July, 2021
On this 2021 “boondocking” camping trip, I had been out and about in my perfect white truck and my perfect white trailer for about 11 days, but it was time to head home and pick up the mail, pay bills, do the laundry, touch up the flower beds around my home, and take care of a few other chores.
This trip was my first boondocking experience … camping on private property with no electrical or water hookups.
Thanks to my incomparable sister and my incomparable niece in Darrington for boondocking spot #1. They are the very best. I love them dearly. 🙂
My heartfelt thanks to the women who own the property north of Lake Goodwin who were my first “Boondockers Welcome” hosts, so generous and helpful hosts, spot #2 on this trip.
And a very grateful thank-you to Sandy in Bremerton for that “Boondockers Welcome” spot in her peaceful, quiet neighborhood … for her johnny-at-the-spot dealing with the noisy neighbors … and for her friendship. This was spot #3 on this trip.
I will be back to each of those spots, you can count on it.
But this morning at the end of this boondocking camping trip, it was time to hitch up and head home.
I was relaxed and happy. Rather than the big I-5 freeway home, I took the slow, long way home, heading south along back country roads, slowly meandering south from the Bremerton area, then east, then west, then south some more, and I finally headed east on Highway 101 to my home in the greater Olympia, WA, area.
Oh boy, I was so eager to head out again! Stay tuned, another camping adventure is coming soon.
What great adventures you have Ann. We love this blog. Sometimes I hate to ask you to keep spending your money on campng trips (and this blog) but I sure hope you keep on doing it. From a couple of old geezers who probably won’t get out there anymore, thank you!
Tim, I love it when people like this blog. That’s payment enough for me. Particularly since I’m going camping anyway, even if I didn’t produce this blog, because I love camping and seeing the world. But thank you … you are very gracious and thoughtful. I’ll be an old geezer too who can’t get out and about soon enough. Then the two of you and I can share tall tales. 🙂
At the end of a good camping trip, we never hurry home. We take our time just like you did on this trip, Ann. Why ruin peace of mind and a restful trip by joining the rat race on a freeway? Good choice!
Jim
I like that Jim. When I first started camping with a trailer, I always hurried home at the end of a trip in order to get my chores at home done. Now, I realize the chores can wait. After all, what if I were still out camping for another few days? The chores can wait.
Can’t imagine you being so troubling that anyone would not want you back. 🙂 Looking forward to your next adventure.
Thanks Lori. 🙂 Another adventure coming soon.
I sooooo want to do some boondocking, somewhere quiet…with NO NEIGHBORS! LOL My camping experiences have always had people in the next site…even our ‘rustic’ sites with no water and no electricity still have neighbors. I want to see the stars in a dark place and listen to the birds and the wind and night sounds (I THINK night sounds, sometimes those are scary). But I don’t think I want to do it with a tent. So it will have to wait until someday when I might have a trailer!
The boondockers welcome group…do they get a fee or anything? What motivates them to allow people to camp on their land?
Oh Dawn, I’m sure with you about wanting somewhere quiet. It’s one reason I go camping early in the season, and late in the season, even if the weather isn’t the best … that just means that only “real” campers are out and about, and pretty much all of them/us are looking for peace and quiet too. And even during the summer, I go camping from Sunday afternoon/evening until Friday morning … same reason.
Go online and search for “boondockers welcome” … their website should pop up in the results. For we who don’t own land to offer to others, we pay more (I think it’s $50/year?). But for people who own land and offer it, they pay a fraction of that, but they too can use the program the same as the rest of us. When I was boondocked north of Lake Goodwin, the women said on their website info that they did not offer electricity … but after I pulled in and we chatted a bit, they did offer to run a 100-foot power cord out to me with 15 amps … at no charge of course. I took them up on that! But on the morning when I left, after being there 5 days, I handed them an envelope with $25 cash in it, $5/day for the electricity. They were surprised and so pleased! And tried to give the money back to me, but I insisted. So there are little ways to help your hosts, either with a small payment, or maybe a little work around the place, or maybe just your friendship and making sure you are quiet and clean.
Here’s to peace, and quiet, and super clear and dark night skies. And to safety.
I used to camp in a tent, long ago, but at some point I stopped feeling safe, when I was in camp but mostly when I was out driving around and I had no way to lock up my possessions back at the campsite. So I stopped camping. I love this blog, it’s almost as good as going camping. Thank you Ann!
Me too Fran, tenting was the thing years ago. But all of my tent camping was done with lots of friends around, or at least a few friends (and a dog or two, like my friend Fletcher). So I felt safe. And then I became a boater and that’s a whole different story. When I sold my last boat, I bought a travel trailer. Part of the reason for switching from tenting to a travel trailer was that I wanted something I could lock when I was away from it OR when I was inside it. And, frankly, I wanted comfort and amenities, but that safety issue is a big one. I thought about renting a converted van first, just to see how that felt. But I knew I’d want my own rig so held out a few years until I had the money to do that. Keep your dreams in sight, Fran.