The cold front wiped out all the pretty leaves In the neighborhood in just a couple of days. but there will be more when I get down south of Denver.

If all goes well, the next time you hear from me, I will be someplace else. I don't know where that place will be; it could be in the parking lot of the Bass Pro shop in Colorado Springs. Maybe the Walmart parking lot in Trinidad, Las Vegas, New Mexico, or maybe Sugarite Canyon State Park near Raton, New Mexico. But wherever it is, I will be heading South, which means warmer weather.

I've done everything I need to do. Fortunately, I did everything before the cold front came through, so now I have to put a few things away in the camper, and I'll be ready to go.

It's always hard for me to leave my family behind; they do so much for me. But this cold front that came through made it a little easier because it reminded me that there's no way I could live the way I'm living in Colorado in the winter, and I have to get South where it's warm, or my life is going to be very difficult.

Since I'm just starting on my winter travels, this seems like a good time to re-explain a question I get asked every once in a while, which is, how do I define boondocking? And the brief answer if you want to avoid reading the rest of this drivel is... Having no hookups.

Since I'm lazy, I try to make things as simple as possible for myself, including how I define boondocking. I understand that the term boondocks actually means being out in the middle of nowhere, but for my purposes, that's too confusing because one man's boondocks could be another man's home. So, how far away are the boondocks? 1 mile? 20 miles? And how far away from WHAT? A town, a house?

These and many other questions that are too difficult for someone as lazy as I am to figure out or even remember. And since I have the ultimate power over this blog, seeing as I'm not just any old boondork, I'm THE boondork. So I have decided that boondocking will mean whatever I want it to.

So, for the last eight years, I have decided that boondocking means "camping somewhere without hookups."

The location has nothing to do with it. I have boondocked in downtown Tombstone, Arizona because I had no hookups.

 It also has nothing to do with money since I pay $225 a year for a New Mexico Park pass, which allows me to boondock for free. Or when I stay at the Pima County Fairgrounds, I pay to stay there, but I'm in an area where there are no hookups, so as far as I'm concerned, I'm boondocking.

 It also has nothing to do with it being at an actual campsite because I boondock at my daughter's house and in Walmart parking lots and because I'm not hooked up at either of those places... Except at my daughter's home for the last five days when the cold front went through.  I'm boondocking.

So, as you can see, I've tried to make it as simple as possible for myself. Without thinking about how far from civilization I am or what it's costing me. The only thing that matters to me every day is whether I am hooked up to electricity and, or water. The main thing I care about is to be as free as possible to live my full-time life the way I want, and living off grid, without hookups gives me the freedom to come and go as I please.

 And with the problems many folks seem to be having, finding campgrounds in the right place at the right time looks daunting, not that it can't be done. But living like that for someone as lazy, terrible at making plans, whose daily agenda is to wake up, eat, take pictures, and go to bed.  Living not on a schedule but a whim, it appears that I made the right lifestyle choice for myself.

Theboondork

it looks like there won't be any more patio parties until next spring.

For those of you who live in warm places and are unfamiliar with this infernal device, it is designed not only to injure but to kill people, and does so every year.

Its very name encompasses two things that I detest... Snow and shovels I've owned several of these things because, living in the Rocky Mountains, you wear them out every few years.

But there's no chance of that ever happening again because this is as close as I will ever get to one.... And I was using a telephoto lens.

This "snow shovel" is responsible for more bad backs, pulled muscles, and complaining husbands, than any other device known to man. But it's not satisfied with just injuring people, oh no! Put a 70-year-old man in his driveway with a foot of snow on the ground, and in 10 minutes, he's flopping around in the driveway like a fish on a pier with all kinds of heart problems. And the fact that he watches TV for 12 hours a day with a beer in his hand has absolutely nothing to do with the devastation this device causes.

So that's a warning to all of you Florida folks that didn't recognize this device and the misery it can cause, so do yourself a favor and stay away from anything that looks remotely like this, and never go to a part of the country where something like this is being sold.... Heed my warnings, or you will be sorry.

 Another one of the things that I left Colorado to get away from was snow-packed, icy sidewalks, and yet; all those footprint you see are mine.

It's funny when young people slip on the sidewalk, but for old geezers it can be a life-changing situation, and unfortunately Colorado puts you in that situation for five or six months of the year.

The snow-melt dripping off the Lances roof picked  my electric cord to live on. I'm kinda scared to touch any of it. Maybe I'll have to stay here until it melts next spring.

The Addams family doesn't smile, they're not unhappy it's just their style, but if they clicked a pic or two, they would smile like me and you.

My daughter's family had a Halloween party Sunday and invited a few friends. My family is dressed up as the "Addams Family." I dressed up as an old homeless bum, which means I wore what I wear every day, so the only thing I needed to complete my costume was a grocery cart full of trash bags.

