I am the proud owner of a brand-new 12-volt electric vest....Yes, it's actually 12 Volt and has enough power to jump-start my truck. One reason I never bought one before is that they didn't seem powerful enough or last long enough to generate enough heat to help. They've modernized now, and I think the vest will work a lot better.
When I looked into electric vests years ago, the batteries seemed weak and didn’t last long. The main reason I wanted one was for hunting season, when I was actually outside for many hours in below-zero temperatures, and I was used to the 80° winter temperatures of Miami, Florida. But now, the longest I'm out in the cold is taking pictures of the Sandhill Cranes for a few hours at dawn, and the batteries in my vest are said to last for 20 hours. I also liked the fact that they charge right off my 12 Volt house batteries, without losing any amps charging them from the inverter.
Another reason I got the vest is that my winter travels are supposed to be wetter and colder than New Mexico and Arizona normally are, so I figured this would give me an extra chance to see how well they work (or don't, as the case may be).
Theboondork
A butterfly in the yard, back a couple of months ago, when there were still some flowers left.
To see a beautiful view of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range like this, you would normally expect to pay $75 a night to stay at an RV park.
But I get to see that view for free by boondocking in a Walmart parking lot.…. Do I miss the half-hour check-in times at the RV park? The outrageous daily fee? The awning-to-awning crowds? Listening to the neighbors' loud music and barking dogs? No! No, I don't. Not now, not ever.
Am I normal feeling like that? No, I'm not. In fact, the only time I feel normal is when I'm in Quartzite with a couple of hundred thousand people just like me. In “Q”, I'm normal, and everyone else is strange.