Boondocking Pictures

**Jim_Oker** · November 19, 2020

Here another of those breakfast spots. On this trip I'd camped the night before in a very nice FFS campground way out near one of the points in the Island of the Sky unit of Canyonlands NP. This is a nice pullout with a killer view in Deadhorse Point State Park. The second shot is what I got up bloody early to go photograph - the clouds and morning colors cooperated nicely on this morning (it doesn't always work out like that - kind of like fishing). Both are lovely parks. On another trip there I camped for two nights in a reserved site in Deadhorse Point SP in a campground that had hookups. In both cases all my breakfasts were out and about.

Edited March 6, 2021 by Jim_Oker

**Jim_Oker** · November 19, 2020

And this is a camp spot (no hookups) just inside the Island of the Sky Unit, quite close to the Horse thief campground mentioned above

Edited November 19, 2020 by Jim_Oker

**BackofBeyond** · November 19, 2020

Boondocking, and remote FS campgrounds usually have wildlife nearby,

So, how about some wildlife - these were in the area of our camp, in the camp, or on the entrance access. the Bison were somewhat intimidating - leaving the campsite, we had to wait for the herd to move on - they had no concern for the big white thing next to them. Free range cattle drives too!

Edited November 19, 2020 by BackofBeyond

**Mattnan** · November 20, 2020

Awesome Thread!!!!! I have never been to these areas and we are hopeful to go explore west Texas, NM, AZ, and Southern UT starting in mid February through April. The covid conditions are making us hesitant this year. This is great inspiration thanks so much for sharing these photos!!!!

**Jim_Oker** · November 20, 2020

Here are some shots from Bridger Bay Campground in Antelope Island SP on the Great Salt Lake near Layton, north of SLC. I've used it as a stopover a few times when doing the long haul from near Seattle down to canyon country in southern UT and northern AZ. By this point in the drive - my second night in - I'm ready for a not absolutely full day of driving and want some exercise and beauty. This fits the bill quite well. The camp sites have stunning views across part of the lake, and there's a little unofficial trail up to a headland/ridge that has amazing views out over the lake, and enough walking to feel like I've gotten some exercise and have worked the kinks out from sitting so long. The first time I was there, in mid-late May, there were SO many bugs hitting my windshield and the rest of the front of the van while I drove out the loooong causeway that connects the island to the mainland. Don't say I didn't warn you ;-). There are pit toilets and not much else - possibly some water spigots but I forget. There are showers down the road at a day use beach area that you can drive up to and use at night.

On my second trip there, some of the island's buffalo herd were grazing not far from camp. When I came back down from my evening hike up to that ridge and its views out to amazing thunderheads building on the Nevada side mirrored in a super glassy Great Salt Lake, they had moved in across the trail. I have no interest in being charged by a buffalo so I walked cross country through the sage and other brush in a wide arc around them back down to the campground, watching them warily as they watched me warily. I fortunately passed their test. It was fun to wake up to them chowing down fairly close to my van the next morning.

One of these years I'll stay two nights and do some longer hiking on the island, which has many miles of trails.

Edited November 20, 2020 by Jim_Oker

**Jim_Oker** · November 20, 2020

This is not a great shot of the campground, but this is from Needles Outpost just outside the edge of the Needles unit of Canyonlands National Park. I was making my itinerary up as I went in late October 2016, and the campground there inside the National Park was full when I got there in mid afternoon, but I was able to score a site just a few miles back here at the Outpost, which is off the grid. Remember to bring your own water though they do truck in tanks for the showers. This private CG is carved out from a very pretty setting up against some red rock cliffs and buttes, and looking out toward the features of Needles. I was happy to be situated very close to the entrance so I could start a looong and potentially hot hike very early the next morning so as to mostly beat the heat. The hiking there is just tremendous - I did the Chesler Park/Joint loop which I can highly recommend. You overlander types might like the road to the back side of this hike from Beef Basin - looks like a pretty remote feeling 4WD venture from what I could see on my edge of it. The twilight picture is from my camp site at the Needles Outpost and the rest from the sweet hike the next day.

