It’s Crazy Cold Out There

Road trips in February can be dicey

I live in Lakewood, Colorado. This morning when I woke up the temperature was -5 degrees. It’s warmed up to a balmy 12 degrees, and the sun is shining brightly at the moment.

We had snow/flurries off and on all day yesterday, and now about 3 inches of the white stuff is covering the ground. Snowstorms in Colorado in February aren’t unheard of. There would be no ski industry in the state if we didn’t get snow in the winter. We wouldn’t have water for year round use if it weren’t for snowfall in the mountains. Snow is great. But the extremely cold temp? It is not normal. Average temperature in February here ranges anywhere between 48 degrees to 18 degrees. Today we were 20 degrees lower than the norm.

Today in California they are having what the LA Times headline is calling, “Rare weather conditions fueling major and unusual snow, blizzard warning” ¹. The story mentions the second known warning of blizzard conditions for Los Angeles and Ventura counties. Earlier today, on the CBS morning news program, they showed a video of school kids in LA running and screaming as hail was falling. I’m sure some of them have rarely seen hail, and even less of them have ever seen snow.

I was in Burbank last Thursday. I flew out to pick up a used RV I was buying and to visit my family … but mainly to pick up the RV. To say I’ve be obsessing about this purchase is a complete understatement. I have been researching RV’s for so long I can’t remember when I wasn’t thinking about them. I almost bought one six years ago, but after my friend Vanessa pointed out that I was still working full time and would have to leave the vehicle in storage for 10 months of the year, I was able to renege on the deal and get my $500 deposit back. Vanessa pointed out that these vehicles are meant to be used and leaving it parked and dormant would cause more problems in the long run. So with that deal dead, I continued doing my research - reading, watching videos, and listening to RV podcasts. New RV’s are so expensive - even the bottom of the line van type Winnebago has a sticker price of over $100k. I couldn’t justify putting all the money I saved into a vehicle that would be sitting in the driveway more than it was on the road. I also could not fathom having vehicle payments (one RV I was interested in had a sale price of $105k. If I put $40k down I would wind up with a monthly payment of around $375 for 240 months…20 years! Is that insane or what?). So about a month ago I went on a website called RV Trader and looked for vans being sold by individuals, not dealers. Buying a used RV from a dealer, in my opinion, comes with little benefit. One dealership I had contacted offered a 15 day warranty on used RV’s Really, why bother??). And the price of the vehicle is what they have listed on their website - no negotiation involved. That’s why I chose to work with a private owner. I came across a 2018 Dodge van with less than 50,000 miles. The price was within my budget (it was listed at $45,000) and so the purchase process began. I had an inspection done, spoke to the seller, and negotiated a price that seemed fair to both of us. The seller was in Anaheim, CA, just 50 miles away from Burbank. That gave me the opportunity to visit with my family

The van is small (18 foot), and has exactly what I need to go exploring - a couch that expands to a double bed, a refrigerator and stove, fun party lights, a heater, lots of solar power, a potty, and a great stereo system. No tv, no internet antenna, no frills. And as I see it, less to malfunction. I’ll be adding some hanging storage bags and a few other little things, and once the weather warms up I’ll plan my first adventure.

With the title signed over to me and the bank check in the previous owner’s hand, I left Burbank last Sunday morning. The weather was good - a little cool but sunny and dry. We took the shortest route home- up I-15, then across I-70 - even though there was snow predicted in the high mountains in Colorado. Luckily in our 16 hour of driving we hit bad weather for only about 2 hours - as we went over Vail Pass (elevation 10,666’) and through the Eisenhower Tunnel (elevation 11,158’).

Had we stayed in California a day or two more, we would have been in the middle of the crazy storm that hit the western part of the country yesterday. Never having driven a high profile vehicle before in extreme wind and snow wasn’t something I was hoping to experience during the ride home (I really hope I never have to drive in adverse conditions. But if I do I’d rather be in my Subaru, which I’ve driven through blizzards without any problem).

So why the crazy weather phenomena - hail and snow in LA? Temperatures 20 degrees colder than normal in Colorado? Above average temperatures in places like Sarasota, FL? The western part of the US is experiencing frigid conditions, while the southeast is seeing excessive heat. It really should be no surprise to anyone that believes in science that the cause is climate change and rising temperatures on Earth. A recent NPR story² stated that the average temperature on Earth is 2 degrees higher than it was in the late 1800’s. While this may not seem like a lot, this small change has affected weather events over the entire planet. Extreme droughts, severe flooding, stronger hurricanes - they are all a result of the overall climate of Earth changing. If humans don’t reduce greenhouse gas emissions, these bizarre weather events will become the norm all around the planet.

So how does buying an RV help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fight global warming? To be honest, it doesn’t. But the RV I chose gets about 18 miles to the gallon of gas (about the same as some larger SUV’s and pickup trucks). While not great, it’s a lot better than many others types of RV’s I could have chosen. I’m taking it for an oil change and tune up next week, buying new tires that I will keep properly inflated, and drive at a reasonable speed to get the best gas mileage possible. I’ll also be using this vehicle mainly for road trips where I plan on camping - it’s not my everyday vehicle. And as for my everyday vehicle - a Subaru Crosstrek - I’m considering my options. I can continue using it until the price of gas gets really crazy, or I can sell it soon and go electric since I have my RV as my “road-trip” vehicle. Both my sister and nephew have Tesla’s, and they are really nice cars. And I just heard today the price for some models is coming down. This is all TBD at the moment. Right now I’m focusing in getting the van in tip-top shape so that my contribution to global warming is as minimal as it can be.

And furthermore…

1. Read the novel, Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus. Great book about how women scientists and women trying to learn science were treated in the late 1950’s and 1960’s. It teaches us to be true to ourselves no matter what other people think of us, say to us, or do to us. It’s a fun, fast read available at your local library (I downloaded an e-book version from the NYPL).

2. If reading isn’t your thing but podcasts are, check out Svetlana Svetlana. It’s the bizarre story of Joseph Stalin’s daughter, who defected to the United Stated in 1967. The podcast host is funny and entertaining as he tells the story.

3. Found this dark chocolate caramel pecan candy at Costco in Burbank called Shellz, made by the NoSugar Company. Each piece has 70 calories and contains no sugar (hence the company name). Instead it has a sweetener called erythritol, which is suppose to act as an antioxidant. It was approved by the World Health Organization in 1999, and has no effect on glucose or insulin levels, which makes it a safer sugar substitute for people with diabetes.

   

4. And finally, one of my most recent images… water, oil, soap on glass with colored below. I call it “Weathering the Storm”. Let me know what you think

   

1. Rare weather conditions are fueling California’s ‘major snow and blizzard’ warning. LA Times. 2/23/23. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-02-23/la-me-snow-storms-california-unusual-science-explainer

2. Climate change makes heat waves, storms, and droughts worse, climate report confirms. NPR. 1/9/23. https://www.npr.org/2023/01/09/1147805696/climate-change-makes-heat-waves-storms-and-droughts-worse-climate-report-confirm