What you need to know for desert boondocking

By Bob Difley If you follow the rest of the snowbirds to the southwestern deserts in winter, you will find that most of them stay in he same RV resort or campground for the entire season. A small number of RVers decide to so some boondocking in the open desert to really experience the desert in its wildness and beauty. As you roam around and talk to other boondockers you will find more desert boondocking locations than you ever imagined. Many are just places where an RVer has pulled off onto an unnamed, unpaved desert track and found a nice spot behind a hill, overlooking a wash, or hidden in a grove of desert willow or mesquite trees. Others become popular simply because one boondocker spots another and decides to join and soon there are half a dozen RVers, though they space themselves apart from each other, but still enjoying the proximity of other boondockers. Iff you would like to try this open desert camping, here are some of the basic rules and tips you need to know. The BLM allows free camping for up to 14 consecutive days out of every 28 days on open land. After 14 days, you must move at least 25 miles away from your current location and cannot return for another 14 days. Camping is legal except where specifically prohibited by signs or fences. No camping within 300 feet of a man-made watering hole or tank to allow wildlife access. Use existing routes and trails. Camp at previously used sites. When there is no danger of rain or flash flooding, camp in washes where... Read more

Free Boondocking on BLM land

By Bob Difley In the early developing years of  the new country of the United States of America, the government promoted expansion into unsettled lands, partly to accommodate settlers, but primarily to settle the land before other governments–Mexico, Spain, France–could grab the land first. In the east the land was quickly gobbled up by railroads, cities, and whoever could get some of it. By the time settlers reached the Wild West, this fear of other nations’ land grab no longer existed, and most of the land was retained in Federal coffers. Lucky for us. Now all that land–or much of it–is what is called public land–which means that we, as voters and citizens, own it, and we designate various Federal agencies to manage our land for us. The agency that manages the most land west of the Mississippi–and most of the desert land–is the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The BLM administers 260 million acres—about one-eighth of the nation’s land mass–in the twelve western states, including not only the vast stretches of desert that are home to snowbirds in winter, but also wildernesses, monuments, and 38 wild and scenic rivers. The BLM has over 400 campgrounds, most large enough for RVs of all sizes and with low or no fees, with some more developed sites that carry higher fees. In addition you can boondock anywhere on BLM land, unless specifically prohibited by signs or fences, for up to 14 days within a 28 consecutive day period,... Read more

For snowbirds, Spring is just around the corner

By Bob Difley This is one of the best times to be in the Southwestern Deserts. When the New England states are trying to cope with single digit temps and the south and mid-west are experiencing record cold, the mid 60-degree readings in the desert bring us out in T-shirts and shorts. But it still is only mid January, and though the nights are dipping into the mid forties, the day time sun not only triggers our Spring genes, it also begins tickling the genes of Spring wildflowers. Read more  Read More →

All roads lead to the 2010 season in Quartzsite

By Bob Difley Even RVers in the West who haven’t yet learned the value of solar panels or spent a single night witehout hookups have heard of Quartzsite. And some oldtimers have yet to visit however, but the saying goes that if you are an RVer, you will visit Quartzsite at least once before you retire your horses to pasture. It is an experience near the top of the RVer’s lifetime To Do list. Quartzsite’s wide open desert with plentiful camping possibilities on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land lures hundreds of thousands of snowbirds to the weather-friendly desert in winter. Most RVers call this kind of camping boondocking, i.e. “in the boonies” though in Quartzsite, you could end up as crowded as a hook-up campground. But the beauty of it is that the choice of where and how sociable you want to be is yours. The options include groups of friends circling the wagons much like the early pioneers did on the Oregon Trail. Though the pioneers chose this method mainly to protect themselves from marauding Indians, today’s RVers seek social camaraderie instead, putting tables, chairs, and a communal campfire in the “hub” of the circled wagons. You can choose to camp in close to town and have neighbors, or move further out and have your group area all to yourselves, a definite advantage if you are nudists or practice strange rituals or ceremonies. Several hard compacted dirt roads lead off into the far reaches of the LTVAs where campsites... Read more