**Jim_Oker** · November 20, 2020

This is the Mattole Campground, run by the BLM, on the north edge of the Lost Coast in California. It's a primitive campground with one pit toiled and a well with a hand pump IIRC. The sites are sort of dug into the dune barrier that backs up against the beach, which runs for miles and miles - in fact going south is a multi-night backpack route across the road-free Lost Coast. I hiked south about 3.5 miles to the remote Punta Gorda lighthouse while my wife and our friends biked over the quite mountainous road I'd driven to get here. Either way is quite steep and windy and can be closed due to washouts or downed trees so check status if you go. I really LOVED the feeling here. Campendium reports someone getting a 35 foot fifth week into here but all I can report having achieved is an 18 foot van.

**Jim_Oker** · November 20, 2020

This is Westport-Union Landing State Beach Campground on the northern Mendocino county coast (CA) shortly before 101 heads inland and uphill to the north tp reach the awesome Avenue of the Giants State Park. This is a primitive but super well situated campground, actually a series of three little campgrounds in a row, set right on the bluff between the highway and the Pacific, with a nice small series of sea stacks right there. But as you can see in the photo of our friends setting up the tent they were using on this trip (we were in our van), it was WINDY as the coast is apt to be. I watched one tent that hadn't been staked out well (or at all) blowing and tumbling down the beach as we were setting up.

**AndrewK** · November 20, 2020

Dry camping today in the Alabama Hills, CA, at Tuttle Creek BLM Campground with the creek two feet away from the trailer!

**Ray and Susan Huff** · November 20, 2020

These photos are killing me!!!

It will be hard to keep me home once we have our Ollie . . . . hoping then to share some of our Boondock venues.

**BackofBeyond** · November 21, 2020

21 hours ago, Mattnan said:

Awesome Thread!!!!! I have never been to these areas and we are hopeful to go explore west Texas, NM, AZ, and Southern UT starting in mid February through April. The covid conditions are making us hesitant this year. This is great inspiration thanks so much for sharing these photos!!!!

Well - In our experience - its fairly easy to go about (in an RV) the US under Covid - just follow common sense and the guidelines. 2021 looks like a better environment.

Closures are usually posted on most of the reservation websites, boondocking is very social distanced.

Utah is virtually one giant campground. NM a little more controlled, Texas - lots of place to chose. Campendium is your friend.

Enjoy!

RB

**John E Davies** · November 21, 2020

One thing that most people do not consider is that even if you are in the boonies, if you do get really sick with the virus, you will have to deal with the local walk in clinic or a really small rural hospital. Not only will they not have very many resources, you will be needlessly stressing their very limited capacity. I am not saying don’t camp, but do stay fairly close to a major highway, do have an emergency plan to get you promptly to a major city, in case things go downhill quickly. You really don’t want to pay for a medi-vac flight from say fifty miles back in the Grand Staircase/ Escalante NM to Salt Lake City.... and be sure to have some kind of satellite communicator, for when you are in trouble and there are no bars on your cell phone, and buy the optional search and rescue insurance.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/10/22/926264615/covid-19-surges-in-rural-communities-overwhelming-some-local-hospitals

And understand this, if you travel with a companion and you catch the virus, he too will probably get sick shortly afterwards, so there goes your backup..... if you are both over 60, you are at much greater risk than those younger folks. Be very careful, always. It’s a killer.

John Davies

Spokane WA

Edited November 21, 2020 by John E Davies

**Jim_Oker** · November 21, 2020

Well said John. Everyone has to decide these things for themselves but... Between what you note and finding out I need to have some oral surgery done soon I've bailed on some plans. Thankfully I live in a place where I can do lots of great things including camping without getting far from a pretty good medical network that is currently a lot less stressed than those in many other parts of the country. I won't pretend I'm not disappointed but right now this is a good sort of problem to have I think.

