Comfort matters

Yesterday was a long and miserable day after a long, cold night.

The now-clean sleeping bag kept me warm until morning, when I needed my comforter on top of that—and I still had my doubts. It’s always coldest before the dawn.

Just as the sun was coming up, frost was on the windshield. As I watched it slowly dissolve in the sun’s glare, Delmont knocked on my window and kindly invited me to his fifth-wheel trailer to warm up. I jumped at the chance, driving LaVanne across the way to Del’s place to avoid having to walk the couple hundred yards in the cold.

Del’s door opened to a blissfully hot blast of air from the biggest heater I’d ever seen, right there in the middle of the living room—along with another blast of an odor I instinctively knew I should be avoiding.

“Oh, no,” I said. “Propane.”

Del, ever the gracious host, immediately turned it off and turned on his furnace instead. Now, some fragrance of unknown origin came out of the vents.

Fragrance and I do not get along. I could feel the migraine blossoming in my right temple, but there was no point in mentioning it. Nothing could be done about it short of turning off the furnace too.

This is the kind of thing that led me to live in virtual seclusion for the past decade or so. Asking people to make changes for me is both awkward and futile. The civilized world is saturated with chemicals and fragrances; there’s no avoiding them if you want to be with people.

I chose to avoid people once. Now, I was choosing to be with them in what I’d hoped would be a healthier setting, out in nature… but it wasn’t working.

With my chemical sensitivities, I knew better but I couldn’t make myself leave Del’s place. The warmth was too tempting. I stayed for half an hour while my head pounded. Finally, I made some excuse and went back to the van, but it was too late. I was sick all day, and dreaded the coming night.

Finally, as the sun began to go down and my headache began to ease, I did some serious thinking about my dilemma. This is just the start of winter. It’s going to get colder. I have no heat, and now I have proof that I cannot tolerate the one type of heater that works for most vandwellers. So I can’t even accept well-meaning invitations to warm up.

I decided to return to San Diego to regroup. After saying goodbye to Del, Bob, and the others, I drove most of the night to get here. Winter nights in San Diego are chilly, but I can manage. Meanwhile, I have a lot to think about.

I want to go back to Quartzsite in January, when Bob hosts the annual Rubber Tramp Rendezvous. Vandwellers come from all over for this two-week event and I don’t want to miss it. But last year, temps dipped into the teens. I can’t handle that without heat.

Unless I can find a chemically safe way to heat LaVanne (and electric is the only way I know of), I won’t be going. Electric heat sucks a LOT of power, more than most solar panels can manage… and the 7-watt panel I bought the day before I left doesn’t even come close.

But…

I think I’ve come up with a simple solution for this and future winters in Quartzsite and elsewhere: rent a cheap, monthly campground spot where electricity comes with the package. For less than $200 a month for three months out of the year, I can be cozy and comfy with an electric space heater or something similar.

So in January, I’ll be able to attend RTR events during the day and drive back to my electrified campsite at night, a happy camper at last.

I have just a month to get ready. LaVanne needs a makeover first. I learned a lot in the past two weeks about what matters to me and what doesn’t.

Comfort matters.