By Bob Difley
Back then most RVing was limited to smaller RVs, and hook-ups meant electricity and maybe water, with a dump station in the campground. No cable TV hookups or wifi, campsites spaced well apart from each other, quiet time after 10 o’clock that actually was quiet. For entertainment we hiked, swam, paddled, visited historic sites, went fishing, rockhunding, birdwatching, star gazing, and took ranger-led nature walks if we weren’t out boondocking in the outback.
It seems today that hook-ups have become a de rigueur part of RVing, including full-service RV resorts that offer continuous activities and programs throughout the day to keep us entertained. But with the addition of all these amenities came increased costs. Back in the day, the concept of spending $100 or more per night (one Palm Springs area RV resort had rates as high as $184/night) was unthinkable–and the amenities now being offered would have been beyond an RVer’s wildest imagination.
And that’s OK. The RV Lifestyle need not be defined by how I do it, or how my neighbor does it, but how each individual person enjoys using their RV, whether it’s a pop-up trailer or a 45-foot diesel pusher with a garage for the Ferrari dingy. “One size fits all” does not apply to the wide-ranging possibilities of today’s RV Lifestyle.
But I would like to suggest that, as RVers, we might want to try something a little different from time to time than what we normally do. Not that I will spend many nights in a $184-a-night RV resort, but I have ranged from full service Coachella Valley resorts with hot tubs, swimming pools, recreation halls, and myriad programs, to boondocking miles down a dirt road where I saw no one for days. You can guess my preference.
I’ve spent many nights and countless miles exploring the backroads of our national forests and following desert tracks, both in my RV and in my dingy, that would disappear into the primeval forest or duck behind a distant mesa. And I got lost often. Getting lost was the fun of it. Taking roads not knowing where they went, whether they ended abruptly, or were blocked by a cave in or rock slide.
If you haven’t tried getting lost, it’s easier than ever before, and also easier to find your way back, with GPS Google Maps & Earth, and detailed forest service maps to show a detailed picture of where you are. Drive your rig as far back off the highway as you can safely go, then look for an appropriate “dispersed” camping area (that’s what the forest service calls un-designated camping areas, and take your dingy from there and explore. You might find that you’ve added a new feature–and an enjoyable one–to your personal RV lifestyle.
And just for fun, but also to identify yourself as a member of the “get lost” generation (most of us are not “mellennials, or Genxers) I’ve created a Zazzle store where I will from time to time–as the spirit moves me–put up some “get lost” T-shirts, hats, and bumper stickers. I think I’ll put up a coffee mug, too, when I get around to it. You can see them in my Zazzle boondockbob store. FULL DISCLOSURE: I earn a 5% royalty on each item sold. Maybe enough to buy an additional gallon of gas to get a little further back into the boonies.
For more RVing articles and tips take a look at my Healthy RV Lifestyle website, where you will also find my ebooks: BOONDOCKING: Finding the Perfect Campsite on America’s Public Lands (PDF or Kindle), 111 Ways to Get the Biggest Bang for your RV Lifestyle Buck (PDF or Kindle), and Snowbird Guide to Boondocking in the Southwestern Deserts (PDF or Kindle), and my newest, The RV Lifestyle: Reflections of Life on the Road (Kindle reader version). NOTE: Use the Kindle version to read on iPad and iPhone or any device that has the free Kindle reader app.