It’s been 3 whole weeks since we moved to Yucca Valley, yay!
With a week of the school routine under our belt and a few weeks since settling
into our house, I thought I’d share some differences/trials/excitement that
come with living in the “Hi Desert”.
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| a Joshua Tree in Joshua Tree National Park |
1. Because of our higher elevation of 3,369 feet
(that’s 1,566 feet higher in
elevation than Montague township, the highest town in New Jersey) it’s very
important to stay hydrated. It doesn’t matter if we’re simply running a couple
of quick errands in town, we always take a water bottle with us, EVERYWHERE.
2. Our relative humidity has been between 18 and 30%, much
more dry than the East Coasts’ typical humidity above 60%. Here are a few
benefits of living in a low humidity climate:
a. frizzy hair = extinct!
b. your
beverages don’t sweat (zero condensation build up)
c. line drying your laundry
in the shade of your veranda can be
done in <2 hrs.
3. Always keep drinking water handy.
4. Learn how to use your swamp cooler and use it often! While
our house has two window A/C units, we prefer to use our large swamp cooler.
Not only is it much less expensive to run (equivalent of 2 light bulbs) but it
cools our little cooker, I mean home, fast. We close up the house when we go to
school in the morning and come back to an oven; however, our handy dandy swamp
cooler pushes the hot air out in no time. It took a while to master the technique
of using the cooler as it functions much differently than A/C. For optimal
success, OPEN a couple of windows and park the cooler in front of a large
opening. This allows it to draw warm air from outside, evaporate the water in
the cooling pads, and blast cool and moistened air throughout your home.
5. Be sure to drink lots of water, especially if teaching PE
outside on a clear blue, dry, breezy day.
6. Don’t own a black vehicle, oh, and make use of window
tinting or windshield shades. With an average of 283 days of complete sunshine,
let’s just say the parking lot can be a pretty brutal place for your vehicle.
7. Stay hydrated. Don’t leave your water bottle on your
desk, even if you only have to teach 2 periods of PE. Your voice will not
forgive you.
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| Outdoor movie night on our schools' football field. How about those mountains?! |
8. Embrace the dust. No matter how often you clean, dust is
inevitable.
9. Water, H2O, /wooder/ for you New Jersyians.
10. Embrace sweat. No matter how often you shower or apply
deodorant, sweat is inevitable.
So there you go. The desert has so many new and interesting
things to learn about! While it is indeed a dry heat, it is still hot. But as
we look at the hills and mountains, endless blue sky and breathtakingly clear starry
nights, we can’t help but be amazed by the variety and endlessness of God’s
beauty as shown through His creation.
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim
the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is deprived of its warmth.
Psalm 19: 1-6
(emphasis added)
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| Rockstar - JT National Park (Google image) |
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