Are solar panels worth the expense?

Before you become a boondocker, electricity is something you seldom think about. Plug in. Power is cheap. Supply is infinite.

But when we become boondockers, that all changes. Now our power supply is limited by the number and state of our batteries. When our batteries become depleted, our electricity supply stops--dead. No water--the pump won't run. No Radio. No TV. The electrical step won't extend. No lights to finish the last chapter of your book.

So power is suddenly worth a lot more. More than just the dollar cost. It is convenience also. But when you try to compare the costs of installing a system of equal power from an alternative source, like solar, you are hit with a sizable up front cost.

Solar panels are expensive. Much harder to install than plugging in a generator. Very little output on cloudy days. Not of very much use in the Pacific Northwest, northern plains states, or New England in the winter. And they just don't work at night. So what's the big deal with solar?

This is why solar is my first choice:

• Once the panels are installed, no more to do, other than hose off debris and dirt occasionally.
• No moving parts to wear out or maintain.
• I prefer to boondock where the sun is shining, so they are always working to supply electricity.
  
• It works even when I ignore it.
  
• No noise--not a sound.
  
• Starts charging at first light, increases charge to maximum mid-day, and charges until the sun sets.--in the summer that is a lot of hours.
  
• Stores its electricity in as many batteries as I want to install (in my case, 4 Trojan 6-volt golf cart batteries).
• I have the option of tilting them more directly toward a winter sun (that sits lower in the sky) to produce optimum power.
• They continue to charge, though at a lower rate, on cloudy days.
  
• No CO2 emissions, no emissions at all.

Factor in the value of convenience, trouble free operation, and zero operational costs--even when you pro-rate the hardware expense over several years--solar wins.

Learn more about boondocking with my new eBook, BOONDOCKING: Finding the Perfect Campsite on America’s Public Lands.

Boondocking Blog readers name their favorite locations

As you may notice on the right side of this page, we ask the readers of this blog to share some of their favorite places to boondock with their RVs. Here are a few places that they've told us about recently.

From Jerry Lessley, Belgrade, Montana
"Wade Lake, Montana. It is a beautiful little lake. It's part of a chain of great lakes, and is isolated. You have to drive six miles on a rough dirt and gravel road. We spend lots of time there when the snow goes away."

John Balch, Eau Claire, Wisconsin
"A few years ago we visited Arizona, and happened to stop at a BLM near the town of Hot Springs. Most of the "good" spots were taken by folks that appeared to come there every year. We found a spot with some shade trees and settled down and set out some chairs. A lady came by and offered us some fresh picked vegetables. Later we donned our swimsuits and walked down to the hot tubs on the other side of the road. After an hour or so, we came back for a meal and after supper, the folks camping behind us introduced themselves, and invited us to come over for a campfire. More people came over, introduced themselves, and we all had a "jolly good time." enjoying libations and conversations. I would go back there in a jiffy."

Dwight Kasper, Gilbert Plains, Manitoba, Canada
"Slab City in Niland, Calif., is always a neat place to visit. Have made a number of good friends who spend the winter on this old abandoned military base. Close enough that it is easy to get to, with all the cell phone signals needed for both phone and internet, yet far enough away to be in a different world!"

Barbi Lange, On the road in Lone Butte, BC
"A Sportsbar called Iron Horse in Lone Butte,BC on Hwy 24 has several free RV and Camping spots. Everyone is very welcome. This area has lots of lakes and famous for fishing. The food in the Sportsbar is excellent. Worth trying."

Tell us about your favorite spot. Use the form on the right side of this page.

Ocotillo Wells: Free wildflower tours start thursday

Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area anticipates a tremendous wildflower bloom this year due to the recent rains. Such plants as the Sand Verbena, Spanish Needles, Orcutt’s Aster, Ocotillo, Desert Sunflower, and Evening Primrose are all expected to be showing off their beautiful colors.

Daily wildflower exhibits and interpretive staff are available in the district office. For those that prefer solitude, self guided tours will be available at the Native Plant Garden and the Nature Loop Trail. Laminated signs will be placed throughout these trails to assist all visitors with their wildflower experience.

The popular Wildflower Program guide is returning for its second year of publication. The free, eight-page guide features full color photos of the flowers you’ll mostly likely find in the park. Each photo is accompanied by the flower’s common name, scientific name, how common the flower is, and where it is likely to be found.

After seeing the flowers, visitors can learn about some of the park’s unique qualities by visiting such places as Shell Reef and Gas Domes. The park also has many interpretive geocaches. Boondocking is also available throughout the park.

Free wildflower trading cards are offered at the various interpretive features as a memento to help bring back memories of your visit. The more you see, the more cards you can collect. Remember that the flowers need to stay in the park so that they can be enjoyed next year, so no picking please.

Ocotillo Wells SVRA is located off of Highway 78 in both San Diego and Imperial Counties. The park provides 85,000 acres of off-highway motor vehicle recreation in the Southern California desert. It is open to the public 24-hours a day, seven days a week.

