Richard, I use gallon water jugs filled with water and frozen for my cooler.  If I put three in, with precooled food items, they stay frozen for 3-4 days in Texas in summer.  Sounds like your ice cream gambit should work.  What can you lose, except a little ice cream? I'd say you'd want a bigger capsule than you propose if you were going to go for more than two days before eating the ice cream.  But, like I said, what do you ................. ? DMc

---- Richard Koerner <rjkinpb@SBCGLOBAL.NET> wrote: 
> Just had a brainstorm....what if I got a small 2 serving little plastic
container, packed it with ice cream, put that container in bigger 
container, filled that with water, and froze the whole thing so as to encapsulate the inner container in a thick layer of ice (say about 1 inch thick or so)? 
> 
> Good enough for the first night out when packed in the cooler?  (My Vanagon has no refrigerator, just a plastic Coleman ice chest...which meets all my needs.)  Seems like it should work just fine.
> 
> Just wondering if anybody has tried such a thing, or has any tips.  And to inspire others.  (Going to Anza Borrego Desert park (southern California) this weekend for the spring wildflowers, daytime temps 76 F, nighttime temps 50 F, new moon coming, lots of stars to watch)
> 
> Rich
> San Diego