockies

It snowed Monday morning. That night the temperature got down to 26.

It's great to be back!

Hittin' the dusty trail

It’s a travel week.

First, everything has to be taken down, broken down, stowed and secured. Then there are the hasta luegos to be said, so long ‘til autumn—that’s the hard part. After that it’s cranking up the jacks, hitching up the truck and rolling up the road.

Then in South Fork the whole process is reversed!

Hmmm.

It’s only 630 miles but I think I’ll make two, maybe even three, days of it, just so I can rest up.

Anyway, if I don’t post anything for a week or so, now you’ll know why.

Top o' the morning

One thing that makes the heat more tolerable at this time of year in the Sonora is the relative cool of the nights. While later in the summer it will be 10F degrees warmer at night, right now it still drops into the 60s. So by running my fans all night, I’m able to draw in those nighttime temps and chill the rig down—not just the indoor air, but the furniture and the cabinets, as well as the exterior shell. This pushes the serious heat gain into mid-afternoon. Then at sunset it starts to get comfy again.

However, in just over a week heat gain will be a different sort of problem.

The San Luis Valley is known as “The Land of Cool Sunshine.” Even in the warmest spots summer temps rarely hit the 90s. And in South Fork, close to a thousand feet higher and at the junction of two mountain canyons, warm gloves are suitable attire most early summer mornings. That’s because, by early morning, the cold air from the high mountains, heavier than the warmer air in the Valley, is dropping down those canyons to displace that air on the Valley floor. When two of those airstreams, following the canyons of the Rio Grande and its South Fork, converge, it makes for a noticeably chilly breeze.

Not that I’m complaining. It will make an early morning cup of hot coffee even more to be savored. And even when it gets warm, there’s always a stream to be followed high into the mountains where it’s guaranteed to be cooler.

Better living through topography.

In case of emergency

Yesterday I awoke from my post-luncheon nap—one of just three daily naps that I allow myself—and decided to check the temperature: outside 97°F, inside a balmy 99°F. True, I was a bit "dewy," but all in all it wasn't half bad. I was genuinely surprised to see that it was that warm in the rig; I would have pegged it nine or ten degrees lower.

As I made an entry to my other blog, though, I noticed that my laptop felt warmer than usual, as did its power supply. I decided to cut short my on-line time and turn the laptop off after posting to UGOB.

Following that chore I figured that the best way to deal with the heat was to sleep through it, so I allowed myself a rare pre-dinner nap. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Face to face

Pleasantly mild weather for the past couple days, though a bit windy; had to roll up my awning. It looks like the moderation will hold for my picnic today with the kids and my grandson. We're going to visit the east unit of Saguaro National Park. I'm really looking forward to it.

I'm sorry it came to this, but I finally caved and joined facebook. The decision arose when I googled my own name to see if either blog made the lists and wouldn't you know, there's another Gene Rybarczyk, and he's on facebook. Go figure. And so, to avoid confusion, I jumped in too.

Holy samoley! Friends, friends of friends, associations, walls, postings and whatever in the heck. Talk about a virtual life. I don't think so. I'm not ready for that kind of commitment. I plan just to use it to reference my blogs and to differentiate the Genes.

And then there's Twitter. But not yet.