Energy saving tips for the boondocker

By Bob Difley Until you become a dedicated boondocker and install a sustainable energy source, like solar panels, a wind generator, or a fusion nuclear generator, follow the tips below to reduce your electrical usage–and the amount of time you need to run your noisy generator to recharge your batteries. Turn off all appliances, lights, radio, TV, and anything else that requires electricity when not in use. Don’t leave your porch light on (a particular annoyance to me when I am not so fortunate to be able to camp away from neighbors, and he/she leaves the light on, ruining my night vision for seeing night critters and star gazing). Coordinate your generator running time with the use of power-hungry appliances. For instance, schedule your showers, water heater, use of microwave, coffee grinder, and dishwashing all within a short period of time when you can run your generator to power them, rather than pull juice out of your batteries. This also charges you batteries at the same time. Time your day to match the sun, rising when it does and going to bed with it also. This cuts your light usage down considerably. If you read in bed, try using small rechargeable battery powered reading lights. You can recharge the batteries when you hook up next time and you won’t run down your house batteries with your RV’s lights. And you will probably disturb your mate less. Monitor your house batteries charge with a voltage meter so you don’t run them down too low, which can damage... Read more

A River? In the Mojave?

By Bob Difley If I never have to take another freeway it will be fine with me. Freeways are an invention of those that are in a hurry, which I try to avoid. But sometimes when you want to get from point A to point B–and if time is a factor–there may be no other way to get there than by freeway. Interstate 15 through the vast creosote and burrobush flatlands of California’s lower Mojave Desert between Barstow and Baker or Las Vegas  is hard to avoid if that is where you want to go. As I drove along I noticed an exit marked Afton which, after driving 33 miles from Barstow seemed to be the right time for a stop and area reconnaissance. Though I didn’t expect much, it was a good enough excuse to stop and stretch my legs. Read more  Read More →

Boondocking the Mojave

 This is a test for those heading south for the winter. I will ask some questions and I want you to raise your hands if it applies to your RV Lifestyle. When I’m traveling I have a destination and drive long days until I get there.  I never get distracted or stop to explore places I pass through on the way to my destination. When on the road I stop overnight at the campground or Walmart that is closest to the freeway so I can get going fast in the morning. After I settle into my winter RV resort/campground I stay put until I leave to head back north. Read more  Read More →

Southwestern deserts: More than just a warm place

By Bob Difley This is the time of year when RVers in the northern states and Canada can be divided into two groups: those that are or soon will be headed to the southwestern deserts for at least some part of the winter, and those that wish they were headed for the desert. When the cold wind blowing down from Alaska makes your ears numb, and the specter of  freezing rain and snow looms on the horizon, images of sunny skies, flowering cacti, and photos of smiling RVers in shorts and T-shirts lounging in camp chairs outside their RVs in Quartzsite, Arizona, can be powerful magnets luring us south. Read more  Read More →

High Desert Fall Destination: Valley of Fire

By Bob Difley Getting chilly? Thinking it might be time to head south? Away from that increasingly cold wind coming down out of Alaska and Canada? Or maybe you’re waiting for the holidays to come so you can spend time with family. However, if you are not tied down with family or other obligations, you might want to consider getting a head start, but instead of heading directly for your winter digs, try a different location for a week or so, a high desert location that would be too cold in mid-winter but might be downright comfortable right now. One place that comes to mind is Valley of Fire State Park in the Mojave Desert 55 miles north of Las Vegas and only six miles from Lake Mead. Valley of Fire is Nevada’s oldest and largest state park and gets its name from the the park’s red sandstone formations. This park brings out the little boy on all of us, climbing the rocks, peering into eroded caves and through holes and arches, and giving names to the odd formations–such as bee hives, elephant rock, and grand piano. In addition you can find petrified logs, big horn sheep, Indian petroglyphs, secret slot canyons, an old movie site, and a rainbow of colors in the geologic formations.  Paved scenic drives access most of the park’s attractions, but several hikes wind in and out of the strange and mysterious rocky formations. There are primitive, nicely private, first-come-first-serve campsites tucked in the rock formations and some have water and electricity... Read more

Where do Snowbirds Go Between Summer and Winter?

By Bob Difley The threat of early winter snows, sometimes arriving as early as October in the higher elevations of the Sierras, Cascades, and Coast Ranges, snowbirds, along with the feathered version of migrating birds, are starting to make plans for heading south. However, with daytime temps still topping 100 degrees in the lower desert snowbird roosts like the Coachella Valley in California, and the lower Colorado River, Phoenix, and Tucson areas of Arizona, you might want to consider heading for one of the high deserts for a month or so. Read more  Read More →

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