For additional park information contact the Ocotillo Wells SVRA District Office at 760-767-5391 or visit the website.

Learn about Bob Difley's eBooks on Boondocking and Camping in the Southwestern Deserts at RVbookstore.com

Almost here: The Spring wildflower bloom

If you are still in the desert you must be anticipating the Spring wildflower bloom, which is expected this year to be above average due to the amount of soaking winter rains received. Some wildflowers are already in bloom at the warmest locations, like Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, and along some roadsides where the winter rain runoff has provided nourishment to dormant wildflower seeds.

San Diego County's Anza-Borrego Desert State Park's wildflower hotline (760-767-4684) is set up and others will be operating soon. In Joshua Tree National Park,

DesertUSA.com reports that "Wildflowers may begin blooming in the lower elevations of the Pinto Basin and along the park’s south boundary in early March and at higher elevations in late March and April. Desert regions above 5,000 feet may have plants blooming as late as June."

Spring Blooming Periods

Lower Elevations: 1,000 – 3,000 feet
Yuccas—March and April
Annuals—February, March, and April
Cacti—March, April, and May

Higher Elevations: 3,000 – 5,000 feet

Joshua Trees and Yuccas—March and April
Annuals—March, April, and May
Cacti—April, May, and June

You can keep track of the wildflower bloom at all desert locations at Desert USA Wildflower Hotlines & Information: http://www.desertusa.com/Thingstodo/du_ttd_bloom.html


Learn about Bob Difley's eBooks on boondocking in the desert at RVbookstore.com

Should boondocking in desert washes be avoided?

Setting up your boondocking campsite in a desert wash is considered by many RVers to be foolhardy and should be avoided. Many real life stories circulate about hikers being washed away in flash floods and boulders, trees, and splintered RVs tumbling down washes ahead of a raging torrent.

But these tales do not in themselves prove that every wash ("a dry creek bed or gulch that temporarily fills with water after a heavy rain, or seasonally" - Wikipedia) is unsafe to set up camp. To make an informed decision whether to camp in a wash, you need to study several factors about the wash. These include:

• Configuration and shape - Is the wash deep and narrow with steep sides constricting flow
  
• Width - Determines how far run-off can spread out, which also determines flow rate and depth
  
• Distance from head - The further from the head of the wash the more runoff will build up and the deeper the runoff will be
  
• Area of drainage - A wash that drains a large area of plateaus with many feeder washes will accumulate more runoff, producing deeper water, faster current, and more debris
  
• Evidence of previous flooding - Height of debris caught in limbs of shrubs and trees growing in the bottom of washes
  
• Season - Most flash floods occur in summer when heavy, short downpours produce a quick buildup of runoff
  
• Weather predictions - Keep up with weather predictions for the immediate and surrounding areas for at least three days ahead

Washes to avoid would include those that are narrow with steep sides (photo left) that accumulate water like the end of a funnel. These are the most dangerous, especially if they are long and drain a large area with many feeder washes. These you would avoid completely in summer, and in winter if rain is predicted within five days in the immediate or surrounding areas. If you can find a wider wash, take it instead.

Those washes that would be safe to camp in would be wide, with no restrictions that would cause runoff to build up to anything over a couple inches in depth in heavy summer downpours. They would be short with few feeder washes to build up run-off, and have little evidence of debris caught up in tree branches and no evidence of uprooted trees or large boulders that had washed down.

The best time to camp in these washes would be when most of us are there, during the winter snowbird season, when rains are light and soaking, unlike the torrential downpours of the summer monsoons. Many dispersed desert camping areas are in washes that are safe, such as Craggy Wash (photo top) in Lake Havasu City.

But with climate change, El Nino effects, and the possibility of aberational weather patterns, it pays to keep abreast of the coming weather, and if the possibility of heavy rain is predicted, then it's time to move to higher ground for a few days.

Learn about Bob Difley's eBooks on Boondocking and Desert Boondocking at RVbookstore.com

Share your favorite RV boondocking location

Do you have a favorite place you like to boondock with your RV? Please consider sharing it with the readers of this blog. Don't worry -- not THAT many people will read it to turn the place into a parking lot. We'll publish most of your comments. Be sure to return to check out what others have submitted. You may find a great place you never knew about before.

The true story of Marshal and Tanya South

You’ve heard the stories. Loners that head off into the most remote and isolated areas to live—and survive. In the desert they are referred to as “desert rats,” a not necessarily disparaging term.

Meet Marshall and Tanya South, a couple whose tenacity and will more than meet the best examples of the term. Yaquitepec, perched on top of Ghost Mountain in Blair Valley in western San Diego County, is where Marshal and Tanya built their homestead in 1932. They moved there after the Great depression brought a halt to Marshal’s writing and publishing of western novels.

A mile-long steep trail leads to the remains of an adobe cabin where the Souths lived for fourteen years without electricity, no artificial lighting, no neighbors, with only the sparse desert to supply fuel for cooking and heating, living off the land, raising vegetables, collecting and hoarding what little rain fell.

