Having just gotten camped in a new location, it was time to do something that I hadn't done in a long time: pop the outer door open, while letting the screen door face right at the southern sun. At this time of the year, the sun is getting quite a bit lower; we're only two months from the winter solstice. I'd forgotten how glorious it is feel the Southwest's sun through solar screen. (Years ago, I'd replaced regular RV industry screen with 85% blocking solar screen.)
It's easy to under-estimate how pleasant it is to feel, simultaneously, cool autumn air and warm, moderated sunlight through that solar screen. This might seem like a trivial experience to people who are not familiar with the Southwestern sun, or who spend all summer in air-conditioned domiciles or cars. It might also seem like nothing is accomplished by suffering heat in the summer, without an air-conditioner, only to get the pleasure back in autumn; you could argue that it averages out, over a full year, to a big fat zero. But something is gained by the sheer intensity of this pleasure: life becomes more interesting and dramatic, instead of neutral, boring, and comfortable.
The sun charged up the batteries through the solar panels, while also thermally "charging up" the inside of the RV. But everything was almost too perfect, so instinctively I started to worry about topography robbing me of lawful daylight at the end of day. But it didn't.
It's easy to under-estimate how pleasant it is to feel, simultaneously, cool autumn air and warm, moderated sunlight through that solar screen. This might seem like a trivial experience to people who are not familiar with the Southwestern sun, or who spend all summer in air-conditioned domiciles or cars. It might also seem like nothing is accomplished by suffering heat in the summer, without an air-conditioner, only to get the pleasure back in autumn; you could argue that it averages out, over a full year, to a big fat zero. But something is gained by the sheer intensity of this pleasure: life becomes more interesting and dramatic, instead of neutral, boring, and comfortable.
The sun charged up the batteries through the solar panels, while also thermally "charging up" the inside of the RV. But everything was almost too perfect, so instinctively I started to worry about topography robbing me of lawful daylight at the end of day. But it didn't.
Comments