Boondocking
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Rancho Notso Grande
Long hauls are tough with a 2-year-old on board, so we like to break up the drive wherever we can. On the way from Soledad Canyon to Yosemite Lakes, we found another Harvest Host for an overnight stop near Hanford, CA. Rancho Notso Grande is an orchard and berry farm with a roadside farm stand and a steady stream of boondocking visitors. The owner took us on his golf cart for a tour of the farm and a sampling of his wares. It was too early in the season for pick-your-own berries, but he offered an assortment of wines, jams, vinegar, and meat from lamb raised on the farm. We…
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Grand Canyon
After our stay in Verde Valley, we headed back through Flagstaff, then west on I-40 toward Williams. There, we turned north toward the south rim of the Grand Canyon. Our goal was to find a suitable dispersed site near the south entrance of the park. I knew there would be patchy snow and potentially muddy conditions, but I was hoping at least one of the National Forest roads along AZ-64 would be open and passable. If all else failed, there are a few private RV parks nearby that would be alright for a few nights. As
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White Sands
From our camp near Carlsbad Cavern, we headed north for a quick pit stop at Brantley Lake State Park to dump and fill our tanks, then west, over the Sierra Blanca range to White Sands. I had hoped to stay a night or two in the Lincoln National Forest outside of Cloudcroft, NM, but after speaking with the local ranger station we determined the ground was likely still covered in snow or at least very saturated. So, instead we climbed the 8000+ ft pass at night and descended back down the other side to Alamogordo, NM and Holloman Air Force Base without ever getting a good look at the area.…
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Carlsbad Cavern
Carlsbad Caver is a massive cave in southeastern New Mexico. It has incredible stalagmite, stalactite, and columns formed by gypsum and water. We stayed at the Chosa BLM Campground.
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Eastern Kentucky
We did a loop to meet up with friends. Paintsville Lake State Park Red River Gorge Little Lick Campground
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Mt Elbert Forebay
After a quick night at Clear Creek Reservoir, we headed back to the Twin Lakes area to find a more scenic campsite. By noon on Sunday, most of the campers had packed up and left. Despite numerous available campsites, we were hoping to take the place of the Sprinter van who had beat us to a spot by mere seconds around sunset the night before. When we arrived to the location, we were disappointed to see the Sprinter van still parked in the site. We pulled into a gravel lot just down the road. It had several rough dirt roads leading to additional campsites, but two RV’s occupied what seemed…
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Rabbit Valley
We stopped at a BLM campground near Fruita, CO, just past the border from Utah.
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DIY Solar
As part of our new RVing lifestyle, we really wanted the ability to get off-grid and dry camp. On the other hand, we needed a reliable source of AC power for the computers and internet we use for work, but the idea of running a generator for eight hours a day was out of the question. The solution was to add solar panels to the roof of the RV and an all-in-one power station capable of solar charging, high wattage AC output, and enough battery storage to get us through the day.
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Union Valley ’22
For our first official camping trip in the new RV, we took it somewhere that has been part of my family tradition for over 30 years. The annual camping trip to Union Valley lined up perfectly with our new purchase, but there was just one problem. The camper we chose is a Behemoth, and I am a total n00b to driving a truck and trailer. This year was different because our traditional campground was closed for renovations. Instead we booked a large group site at a campground on the other side of the lake. Still, there were already several RVs in the lot from our group and the campground advises…
