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 […]
Categories
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 […]
One Night at The Salt Flats
12 miles long. Five feet thick at the center. 147 million tons of salt. 90% table salt. Here’s where we parked on BLM land. Not a bad spot for sunrise. Banjo approved.
Sheltered and Satisfied
We leave today after a week here on the Missouri River in Montana, and it’s been peaceful, all in all. Exception: the constant insects—ants in the sand, covering your feet the minute you stand still, crawling on Banjo as she eats them one by one. Long-winged flying things (ants?) all in the tent and in […]
Along Canyon Ferry Lake
Just a quick note to let you know where we are; nothing much has been going on to tell you about (which can be a good thing). We’re back near Townsend, Montana, to visit again with my old friend Tom, who has very generously accepted a load of packages delivered for us. A few other […]
One Night in Butte Is Enough
Tracy wanted to see the famous Berkeley Pit in Butte, Montana (he’d seen it years ago and was impressed), so we parked at an odd little boondocking spot off the interstate, tucked Banjo inside the trailer, and went exploring. Butte seems to be like Helena (but smaller): a shrinking, strange little town. It used to […]
Most Excellent Free Campground
(Marred by Racists Hate-mongers) After we left Lake Koocanusa, we drove down that lovely, long, valley lake, past Libby Dam, and into a Corps of Engineers campground right on the Kootenay River near the town of Libby, Montana. It’s a practically perfect campground. It’s one paved oval road, with level pull-through spots right on the […]
We Think We’re Such Badasses (Hiking to Bluebird Lake)
We decided not to hike the local trail here outside Eureka after Tracy rode his bike up and back and found evidence of the reported grizzly bear all along the way. Tree branches pulled down so the bear could get better access to the chokecherry bushes. Mounds of fresh scat. When Tracy rode the trail […]
Our Longest Stretch Since a Campground, and Other Firsts
As of today, we’ve hit these firsts: the longest we’ve been camping not in a campground, the fourth time—in the nearly 100 places we’ve camped—that we’ve stayed for longer than one week, and the most north and west we’ve camped. That last one is not surprising, but the others could use an explanation. What Is […]
