Tuesday, October 20, 2020

A preview of “winter”

Last night I camped near Pine, Arizona. About 5,300 feet up. Not terribly high. In fact, it’s lower than where I spent the past few months in New Mexico. But that was the end of summer, so it was warmer, of course. Now we’re well into autumn and the nights get downright chilly.

I had spent the previous two nights 3,000 feet lower and 60 miles farther south, sleeping comfortably under my light blanket. But it was down quilt time last night. And heater time this morning. 43°F/6°C. Ah, yes, that time if year.

I’ll be heading to the low desert once the daytime temperatures there cool down to a more tolerable level. The “winter” temperatures in the Sonoran Desert will be similar to last night’s here at the base of the Mogollon Rim. (Yes, I know real winter. I spent two of them in Saskatchewan. Mmmmm, -40° for weeks at a time.)

Change is good, variety is the spice of life, and all that. Hallelujah, let’s get up and sing about it.

2 comments:

  1. It's so temperate during the day up there. Perfect positioning. I predict a warmer winter up to 2800 ft or so. Plenty plenty camping in AZ at that elevation. Much better than the big tent scene unless one needs rebar tent and tarp stakes.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The change. Frost this week in the Willamette Valley and snow down to 1500 feet in the Cascades. Winter be coming in the NW. Had a beautiful fall so far,with enough rain to squelch the fires and clear the air.

    ReplyDelete