Leaving this time to going through the archives and share the stuff above (among other things) 😃

Edited November 21, 2020 by Jim_Oker

**Jim_Oker** · November 21, 2020

One other bit of planning I'd add to what John wrote about mitigating the risks you might have if you get the virus is to have a pulse oximeter with you. Get a sense of your baseline and how to measure yourself and if you de get symptoms this may give you early warning if you may have a cliff edge coming. I've read that often there's a drop in blood oxygen before the person notices trouble breathing. If you see such a drop you know it's time to go seek good care asap. Not an awful idea even if you're staying at home for that matter but I think more important if you do decide to go through with a road trip. You can search to find content on using these for this purpose.

**John E Davies** · November 21, 2020

Jim, can you recommend a decent pulse oximeter? There are swarms of them and there must be a lot of junk - can you please recommend a specific one that is suitable for routine home monitoring?

Thanks.

John Davies

Spokane WA

**Jim_Oker** · November 21, 2020

21 minutes ago, John E Davies said:

Jim, can you recommend a decent pulse oximeter?

I have no particularly good knowledge - when I started looking for one (based reading what pulmonologists were starting to say as they got some handle on the "crashing" of patients and how to try to ward it off), there were of course many not in stock. This one seemed to at least have decent reviews and it was available, and so far it's worked for periodic baseline testing at home afaik (I have not calibrated it against equipment at my doc's office for instance). The readings seem to be in a reasonable range. The pulse checks out with what I get with a finger on the wrist and a watch, and the O2 reading goes up if I take several deep breaths and has been happily in the mid-high nineties. I think even if it's not super well calibrated it will be clear if one of us has a significant drop while sympotmatic. And it's simple to use and easy to read. Innovo IP900AP. And it's not very expensive given what it may do for you.

The articles I read in places like the NYT mentioned that this sort of relatively cheap made-for-home-use oximeter tends to be fairly decent, but they also stress that if you get low readings that these should be confirmed by a doctor since there are some things that can impact accuracy (and don't freak out before your low reading is confirmed by a medical pro who knows what they're doing!). That said, we've just followed the directions that came with this thing and have yet to see worryingly low readings (I'll leave it to folks to find their info on interpreting the readings since I'm not a doctor! though here's one article for starters).

Edited November 21, 2020 by Jim_Oker

BlueHighways · November 24, 2020

Meanwhile - back east, here's some swamp love. This is a Harvest Host at Breaux Bridge, LA. We stayed there last week on our way to SETX. Give me a couple of years to catch up! Love your out-west pics!

By the way, to get a gator to smile for the picture, you have to tickle them underneath their arm - now THAT'S and adventure.

Edited November 24, 2020 by BlueHighways

**Jim_Oker** · November 24, 2020

6 hours ago, BlueHighways said:

By the way, to get a gator to smile for the picture, you have to tickle them underneath their arm - now THAT'S and adventure.

Nice shots! Years ago when I was doing some work with the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans, the head of exhibits there took one of my co-workers and me out to the boardwalk into the Bayou Jean Lafitte. Being a zoo guy he had lots to say, but the most memorable thing was when he pointed to three relatively small gators. He said those are the ones you want to be careful of because they are too young to be smart enough to not mess with us. What a beautiful place - I'd love to kayak some of the bayous.

**Overland** · November 24, 2020

These are all from our trip the past three weeks:

BLM land just south of Sevilleta Wildlife Preserve in NM -

Mojave Preserve, dirt road several miles inside the southwest entrance -

This is the view from a short hiking trail off the CG at Organ Pipe, which Mike mentioned above. What a great little campground.

I think this is FS 761 outside of Sedona. It shows up as Loy Butte Road on Apple maps, but I don't think it's labeled as that elsewhere. It's a popular road to camp on (I think the only one near Sedona), so finding a spot can seem frustrating, but keep driving and your patience will be rewarded.

Not a great photo, but this is Zepata Falls BLM CG just outside of Great Sand Dunes. Really nice, but a very punishing three mile road to get there.

And I don't have a photo, but I'd also highly recommend the campground at Natural Bridges in Bear's Ears. It's small and the spaces look tight, but the Elite II will fit. But then there's also ample backcountry camping available on pretty much any road outside of the park.

Edited November 24, 2020 by Overland