Marianne and her husband spend half the year boondocking in the US Southwest, and have been skulking around finding the best spots. You 'dockers know there are public sites (I list them here) for finding free campsites, and they're pretty good, but those sites all let us down here. I don't blame the sites, I blame the April snowstorm that turned access roads into inaccessible roads. This is a job for Marianne!
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| Would you like to park here... |
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| And wake up to this view of the valley? |
Or, how about parking here...
and walking a dozen steps to the creek?
We scouted out at least four sites yesterday, all from Marianne's guides, and I didn't find any of them on the online sites.
If you're intrigued, you can buy one guide of your choice for less than a night's stay at a crowded campground. If you're already sold on these guides, you can buy all five for less than two nights' stay at a crowded campground.
They arrive instantly on PDF, and are very convenient to use. She tells you if your rig will fit in any site she reviews. She even provides location coordinates and descriptions of landmarks. She tells you about cool things to see nearby. It's the whole package.
Full disclosure: Marianne didn't give me anything to say "WOW!" No discount, no freebies, nothing. I am being enthusiastic for free. She will give me a generous commission if you buy from my links, which will make me say "WOW!" again.
24 comments:
Yes and Yes and WOW and as IF I can ever get away from doctors and out of Florida so I could use these books, I will use your link and buy these books. I have put a link to this post on my desktop so I can look longingly at it every time I turn on my laptop.
Could Marianne write one on the east coast or would all thousands of miles of it clear up through New England to Canada not have enough boondocking sites to fill up 2 PDF pages??? I think this too is a 'job for Marianne'. Her "mission" should she choose to accept it.
Har! Thanks, Sherry. As for the east coast, boy, that sure is a job for someone. We did manage to find one very nice boondocking site on the Virginia border, but that was it.
We have all the books, and use them all the time.
They have found the best best places.
Well whisper to me, not anyone else, where in Virginia it was since I'm sure to be there before Texas or AZ unfortunately.
Our idea of camping involves a hotel room (full disclosure) but Scott's Dad carries around an RV like it's a turtle's shell, and we've been trying to get him to try boondocking. So far, no dice, but ya never know...
I so would love to buy these books and try out boondocking but alas, I have no RV. This spot with the creek looks like the perfect place to hang out for awhile.
After looking at those boondocking sites, I didn't see any swimming pools, golf courses or full-hookups! So, I still don't want to become a boondocker! Sorry!
Undisturbed dust.
The only footprints are your own.
The shock of your own voice breaking the silence.
Listening, and Hearing the rocks whisper.
When we find our next RV and start out part-timing instead of full-timing I will use your link to purchase. The sites you showed were awesome!! We are in Georgia now and probably won't leave the southeast for a year or two. We'll keep it in mind. Thanks for the link!!
Ah, Sedona. How will you EVER leave Sedona? It is one of the most gorgeous places on earth. The Oak Creek Canyon hike is everything everyone says it is. I hope you and Annie will stay a while and torture me with glorious pictures of the place in spring.
We will definitely have to look into those books. Don't think I was aware they were out there. I always enjoy hearing of & finding new boondocking sites. And, I especially like reading of like minded people who do enjoy & truly understand the wonders of a lifestyle the majority of folks will never be fortunate enough to experience.......
I keep hearing RVers who's blogs I follow endorsing these books. Since I definitely want to go boondocking I'll be buying them at some point down the road, and when I do I'll get them through here. :)
Just one week until I move into my Casita now, yippee! Won't be truly full-timing (traveling) in it until fall though probably. Next winter I'd love to spend boondocking in the south west, but in order to be able to pull that off I gotta figure out the location independent income thing first.
I love your creekside boondocking spot. Sure wish I'd had those books years ago when I was boondocking. I do have some great suggestions for the Kaibab NF overlooking the canyon.
Are those dinosaur tracks??? They look kind of old, don't they to you? We would love to be boondockers, but so far our record is one night without hook ups. Sure have some neat spots there, you will enjoy being there! Should I buy the books just in case we get off the beaten path? Do you go Wow really loud?
You should know that Marianne has started a new and exciting venture at www.boondockerswelcome.com. Please do yourself a favor and check this out! And then promote it on your blog!
P.S. on the site www.boondockerswelcome.com, my handle is "ilovemymotorhome". If you are ever out my way, get in touch. You make me laugh almost every day!
Beautiful pics - I like the creek!
It's a great place, Cyn. We were on a mission that day, but we still couldn't resist just chilling there.
Dean, I just joined BoondockersWelcome, and that's a good idea to promote it here. The idea of a network like that is a great one. And, thanks! I'll look you up.
Ha Russ, you'd hear my WOW all the way up there. Well, maybe not that far; now that my footprints are prehistoric I don't roar as loudly anymore. Was your one night off-grid on purpose, or was there a systems failure?
Gaelyn, we're all ears about those canyon suggestions!
Thanks, Becky! I read that you're ready to pull it into a park - things are moving along. You'll probably be able to live more cheaply now that that initial purchase is done, right?
Al and Kelly, it's a good life. Now and then, when I realize we're really doing this I get a little choked up.
Andra, it really, really is. Sedona was the seed that grew into this whole new life for us. We will definitely check out the Oak Creek hike. Is it super-strenuous? I mean, we don't have to hike all the way up the mountain to the rest area, do we?
Thanks, Mike and Gerri - I appreciate that. Now that I'm thinking about it, we did boondock in northern Georgia, in the Wildlife Management Area outside Ellijay. We took up the driveway to the (then) unused ranger weigh-in station.
Ish, great haiku!
Ha Rick, I figured you'd be a tough sell. Okay, we'll 'dock in your campsite until you come around.
RJ, they were great spots. I can't wait to check out the nearby sight sites, too.
Jes, more full disclosure, a motorhome is a lot like a hotel room. We don't like discomfort at all. A lot of our RVing friends just don't care for the idea of boondocking, but we love it.
Sherry (come closer), it was the Dick Cross Wildlife Management Area. D'oh! I just read they're charging access fees now ($4/day or $23/year).
Jean and Skip, they really have. It's especially helpful to us to know what size rigs are passable. I know they travel small, but she kept bigger rigs in mind, too.
You've convinced us! Thanks so much!
They were already on my 'to buy' list before we head south again in October....I think they are great. We don't fulltime boondock but like do do it as much as we can coming and going from Mexico. Soooo peacefull.....fantastic post!
You're welcome, Paint, and thank you.
Thanks, Contessa!
We so want to boondock, if I could just light a fire under my hubby to get our solar done. I definitely want to check out these books.
Janie, solar is the bomb. It's living the good life, I swear. Hope you guys can get it soon.
Check out a Kaibab NF map and off Forest Rd 22, which is off SR67 into the NR, Crazy Jug Pt is my favorite free camping on the rim. Have to drive a bit of gravel and it may be too early to access right now, not because of snow but trees down across the road from winter.
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