It probably wasn’t the brightest idea to venture into the desert during the middle of the summer, but much like our experience in the Angeles National Forest, we learned a lot from our month stay in Palm Desert. Truth be told, we came here for hot springs, and they were well worth the heat, and the trip out here.
Palm Desert is HOT! HOT!! HOT!!!
During our time out here we learned there’s a big difference between 95 degrees and 115 degrees. I know that kind of goes without saying, but it’s amazing how different those two temperatures actually are.. it’s one thing to be in this heat for a few days by choice (hello Vegas), it’s another to live amongst this heat while living in a tin box.
In the beginning of our time here I made the mistake of trying to save a few bucks during the day by not running the A/C if we were gone, and little by little our fridge/freezer just couldn’t keep up. After that small lesson we made sure the A/C was running all day and (to my surprise) we never had a problem keeping the fridge ice cold since then.
A few days later I Google’d automatic RV/trailer thermostats and realized we already had one built into the trailer – whoops! Problem solved – when we leave the trailer for more than a few hours we can set the thermostat to a reasonable temperature and return to a comfortable home – just like a normal home. No more running the A/C all day, and no more fridge having to struggle during extreme temps. Dummy, me!
The hottest day in Palm Desert was 119 degrees and I’d say our trailer held up well. The A/C unit was pretty much maxed out during the heat of the day and it had a difficult time keeping the trailer completely cold. Definitely livable, but not cold. We picked up a large roll of thermal insulation and solved the issue of heat coming in from the windows. We could do a lot more if we wanted to. Things are pretty livable in here, even during 119 degrees, a bit surprised really, I expected this thing to really cook at that temperature.
It’s good to know the limitations of our trailer – I can’t imagine ever being in a hotter place than this.
We’d probably stay in Palm Desert a bit longer if it wasn’t for the drive to work a few times each week. This place is heaven – IF you can tolerate the heat. Everything you need is a short drive away, the hot springs are incredible, and there’s barely anyone here. Not bad.
For now, we’re off to a more local destination. We had originally intended to head over to Applewhite Campground in the Angeles National Forest. If you read our article about escaping the fires the first time around, you know we’ve dodged a few fires during our short time in the forest. Applewhite Campground sits on the complete opposite side of the forest from the fires we had been avoiding, it’s beneath the town of Wrightwood along the 15 freeway.
Well, during our time out here in Palm Desert, we believe Applewhite burned down. I haven’t been able to confirm this, but I’ve seen a map of the areas which were burned by the fire, and I have little doubt that Applewhite was hit hard. There’s a chance they fought the fire from Applewhite (as it does look possible from the map), and there’s a chance they fought it from the neighboring RV park, and Applewhite was sacrificed. I will have to drive through there to verify – it’s that close.
I Google’d RV Parks and Campgrounds a thousand times to seek our next destination. Then, one day, I was messing around on Google Maps and I found a large patch of “green” surrounded by water and what looked to be a lake. It definitely wasn’t Lake Elsinore, and it was too close to LA to be Lake Perris.
After zooming in I discovered Rancho Jurupa Regional Park in the city of Riverside. It’s not going to burn down (knocks on wood..), and it’s not 119 degrees. We’ll have full hookups (power/water/sewer) and the place looks rather nice. Another hidden gem? We’ll have to find out. Off we go..
