Living Outside
Even though I live in a camper, I feel like I’m living outside. I love that it’s permeable, most of the time. It’s a pop-up with hard sides, so it’s just like a regular trailer, but it folds down and is towable by my Jeep.
Because of that, air seeps through. They say that indoor air is unhealthy, but there are so many cracks for air to get in, that even if I have all the windows closed, I still have fresh air.
Sunshine also seeps in. The walls are an off-white (very hard) plastic material, and even if the windows were covered with black curtains, light comes through the walls. So now that it’s spring, the sun wakes me up at 5:30ish. And it being Arizona sun, it is BRIGHT. It’s like trying to sleep while laying out in a beach with no shade.
It’s not long after the sun sets that I start to fall asleep. Last night, I didn’t make it past 9:30. I am not a morning person, but I think when you’re practically living outside, nature takes over.
The other nice thing about this lifestyle is that you have neighbors, the old-fashioned kind—the kind that jump to and offer you a helping hand.
Yesterday, I went on a hike and Glenn ran errands, and wind gusts lifted my back wall (a pop-up likes to pop-down with any wind 
gusts over 40mph) and blew in my side wall. One neighbor moved their truck to block the wind, another duck-taped my back wall down, and a third rescued Caesar.
Living mostly outside is pretty cool. Even the bad parts, like walking to the bathroom in the middle of the night (getting to see the stars) and the camper rocking wildly in the wind (learning one has neighbors) are pretty darn awesome.
What not-so-great thing has happened to you, lately, that had a great upside?
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Natasha Fondren is a writer traveling the U.S. in a camper with her four cats. She is currently enjoying the lizards and desert heat in Arizona.
Glad your neighbors came to your rescue! I get up earlier in spring and summer, too.
My father-in-law’s passing has given us a new appreciation of family. And though we inherited his 17-year old beagle (which is more than a century old in human terms–way past their life expectancy), she’s a sweetheart and keeps us amused. She’s definitely going to be in my next book!
Awww, your beagle sounds awesome, Edie! How cute! I bet you write animals well.
I’m so sorry about your father in law.
*hugs*
Hmmmm. No big disasters around here to have upsides recently. Well, I was happy my car battery died while the car was sitting by the house rather than out somewhere and now that the battery has been replaced I won’t need to do it in the fall — and likely forget to do it.
Sometimes we feel like we’re living outside in this little cottage without a basement, but it’s nothing like what you describe. Kind of like living in a hard-sided tent! At least you don’t have to try to sleep with a root under your back.
That’s a blessing, Eric! LOL! Yeah, we have a nice mattress. It really feels luxurious to me, isn’t that weird? LOL!
My Monster Chihuahua, Lola, is now my Miracle Chihuahua, Lola, having beaten the odds of a mysterious illness that, according to “experts” would only get worse. Don’t you love it when a six pound dog can make the experts look like complete idiots? I do.
Yes, I love, love, love that, Kath! Totally love that! Go Lola!!!
Crippled with sciatica,I’m relatively helpless. My wonderful neighbours post letters and bring me groceries.
People are just kind.
Oh man, Bernita. Still? I’m so sorry!
That’s a lovely story. Your camper is so clean! I imagine myself in a camper with so much junk that it’s piled to the ceiling and my head is sticking up at the top because I’m trying to breathe in the tiny little space between my face and the camper’s roof. It wouldn’t be pretty or romantic. It would be downright dangerous.
ROFL, Robin! That pic is from last fall. When I first moved in. Now it’s… well, it’s got a bunch of cat hair. I suppose I should take a new pic, to be fair.
But I’m good about getting rid of junk, LOL. 
It’s so cozy in there! I know what you mean about the sun — that’s how our place was in Mexico. That’s wonderful your neighbors helped out!
It IS, Melanie! I really do love it, LOL!
Are you going to be relocating for the summer, or are you staying down there?
I’m in love. I think I’m staying.
Until next May. Then we’re definitely hitting the road!