Staycation with a rooftop tent

4 Mar, 2025

You don’t have to drive hours to take a breath of fresh air! Staycations are a great way to enjoy the outdoors, while minimizing effort. In this post, James Baroud ambassador David Gonzalez shares his recent staycation experience.

Post content:

I have never camped in the winter. Camping is a summer activity after all, at least according to the rules laid down by my parents early in my camping career. But then they did not have all of today’s tech for camping in all kinds of weather and climates, like a rooftop tent! As it happens, I do. My James Baroud Odyssey is well insulated and perfectly capable of housing me through all four seasons. So, as 2024 was wrapping up I vowed to venture out into the wild in January, not too far from home, where Southern Idaho winters are generally dry and cold.

A change of plans

Using The Dyrt, a vibrant camping community website, I located a promising dispersed campsite about an hour south from my house. Perched along the banks of the Snake River, it seemed so promising online, with a seemingly desolate and parched landscape cleaved by the wide waters of the river. But…I didn’t realize from the map view on The Dyrt how little land there was between Hwy-78 and the Snake River, nor did I see the house about fifty yards to the northwest. Privacy was sparse. The leafless shrubs offered no obscurity from the highway or the house. I found this dispersed campsite way too exposed for my liking, especially after deploying the Odyssey, climbing in, and zipping down the windows to experience the surrounds from within. Plus, the soundtrack was way less birds of prey and way more impatient humans in their four-wheeled conveyances on the highway. So, I pulled the plug on staying the night there.

James Baroud Barbecue — David Gonzalez’s truck just off Marsing-Murphy Rd, Hwy-78.

Fortunately, all was not lost. I noticed while plotting my route to the campsite that the site was not far from Celebration Park, a destination that held some lore for me. Some years ago my wife and daughter ventured to this park while on a school field trip and got to throw a spear using an Atlatl, a 17,000 year old advancement on spear throwing that uses leverage to increase the mechanical advantage of the human arm and improve speed, distance, and accuracy of hunting with a spear. Their stories of the Atlatl and Celebration Park captivated me back then and drew me to the park this day. While the visitor center was closed due to some deferred maintenance and construction work, I was able to explore the park, walk across the eye-catching bridge spanning the Snake River at the entrance to the park, and imagine several future returns with bikes and other gear to fully explore the unique geology.

Staycation Opportunity

Back in The Bison (my truck) a new plan was forming for my evening as I warmed my chilly hands on the heated steering wheel and cheeks on the seat heater. I decided to head home for a staycation instead, setting up the James Baroud Odyssey in the downstairs driveway just outside my detached office. As I drove the hour back home, this idea grew on me, especially the notion of a safety net should the cold temperature shakedown of my trusty old mummy bag, brand new Nomadix puffer blanket, America’s National Parks and Monuments edition, brand new James Baroud Storage Box, and new Duramax rechargeable LED lights somehow go sideways. Forecast for the evening promised nighttime temperatures nicely below freezing.

Upon arriving home in the late afternoon, I situated The Bison in front of my detached office, deployed the Odyssey, and unzipped the transparent PVC rear window for light while maintaining warmth inside. Then I made up my mummy bag, pillows, and puffer blanket for the night’s slumber and unloaded all my gear from the bed of The Bison since I would only be sleeping there, not eating or sitting around a campfire.

Staycation Ideas

Enjoy the beauty of a dawn or sunset from the top of your rooftop tent.
Stay overnight at a local state park, lake, or beachfront (if permitted).
Watch a movie with a projector inside your rooftop tent.
Take a loved one on a “rooftop date night”. Enjoy your favorite drinks before going to sleep.

As the sun completed its descent, I snapped a few photos and then scurried up the ladder to settle in for some light car-themed social media scrolling. Afterall, the wi-fi was fast and familiar! It didn’t take long before my thick wool-covered feet began to sweat at the bottom of my mummy bag. Since it’s impossible to reach your feet at the bottom of a mummy bag once zipped, I scraped and slid each sock off with the opposite hoof, like a goat might if a goat wore socks. Relief! My feet cooled while the rest of my carcass settling into the perfect temp, all layered up with my long johns and Pearl Izumi hat zipped into my bag. I drifted off with little resistance.

Lesson Learned

Regret woke me up a few hours later. As the nighttime temperature plummeted, my bare feet froze. Since I was just outside my own home, I just headed to my bedroom in the big house. Ultimately, I found out that my gear did well in the 30s, but as the temps dipped into the 20s, maintaining body heat was challenging. For winter camping, consider a Thermal Insulation Kit from James Baroud to ensure you can stay warm at all times!

Author

David Gonzalez is a tech veteran with 30+ years of experience applying his physics, computer science, and business prowess to helping early-stage companies innovate and accelerate across numerous industries including handwriting and voice recognition, mortgages, renewable energy, storm water management and mental health.

Intermingled amongst these professional endeavors, David is also a family man. While devoted to his wife of 30+ years and his three uniquely insightful and grown children, he remains an avid athlete, favoring soccer, cycling, skiing, tennis, hiking and any opportunity to get the family into the wild.

David’s ideal evening? That’d be sitting around a campfire with his family, eating from rehydrated food pouches and regaling each other with tales of greatness from the day.