The desert here isn’t Banjo’s kind of place; the only mammals around seem to be the wild burros, and they act like they’re going to charge when they see her, so we stay away from them. Of course, we still take her on three walks a day, but they’re along the rocky, hard paths here, […]
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Balance Is a Seesaw
From Bruce Springsteen’s “Growing Up.” on Asbury Park, 1973: I took month-long vacations in the stratosphere, And you know it’s really hard to hold your breath. I swear I lost everything I ever loved or feared, I was the cosmic kid in full costume dress. Well, my feet they finally took root in the earth, […]
Where Eclectic Nomads Go for Community
I feel like I’m in a Talking Heads song sometimes. I’m a bit confused about exactly where we are, plus how I feel about why we’re here vacillates. Yet, we’ve been here (BLM land in Arizona? California?) for only two full days. Seems like my disorientation is greater than what could fit in two days. […]
Jumping Cholla at the Campsite
The Cholla Cactus Tracy told me a story about why the Cholla are called the Jumping Cactus: that little ends of the branches fall off and are blown a bit away from the plant, so you’re more likely to miss seeing the bits as you’re busy avoiding the plant. Bang—you step on them, let them […]
Towing Your Home on the Busiest Travel Day
The Monday before Thanksgiving may not be the busiest travel day ever, but as we moved camp that day, each figurative bump along the road made it feel like a doomed day. (Spoiler: in the end Tracy found us the best possible boondocking site right outside the south entrance to Joshua Tree National Park, so […]
Anza-Borrego
The small tourist town of Borrego Springs is right in the middle of Anza-Borrego State Park, about 40 miles north of the Mexican border (in California). We came here because we’re basically dilly dallying around the southwest for the winter, trying not to get to our “destination,” Yuma, so early that we’ll be bored there […]
Co-camping among the Manzanitas
Imagine that a friend, whom you haven’t seen in two years, pulls up to your remote campsite. Imagine that she pulls out of her car: a bottle of champagne, a dinner kit of salmon and veggies (prepped and ready for the stove), and a bag of limes. Now, imagine that she also pulls out a […]
Famous Alabama Hills of California
We drove straight west from Las Vegas, to the eastern foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains—an area called Alabama Hills. (More on the name below). Unlike other times when Tracy’s felt confident exploring dirt roads to find just the right spot for us, here we could see campers scattered all over this national scenic area […]
Lost in the Valley of Fire?
We’re spending a week boondocking here northeast of Las Vegas, on BLM land out in the desert. Lots of RVs come and go around us, but, with the exception of one audacious #vanlifer who pulled through our campsite, between the truck and trailer, to get to the site next to us (that has its own […]
Solace atop a Dry Wash
Last I left you, dear readers (I’ve always wanted to type that), we were scrambling for a place to stay near St. George, Utah, south of impending snow. I was feeling rundown with errands and problems and no exact direction. Not surprisingly, Tracy found us an exceptionally gorgeous campsite—and free—about an hour and a half […]