They raised three children on the mountain, the products of well educated parents, who surrounded them with books, a typewriter, even a printing press, and taught them the ways of desert self-sufficiency. They wrote and illustrated a monthly column for Desert Magazine, chronicling their primitive living experiment, their synergy with the desert environment.

Today the South Homestead is part of the remote Blair Valley section of California's huge Anza Borrego Desert State Park in western San Diego County. Boondock camping is permitted in the valley, with large dispersed campsites, some scattered privately among the desert scrub and trees, others on open land, all with views of the surrounding mountains.

You can visit the South Homestead where you will see the remains of their adobe house, an ingenious cistern and trough water system, the terraces formerly filled with whatever they could grow, an old rusty bed, and the scattered remains that illustrate the hardships and tenacity that defined the lives of the South family.

To find the Blair Valley boondocking area (GPS: 33 degrees, 01 minute, 39.31 seconds north, 116 degrees, 23 feet, 44.40" west, elev. 2548 feet.), drive south on S-2 from its intersection with US-78 east of Julian in Anza Borrego Desert State Park. Trail signs will lead you to the South Homestead.

Learn more about boondocking with my new eBook, BOONDOCKING: Finding the Perfect Campsite on America’s Public Lands.

Tips and rules for desert boondocking

If you follow the rest of the snowbirds to the southwestern deserts in winter, you will find that most of them stay in he same RV resort or campground for the entire season. A small number of RVers decide to so some boondocking in the open desert to really experience the desert in its wildness and beauty.

As you roam around and talk to other boondockers you will find more desert boondocking locations than you ever imagined. Many are just places where an RVer has pulled off onto an unnamed, unpaved desert track and found a nice spot behind a hill, overlooking a wash, or hidden in a grove of desert willow or mesquite trees.

Others become popular simply because one boondocker spots another and decides to join and soon there are half a dozen RVers, though they space themselves apart from each other, but still enjoying the proximity of other boondockers. Iff you would like to try this open desert camping, here are some of the basic rules and tips you need to know.

* The BLM allows free camping for up to 14 consecutive days out of every 28 days on open land.
* After 14 days, you must move at least 25 miles away from your current location and cannot return for another 14 days.
* Camping is legal except where specifically prohibited by signs or fences.
* No camping within 300 feet of a man-made watering hole or tank to allow wildlife access.
* Use existing routes and trails.
* Camp at previously used sites.
* Pack It In, Pack It Out: Pack out your trash and any that was left by others.
* Leave What You Find: Protect cultural resources by leaving all artifacts as you find them.
* Leave natural objects and avoid damaging vegetation. Pick a spot that has been camped in before.

Learn more about desert camping with my new eBook, Snowbird Guide to Camping and Boondocking in the Southwestern Deserts.

Boondocking survey

I have been a fulltimer and boondocker for seventeen years. During that time, boondocking methods and what information RVers want to know has changed and evolved. In looking ahead through 2010, the topics and information that will be written about in RV Boondocking News should represent what you, the boondocker or soon to become boondocker, wants to read about and learn.

That is the purpose of a survey in RVtravel.com and featured in the newsletter, to determine what you want to read. Please take a minute--it won't take any longer--to indicate your preferences to this survey question and to offer your comments and suggestions. The results will provide direction for the year, help to build an information resource for boondockers, and hopefully be an enjoyable read that you will come back to often. Thanks.

Take the 10-second survey here.

Find free enroute campsites

Save your hard-earned dollars on commercial campgrounds while you are on the road, when you would just like a place to sleep safely and quietly overnight before continuing on your way in the early morning.

But if you want to be in a more natural, scenic, and quieter environment than a Walmart parking lot or freeway rest stop, you can spend the night in a scenic quiet primitive campsite on these one-night stops if you do some pre-planning--and are willing to spend a little extra time finding one.

You will have to ignore your GPS system initially, and dig out the old paper map. To do this effectively you will have to obtain the right kind of map, one that shows the public land areas by shading or outlines, which you will have to get from a visitor center or by writing to the state tourist bureau (this is part of the pre-planning).

Plan your route to your destination on two-lane roads that pass through or by one of the following public land masses:

• Bureau of land Management (BLM) land
• National Forest Service (FS) land
• State Forest land
  
• Indian Reservations
• U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) managed properties
• Regional or local parks
• National monuments
  
• US Fish & Wildlife Service managed land
• Local fish and game and fishing access points

You will find the most opportunities on BLM or FS land, but also keep your eye open when near any of the others which, though maybe not free, will cost less than a private campground. You can camp on public lands anywhere where not specifically forbidden or fenced off, which means that if you see a dirt or gravel road--that is a potential location for dispersed camping.

Pull off to the side of the road and walk in--you probably need to stretch your legs, anyway--and often you can find a good, usable campsite within a few hundred yards of the road.

Be sure to record it in your campground guide or on your GPS so you can find it the next time through. Private, quiet, and within easy access to your route. You might even get settled in your camp chair in less time than it would take you to register at a regular campground. And the best part--it's free.