Boondocking.   (Dry Camping or parking anywhere without or with limited amenities)

We did a 3 day shakeout camp in the Alabama Hills area in California off the 395 early on that was an eye opener to some of the fun challenges in boondocking.  Since then I’ve added some pretty good solar for power needs, added some toys, and also adjusted expectations and plans for how to handle when we’re out in the “wild.”

So, after being in the same RV park almost 6 months helping to get our daughter and future son-in-law situated and relocated, it was time to get out there again.  I picked a dispersed camping spot on Riffe Lake in Washington that was, amazingly, only about 40 minutes away, and it was a treasure.  Very few people, lovely lakeside camping, great weather, (after the first couple overcast days) a pretty steady cooling breeze during the hotter days.  I was aiming/hoping for 7 days, but the first few overcast days really put a damper on the battery reserve and the solar never caught up.   We did last for 6 days, but had to jump through a few hurdles to get packed and gone with no power.  (We really should have left after 5)

I keep telling myself – only because it’s true – that everything is a learning experience and we are still really pretty much rookies at this.  If something offers no challenges, is it really worth doing?  As long as you try to have fun, stay positive and “zen,” it’s hard to go wrong.

And the mea culpa…   I know it’s been a bit too long since my last update – as a number of people have pointedly informed me.  My bad…  :)   There’s a lot to stay on top of in the early stages, and I sometimes get mentally tied up in all the threads going on and lose a little oomph for getting it down on “paper.”  I’m striving to do better.

One thing that I will admit has been a much larger than anticipated adjustment; the woeful state of internet availability on the road.  Home-based smokin’ internet and WiFi has really spoiled me.  I’ve been skirting with the limits daily on the hotspot sharing on my mobile data plan, and WiFi is considerably less than spectacular at the parks we’ve been to so far.   This does not help my ability to update a website with lots of photo’s and text adventures.

I’m working on it though, and it’s been… interesting getting re-acquainted with McDonald’s lately. Having never been a McDonald’s person, and I only vaguely recall going a few times as a kid.  But, McD’s has free WiFi at all their locations – and there are a bunch – and at a good number of them it’s really pretty rockin’.   All drinks sizes are a buck, the people watching there is first rate, and it’s a regular hangout for many people getting some WiFi time in.  (So it’s not just me)  :)

And just to let you know, I do have notes and plans for some back fill posts on places we’ve been recently and I’ll work those in soonest.