I have gone on two quick camping trips to see who my setup will work for my own experiences. Then cold weather hit and I had other obligations with my work and schooling. Spring has sprung in Florida this week after experiencing some really weird cold weather events across the country. Not an ideal time to be venturing out solo camping even in Florida. We do not have the capacity to deal with snow any any kind. To all those people around the U.S. still experiences winter, sorry, and we send you warm thoughts.
Now as far as my camping arrangements goes for my car I am working on evening out the large 3 inch drop between the middle seats and the back so I can lay down my tri-fold 4-inch tall mattress pad down flat. With my back problems and as short as I am I had to either sleep at the back hatch towards the front which place my buttocks up against the drop and my legs slightly elevated. Not a bad position to sleep in however when I have to get up and out for those pesky night time bathroom breaks it takes a while to convince my body to turn and get up and out properly. Sleeping with my feet towards the back hatch puts my lower back right into the crack, extremely uncomfortable.
Currently I have two big, rectangular bins – one for kitchen food and one for everything else. Also not ideal as I have to carry them in and out of the car to access what is inside and bring the food bin back into the house when not camping. I have my clothes, bedding and bath stuff in a large plastic zippered bag and toss. I am looking into the vacuum pack bags with the portable sucker machines. That will save so much space. I am thinking about getting two of those plastic 3-drawer sets and use those until I can build a wooden platform and kitchen box things that I see on Pinterest all the time.
I have ended up purchasing a few things that I haven’t used yet but figured I would need eventually. One is a Bouge refrigerator box. It has an electric plug and a 12 volt plug. I have used it to keep my drinks and coffee creamer cold. I purchased a Bluetti Solar Generator however it is only 300 watts and will not fire up my tiny coffee pot machine which apparently requires a minimum of 350 watts to get the coffee going. Once finished then I can plug it into the generator. I also purchase the over the car doors mesh screens. These are a definite plus to help keep out the no-see-ums and mosquitoes. There is the portable toilet that I haven’t unpacked. I lost the portable water bag and hot water shower pump somewhere in my storage shed. The screened tent was entirely too unwieldy for me to put up by myself so that has been pushed off on my brother to use in his backyard. I did get another Pop-Up Tent with sidewalls. I can get that up by myself and I still have the weight bags from my craft festival days but it weighs 40 pounds and takes up a lot of room in the car. That will have to wait until I get more days to play with it.
They Lied on the description it does take two people
Measuring Ravenna Road – My Ford Escape SUV
I am still exploring my options and trying to figure out how to do this car camping thing. I have been to two state forests and was very impressed. I would like to visit Osceola National Forest again and camp at Ocean Pond next. That was a family “go-to” place when they still had the swimming dock. My sister and brothers loved going there to swim all day, sleep in the back of the station wagon, and just be out of the city for a while. It was always a cash only, get their before the crowds – first-come-first-served kind of place. Now you can reserve spots online. And, of course, the price for the electric and water sites is $38/night now.
Quick Not from Jolene
Before I head out to plan my next adventure, I want to make sure you know about a couple of things. First, pop over to the Wildher Finds online store and check out the newest designs. There are some fun new additions that speak directly to the solo woman adventurer in you.
Second, if you have not already, please sign up for the Solo Sojourn Newsletter. That is the best way to stay connected, get updates as the app moves toward its Summer 2026 launch, and be among the first to know about beta testing opportunities. The sign-up link is right here on the site and it only takes a moment.
Announcement for This week
WE HAVE CREATED a new private Facebook Group – Check it out: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1279994430692754
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