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 →

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 →

Six Words About Your RV Life

Hello intrepid travelers, Calling all wordsmiths, writers, witty individuals or families…can you condense your RV and camping experiences and expectations into six words? I double dog dare ya to share Six Words About Your RV Life!! Have you heard of the six word memoirs project from SMITH Magazine? In 2006 the fine minds behind SMITH Magazine offered aspiring writers, poets, those with something to say, and plain ole witty folk an opportunity to tell their story in six words. It’s said that Hemingway did just that when challenged to write a six word story. He came up with this: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”  Thousands of others from the famous to the neighbor-next-door have submitted their six word story in several SMITH Magazine projects including a series on Love & Heartbreak. And this got me thinking about my own six word memoirs…stories about my life on the road, as an RVer. My motto and the RV Cooking Show’s tag line is a mere six words – “Love to travel. Love to eat.” I quickly realized we all have a story to tell, a short ditty to share – especially when it comes to our RV and camping travels. So, with much anticipation and excitement I am delighted to introduce a special six word series – Six Words About Your RV Life. Think about your adventures and see if you can craft a six word memoir about your RV vacation, lifestyle, camping experiences. Leave your six words on my RVCookingShow blog or right here on this RV.net blog posting – Six... Read more

Coyote Camping in the Southwestern Deserts II

By Bob Difley In last week’s blog I described how to find dispersed boondocking campsites (coyote camping) in the American deserts. Now that you know how to find coyote camping spots, the following tips will help to enhance and expand your desert boondocking experience: The best way to find dispersed campsites in the desert is to explore first in your tow or toad, checking the road surface for soft spots, lethal potholes, and muffler-killing rocks. Try to find roads that follow the less-eroded high ground rather than up a wash, where the surface could be sandy and soft. You can often find “desert pavement” on the higher surfaces, a naturally occurring tile or cobblestone-like surface that is very hard and supportive of even heavy rigs. And you are likely to have better views from the higher ground. Choose a spot, if available, that has been camped in before, rather than destroying desert plants in creating a new site. Haul as much water in Jerry Jugs or inflatable blatters (available at Camping World or RV and boating supplystores) with you as you can carry. Dump these into your fresh water tank as it goes down to give you extended staying time. Buy the type of sewer cap that has a fitting for a garden hose, which you can then lead off away from your site for your gray water to drain into (dig a deep hole and cover outflow with a layer of sand after each use). Never dump your black water except into an approved dump station). Solar panels work great in the desert, even... Read more

Coyote Camping in the Southwestern Deserts

By Bob Difley BLM undesignated campsites near Why, AZ Boondocking around Quartzsite and on land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) LTVAs (described last week in Desert Solitaire II) is an easy and effective introduction to desert boondocking and snowbirding. Support services and supplies are plentiful, and the great gathering of veteran boondockers, akin to the mountain man rendezvous of 200 years ago, stand ready to help out if needed. Read more  Read More →

Desert Solitaire II

By Bob Difley Last week in Desert Solitaire I said I would write about how to boondock in the desert, in both communal locations like Quartzsite, and in solitary sites under a lone desert willow. Either way, camping in the open desert on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, rather than in a designated campground, is what lures many snowbirds to the desert in winter. Most RVers call this camping boondocking, though in Quartzsite, you could end up even more crowded than in a hook-up campground. But the choice is yours. The options offered by boondocking allow for groups of friends to circle 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. Here again, 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. Quartzsite RVers also can make the decision of choosing a dispersed campsite, which is essentially any open piece of desert land that fits your personal requirements, that is close to town–which will contain the most RVs–or one that is further away and therefore more solitary. A unique aspect of the Quartzsite area is that there are several hard compacted dirt roads... Read more

Desert Solitaire (Tribute to the original desert rat, Ed Abbey)

By Bob Difley Before my wife and I began fulltiming we took several week-end and Christmas holiday vacation trips wrapped in the chilly blanket of the Northern California winter. One particular trip we camped in a state park redwood grove and there was no one else there except for a ranger or two passing through. In fact, the ranger had to open the restrooms for us, since they didn’t expect any campers and had kept them locked. No heat either. We decided then that when we got to fulltiming we were going to spend our winters in the southwestern deserts, where it was warm and the sun shone most of the time. And when it infrequently rained, it didn’t last long. And so we did. Read more  Read More →

Is Boondocking Safe?

A concern of many first time boondockers–or those considering it–is the question of personal safety. There are many who claim that you are as safe if not safer out boondocking then you are in just about any other public place. I am one of them. Others would not venture out without a weapon, a firearm being weapon of choice. Neither side is 100% right or wrong. I suppose I would start carrying a handgun if I felt really and honestly threatened—not just imagined–with violence when boondocking. Or if it was that bad out there, I would probably find some other place to camp or instead go to a designated campground where others where nearby. But in my 35 years of RVing and 17 years of serious boondocking as a fulltimer, I have never had a problem. I imagined I had a problem a few times, but they turned out to be unwarranted fears. In contrast, others can tell story after story of how their possession of a gun has prevented robbery, holdup, breaking and entering, assault, mugging, and rape. When you hear these stories, consider the source, and check the facts. Then take whatever position that makes you comfortable. If there have been verifiable stories of assault on RVers when boondocking, they have been few, and there are certainly very long odds of it happening to you. Theft, maybe. But again, not a huge threat. Most thefts have resulted probably because of carelessness by the RVer. Nevertheless, to be prudent when boondocking, follow these guidelines whenever... Read more

VIDEO: Wild Alaska from behind the scenes

VIDEO: Wild Alaska from behind the scenes with Brian Brawdy A few years back, and on assignment for a local CBS affiliate, I had the adventure of a lifetime in Denali National Park in Alaska. With a Lance Camper was my mobile base camp, I traveled throughout the park on a “photographers permit” and was able to experience some pretty, amazing terrains, wildlife and weather. This experience being my first in an RV, I was obviously hooked from that point forward. Photographer/videographer Michael Mauro shot the footage you are about to see. Although the audio/script is a bit dated, the video footage of flora and fauna is timeless. Be advised: These are wild animals, acting wild. To learn more about Brian Brawdy and Conservation thru Exploration, please visit BuriedLogic.com  Read More →

Get Really Lost

By Bob Difley Last week in Get Lost II I said I would  Read More →

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