Santa Rosa Lake State Park in New Mexico has a lovely campground. We spent one night there last year on our drive to the West Coast and wanted to spend more time exploring the area. We settled in for a week, and as we did so, reality of desert living in June started to sink in.

Our campsite had no electric or water, which is what we had chosen to put our camper to the test. It also did not have any shade to speak of, and it got hot! We were cautious when running our AC, as we did not want to deplete our batteries, but when it was over 100 outside, and the camper got over 90 inside, it was time to crank the air. We learned that it is easier to try to maintain a temperature instead of letting it get super hot and then trying to cool things down. With the AC working so hard, we had to supplement our batteries with the generator. We did find of good balance of generator and battery power to keep everything running smoothly. One thing we have learned over the past year is that the AC will cool the camper 15 or so degrees cooler than the temperature outside, especially if there is no shade. Honestly, when it is 100 and higher outside 80-85 inside feels pretty good. We also have multiple fans to keep air flowing and keep us more comfortable. Murphy does not like it hot, and he always found the coolest spots in the camper to nap and relax. He usually planted himself directly in front of a fan.

Because of the heat, we did not do much hiking or exploring. The lake was super low and not really accessible. Even staying close to the site and camper, there were beautiful cacti, flowers, and juniper trees to photograph and enjoy.