Boondocking Pictures

[Overland]

Big Bend - one of the gravel pit campsites down by the Rio Grande

[Nancy K.]

Anything east of the Mississippi?

[SeaDawg]

On 11/20/2020 at 12:12 AM, Jim_Oker said:

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

Beautiful photos.

We had a similar experience with the gnats. Early May. We built a fire, and I wore long pants, long sleeves, a cap and a hoodie, and still got enough bites to trigger an allergic reaction. 

The park is beautiful,  but I  would only return in colder weather before the gnats are out .

[Jim_Oker]

3 minutes ago, SeaDawg said:

I  would only return in colder weather before the gnats are out

My second trip was mid-October a few years later. No problems with the bugs. Mozzies, biting gnats, midges, and brine flies come out from  spring through  early fall depending on the species. The midges were what I'm still washing  off my van years  later from the causeway drive, but the mozzies and gnats were annoying at the campsite  (not as bad up on the  hill  where  I went to shoot most  of my photos though, thanks to a bit of a breeze up there).

[DavidS]

Last month we camped with some friends in Castle Valley, UT, which is east of Moab, in our two travel trailers. This was socially distant camping – eating outside at separate tables and wearing masks when needed. We decided to have the two trailers antiparallel, so that the doors would face each other, and the awnings, rugs, and tables would be in between the two campers. 

The fall colors were really nice!

 

[DavidS]

This is Goose Island Campground, just east of Moab. We got a lovely campsite right on the Colorado River. This is a BLM campground, so only a picnic table and pit toilets; this qualifies as boondocking in my book. 

[DavidS]

This is Valley of the Gods in southern Utah, dispersed camping on BLM land. 

 

Edited November 25, 2020 by DavidS

[Ray and Susan Huff]

On 11/23/2020 at 5:38 PM, BlueHighways said:

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.

 

We don't have to boondock to get up close and personal with the wildlife.  A few days ago we caught this owl perched in the Maples above our water tank.  This afternoon, our resident elk herd came by to show off this year's calves.

[Jim_Oker]

1 hour ago, Ray and Susan Huff said:

our resident elk herd came by to show off this year's calves.

Very nice. We saw the herd along the Umpqua on our way to the coast back in  mid October. That's a pretty  drive.

[Overland]

16 hours ago, DavidS said:

Last month we camped with some friends in Castle Valley, UT, which is east of Moab

That looks like a beautiful spot. Were you on BLM land or is that a primitive campground?  How easy is it to get to Arches from there?

[DavidS]

1 hour ago, Overland said:

That looks like a beautiful spot. Were you on BLM land or is that a primitive campground?  How easy is it to get to Arches from there?

That was private land in Castle Valley. Our friends are going to build a house on the land. There are some nice BLM sites further up the road beyond Castle Valley, on what is called the La Sal Mountain Loop Road.

It is probably 30-40 minutes to Arches. 

[Time2Go!]

We had our first boondocking experience this past Friday when returning to Texas from picking up our Oliver. It was a short overnight stop through Harvest Hosts (our first time using them) at Melrose Plantation in Melrose, LA. Just parked in their parking lot and the next morning after breakfast we took a tour of the plantation before heading home. It was a fun stop with lots of history. And look at the size of the 150 year old trees with resurrection fern growing on them. 

[topgun2]

Thanks for the lovely pics - particularly that first one!

So, how'd it go?  Any problems?  Certainly that one week delay paid off.

Bill

[Mike and Carol]

5 hours ago, Time2Go! said:

We had our first boondocking experience this past Friday when returning to Texas from picking up our Oliver. It was a short overnight stop through Harvest Hosts (our first time using them) at Melrose Plantation in Melrose, LA.

Some of the best spots we’ve camped at were without any hookups!  Great pictures.  Isn’t it nice to have the flexibility to do self-contained camping?  😃 Mike

[IL_Travelers]

Wonderful photos!  Thank you for sharing!  We are eager to try Harvest Hosts when our Ollie arrives.  

[Time2Go!]

18 hours ago, topgun2 said:

Thanks for the lovely pics - particularly that first one!

So, how'd it go?  Any problems?  Certainly that one week delay paid off.

