We HAD to check out boondocking... as even in our day of ever tighter rules and restrictions, RVers were saying it's out there and it's good. A favorite seems to be dispersed camping on BLM land. It worked at Quartsite...and everyone we've met who has ventured onto BLM lands has said they've had no problems...as long as you stick by the few rules. (Stay close to some kind of road and obey any posted signs.) We went online and bought an ebook that got us started at: http://www.rv-links.com/boondocking.htm I'd say it's a special kind of adventure...as you don't worry about the cost. The first picture was taken May 28, 2011, at Settlement Reservoir, in a canyon above Tooele, Utah. Bob caught the only fish in the lack (no one else got one) and I climbed the ridge of the hill in the foreground and "ran like a wild horse". Our camping spot was a few miles up the canyon right on a perfect mountain stream, down away from the road in a shady grove of elms. We stayed two nights before it SNOWED. The branches were resting so heavily on our new RV that when we pulled out it twisted up our TV antenna like it was thin wire. (Yes, Bob forgot to retract it.) We parked across the street until snow removal equipment dug and plowed us out. Next we tried the free camping at Grantsville Reservoir, down in the nearby (warmer) valley. We were surprised that there were nice tables, grills and a restroom. The roads were dirt, but the scenery (with the new snow) was excellent. In the middle of the night a drunken "cowboy" started sliding his pickup around our RV at high speeds. He had been sliding in the mud earlier with his ATV, along with his son. But a big truck sliding our way was enough to make us get up and move out of the campground. We parked down by the water. The fish were cold and went deep, so we went home to warm our toes.
The call came June 4, 2011, while we were camping at Deer Creek Resevoir near Heber, Utah. We were to report to Spruces Campground immediately to help remove snow and get the park ready for visitors. They gave us this fun John Deere Gator to navigate the snow banks. And Bob jumped on the Kaboda (front-end loader/back hoe) to see if he could budge the frozen remains of our record snowfall. You can see our rig behind Bob, in the pine trees and aspens. We sold would from this site up until 10 pm... or later. One night a camper woke us up to report she couldn't blow up her air matress. As Bob always says, "We're here to help." I got out my b once the snow was cleared from the roads...and had a great time checking our assigned sites on the nice paved roads. We became expert in cleaning bathrooms, firepits, and in blowing roads and pads clear of even pine needles. The moose and deer appeared as the snow melted. It was paradise.
