Mid-summer, Spring, or Early Fall. A great time to be out in the coolness of the woods, along a tumbling stream, or by a mirror-smooth high mountain lake, lost in the wilds of nature. It’s hard, though, to find campgrounds in the most scenic of locations like these. There just isn’t a lot of private land in places like that to build RV resorts and campgrounds. And then there is the difficultly with permits, environmental studies, waste disposal, electricity, access roads . . .But the good news is that you don’t need a campground to enjoy these scenic locations, just a campsite.
What else do you need? A self contained RV with a big comfy bed would be nice. And a 3 or 4 burner stove, a reefer that stays cold, electric lights, indoor outhouse complete with holding tanks. . . Isn’t it our great fortune that the manufacturers that bring us our wonderful homes-on-wheels build in all these conveniences–even without our asking. And greater yet, all these features work anywhere, even outside RV resorts, like when we are camped all by ourselves out in the woods, along a stream, or by a high mountain lake.
Yet so few RVers take advantage of these self-contained features that we take for granted, seldom spending a night outside the sanctuary of a campground and those appendages that we feel we need to enjoy the RV lifestyle. Giving up camping in pristine natural sites for the presumed need for hookups seems like a poor trade off.
Most of what you need for a few days of camping with Mother Nature you already have onboard. What you really need those hookups for, is after your few days of boondocking in the wilds you need to recharge your systems—pump up your batteries, dump your tanks, and refill both your water tanks and food stores. The rest you are already set up to do.
So why not take a shot at—what was that word? Boondocking? Camping without hookups–dry-camping–but also meaning away from the trappings of civilization, like road traffic, perpetual people or mechanical noise, air that doesn’t smell like pine trees, views with little green in them, and neighbors so close you can hear them sneeze.
So how do you find these fantastic campsites that the manufacturers like to show in their ads? That’s the hard part. But not all that difficult that you can’t do it. You just have to know where to look, because there aren’t any lists of boondocking campsites with nice clear directions on how to get there. Oh no. And that is what I will post on next Saturday, showing you how to find those spots. In the meantime, acquaint yourself with your built in systems, how they function when not hooked up, and how to conserve your resources like water and electricity. If you can’t wait, go to my Web site and download my 59-page eBook, The Boondocking Life: Camping and Boondocking on our Public Lands.