Bill

Bill,

It was a great trip! We stopped in Little Rock on the way out and there was still tons of snow on the ground. Highways were good but side streets were icy and dangerous at points. After leaving LR heading to Hohenwald it was super foggy and you couldn't see more than 2 car lengths in front at times. DCSP was beautiful and I wouldn't mind going back there when we have more time. There was still snow on the ground there as well. Next we headed to Orange Beach/Gulf Shores, AL to visit friends for a couple of days where I got to put my toes in the sand and surf - that was heaven after the last few week's weather in TX. Again through Mobile it was really foggy. We stopped there to let a potential buyer have a tour of the new Ollie. He warned us early about the fog. Finally we stopped in Melrose, LA on the way home at the plantation. I think my husband really enjoyed just pulling in and pulling out without having to hook up, block or anything else. We will definitely look for opportunities to boondock in the future.

Cindy

[Ray and Susan Huff]

Thanks for sharing pics of the plantation.  The buildings are amazing . . . . . especially the log houses.

We have a log house on our SW Oregon ranch . . . . . still occupied . . . . . though it isn't as old as those you shared.

 

[Jim_Oker]

We spent last week out at the coast of the Olympic National Park at the Kalaloch Beach campground, which is "dry camping" (no hookups) i.e. "boondocking" for the sake of this thread. We scored a sweet bluff-edge site overlooking the beach. The campground is currently "first come first served" but changes to reserved sites later today or tomorrow as they start their "high season" policy. Hopefully it will remain FFS in the off season forever as it's a nice place to head to in the colder months (which often aren't *that* much colder out at our coast versus in summer!) when the forecast is half decent. I miss the degree of spontaneity we used to have and hope we retain at least some of that forever!! There's lots to do in the area both along the shore as well as inland in the temperate evergreen rainforest which has some HUGE trees and tangled undergrowth and wildlife and water lots and lots of water. I hope folks don't mind the major photo dump - I had time on my hands and a few options for cameras 😄

 

Oh, and dogs are allowed on the beaches near Kalaloch, and there are a few trails in the adjacent National Forest near Lake Quinault where you can take them as well. Otherwise they are not allowed on trails in the National Park around there though.

[topgun2]

Jim - 

I, for one, certainly do not mind those photos - very nicely done!

Bill

[SeaDawg]

Beautiful photos. We love your area.  Hope to return, maybe next year.

Thanks for sharing!

[Jim_Oker]

4 minutes ago, SeaDawg said:

Hope to return, maybe next year.

I hope to meet you  in person whenever  you are around the region.

[rideandfly]

Beautiful captured shots of the area!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Patriot]

Looks like a beautiful area! Great photos and thank you for posting up!

[John E Davies]

Jim, I love that Kalaloch area when it isn’t raining or too crazy busy in the high season, it looks as if you went a few miles north to Ruby Beach. That is simply glorious. It is one of two places in the USA that I want my ashes scattered, the other is White Crack CG in Canyonlands NP, my heirs can take their pick…

Scary though during a big negative tide, my wife and son went waaaaay the heck out onto the sand, I stayed back, I have this innate fear of huge sleeper or tsunami waves…. you can just see them in the very center of the pic. It would be a very long way to run.

BTW it is pronounced “Clay-Lock”. Two equal syllables…. visitors should be aware that gas stations are scarce, and the ones inside Olympic NP are insanely expensive. Just outside the Park boundaries they are just a little expensive, use Gas Buddy, don’t pay an extra 40%…

John Davies

Spokane WA

[Jim_Oker]

2 minutes ago, John E Davies said:

my wife and som went way the he k out onto the sand, I stayed back, I have this innate fear of huge sleeper waves

Yeah, when the tide is way out but  incoming it can be surprising how quickly a two foot high flow of water crosses a hundred yards or so toward the land. It's not zero risk on outgoing tide but the risk is  for  sure  lower, especially if you watch several  wave sets come through to see what's  going on. But  yeah sneaker waves are real. We really enjoyed walking both Ruby and Beach 4 during  this stay, and of course the beach right at the  campground was handy for  several nice  walks. I think I like Second Beach even a bit more than Ruby but now I'm splitting hairs I suppose,  and I can't  take my dog there. There are some beaches  between Bandon and the CA border that I am fully smitten with but it's a MUCH  longer  drive  from  home. Will be heading down there  (with reservations at Cape  Blanco and a few other spots in-between here  and there for before  and  after) in late  October when  the weather is often surprisingly awesome on the coast. The beaches down along the  Samuel Boardman corridor are pretty  wild and of course the beach at  Bandon is super photogenic. 

Here's a pic from  Second Beach  (currently closed due to  being on tribal  land, due to COVID concerns btw!) four or five winters ago, when I  was staying at nearby Mora campground, which used to be FFS all year but  now is on the reservations season along with Kalaloch Beach CG during high season 😞. Mora is also "boondocking"  per the definition being used here.