Discovering New Mexico’s Climate: More Than Just Warm Deserts
When you think of the Southwest, a warm, dry desert likely comes to mind. I used to think New Mexico was all flatlands and sun-baked deserts too, but this state is surprisingly diverse. Not only do we have desert landscapes, but we also have forests, grasslands, and impressive mountains.
Even though New Mexico doesn’t reach the icy temperatures of Minnesota, the weather here can get quite cold. Just last night, we had our first freeze, which is actually later than usual for the season. As the temperatures dip, it’s a reminder to bring out the heater. We rely on an 18,000 BTU propane heater to keep our space cozy, though we don’t run it full-time, especially at night, since we prefer a cooler sleeping environment and want to be cautious with propane heating.
With smoke and CO2 detectors, and a heater that shuts off automatically if levels get too high, we take every precaution. Our routine involves running the heater as the evening cools down and again in the morning if it’s chilly. Once the sun starts to warm things up, we switch it off and let the natural warmth in.
Whether you’re planning a trip to New Mexico or thinking about winter camping in cooler desert regions, a bit of warmth at the right times makes all the difference.www.plateauhamedecolquhoun.com
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Tag: cold weather
Dealing with the cold at Plateau Hame De Colquhoun
Mornings have been a bit chilly here at Plateau Hame De Colquhoun , It was 17 outside when we got up this morning… Since we run a buddy heater for our heat, we only tend to run it at night before going to bed and in the morning when we get up. This morning when we got out of the warm bed, it was 30 degrees inside. The dogs wanted out, but Weillow met me with her teeth chattering.. Weillow wears a jacket and crawls up on the couch at night under blankets.. Like us she was probably warm until she had to go to the bathroom.
We can run the heater all night and probably will if we feel it’s going to get cold. Cold to us is when it doesn’t warm up during the day. Usually our days warm up enough to warm the inside of the RV nicely, we open windows and doors to get the heat in, but before it starts to cool off we shut everything down to trap in the warmth. We tend to stay at an even temp (depending on outside temp) until around 9-10 pm.. If we plan on staying up a bit we kick on the #buddyheater until we are ready for bed or it warms up. We do this as we feel safer, and save on propane even though we have smoke and Co2 detectors, sleeping with the heater off.. In the morning the first to wake up turns on the heater.
We had talked about doing wood, but if you’ve ever seen any of our photos trees are pretty sparse, and the cost of wood isn’t worth it.
What have you used for heat. Comment below and let us know.
Winter Storms hard lessons to learn
Why can’t dogs sleep in? 5:30 am and they want out? I want to sleep in at least untill 6:30, nope I’m up and a wake.
We have learned alot this last week. We’ve been full time in this RV for almost a year and still learning. But this last week in the cold and traveling we’ve had a big learning curve.
At home we drain everything and don’t use it during the winter, so freezing isn’t an issue. But on the road we need the toilet, water so draining it all and not using it isn’t much of an option.
Things we did to prepare.
Put a heater in the belly of the beast. Helps to keep the water pipes, holding tanks from freezing, worked out really good. Heated water hose ours is rated for -40 F
We learned it’s best when temps are going to be in single digits for few days.. Hook up sewer and water but don’t open gray water tank until it’s about half full then dump, close again.
The spigot froze so we didn’t have shored water.. If this is the case don’t run water pump, use bottle water, don’t have holding tanks full, make sure that’s there’s something in the water heater and keep it on.
I made the mistake of trying to turn on the water pump. It wouldn’t come on, so we’ll have to see if it got frozen and killed it. We are waiting for few warm days before trying it.
We left the gray water open, I thought you leave the water running a little bit it’d help keep it all from freezing.. Nope the sewer hose froze solid and broke.
So we figure if happens again Keep holding tanks as empty as possible, drain water heater if you can, if not keep it on, put a heater in the belly. Have plenty of bottle water..
Best to go somewhere it won’t get that cold!!!
What do you do to handle extreme cold in your RV?
#artoftinyliving #travelingacrossamerica #WinterStorm2022 #lessonslearned #learningeveryday #learningcurve #rvtravel
Ka-Hoon Campground and Event Center 