My son-in-law is Gomez, my daughter is Morticia, my grandson is cousin Itt... And yes that's the way you spell itt. my granddaughter is Wednesday, the family dog is Pugsley, and the hand on Wednesday shoulder is Thing....I wanted to be Lurch but they said I was too ugly.

Last night was the coldest night of this whole cold front event. The front  passed through, the snow stopped,  the clouds were dissipating. And anyone who's lived in the cold can tell you that when the skies clear and there are no clouds to hold in some warmth, it gets really cold.

So tomorrow and Tuesday will be cleanup days. The snow should melt off pretty fast because it will be sunny both days, but they'll still be some shovel work and a few broken branches here and there, but every day will be warmer than the last.

And there's a lesson to be learned from this cold front coming through. It got down to 9° outside last night, and was 12° when I got out of bed this morning. And even though my electric heater was running all night I still had to put on a coat this morning to be comfortable inside the Lance, which tells me that single-digit temperatures are more than me and the Lance can handle.

Now I could have turned on my factory furnace along with my electric heater and kept the temperature more comfortable, but I feel that option should be saved for emergencies only, and not the way I would want to live for a week or more.

So the lesson I learned from this is... An inexpensive Lance truck camper is not adequately insulated, nor airtight enough to deal with single-digit temperatures. And since Denver during the winter can easily get to below zero at night, and every once in a while even in the daytime, I definitely couldn't live in this thing during a Colorado winter and stay anywhere near comfortable.

That's a valuable lesson, but what do I do about it? The only thing I can think of is the next time I see single-digit temperatures heading my way... RUN AWAY! Don't look back just, RUN AWAY.  The camper has wheels.....use them.

If everything works out okay, I'm still preparing to leave on Wednesday morning. It looks like the weather in New Mexico is going to be great by the end of the week, when I should be in Las Vegas, New Mexico, for a few days. The weather's going to be in the 70s because it's still Fall there so I should see some more leaves changing.

I always enjoy stopping at Las Vegas and stay at Storrie Lake State Park because it has lots of free boondocking since I have the annual Park Pass, and four dollars a night if I want electricity. But most of all, it gives me a chance to relax and get mentally and physically adjusted to being on the road again. it's a big change to go from living with the family to suddenly being on my own and doing everything that needs to be done to live comfortably.

it's also a big change going from a sedentary life, where other than my mini-vacations, I rarely travel farther than Walmart. To becoming a traveling man and seldom wanting to stay anyplace longer than two weeks, which requires different shopping habits, more driving, facing and overcoming challenges instead of sliding through life without even thinking, and going back to washing clothes at laundromats! Ewwww!!

Las Vegas also has a Walmart three or four miles from the State Park, and lots of picture-taking opportunities in the old part of the town where the central plaza is surrounded by historic buildings.

On the other hand, Las Vegas is about 6500 feet in altitude, which is about a thousand feet higher than Denver, which means it can get pretty chilly in the winter. But don't let the temperatures fool you; it's an arid climate with low humidity, so It doesn't feel nearly as cold as places with high humidity.

I've stopped at Storrie Lake State Park a lot over the years, and I've always had a pleasant experience there. I've never seen it crowded, probably because I'm always there in the Spring and the Fall, so I miss the normal summer crowds. But there's so much boondocking around the lake that I can't imagine the place being full. It's one of the handful of places I go I know I can find a boondocking spot no matter what.

theboondork

My daughter and granddaughter getting fixed up for the party.

The Addams family; standing out in the snow just so I can take there picture.

My grandson is being eaten by a giant spider. Since my granddaughter is Wednesday she was told not to smile, Wednesday never smiles. But it's hard not to smile when your brothers being eaten by a giant spider.

Pugsley, represented by a critter that faintly resembles a dog.

I didn't get out my yardstick to check the snow, but by the look of the Arctic Fox's roof and steps, I would say it snowed seven or eight inches last night.

It's freezing cold and snowy, so I mostly stay inside the Lance trying to keep warm, which doesn't leave me many things to write about. But write, I must because it's become a habit to write something every day whether I have anything to say or not....But not having anything to say has never stopped me from writing before, so it won't stop me today.

In the past, I've mentioned that I would like to take a different route heading south out of Denver, but It never seems to work out, and the same thing is happening again.

 If I get off of I -25 heading south, it's all two-lane blacktops, and with the weather we've been having, there's a possibility of leftover snow being a problem. And because it's been below freezing every night, there could be some ice hazards, and I don't want to have to deal with any of those things.

So here I am, looking at my usual travel plan of heading south on I-25 just like always. And It's beginning to look like Spring and Fall when I'm usually making the trip to and from Denver, getting off the interstate when there's a chance of snow is usually a bad idea.

It looks like I'm going to head for the Bosque Del Apache in New Mexico for my first long stop. November is about right for seeing the Sandhill cranes, but it's a tad early for snow geese. But if I wait much later, the Bosque gets pretty crowded with professional photographers who make a living taking pictures of birds, and I don't want to be in their way.

So far, I'm staying perfectly comfortable in the Lance even though it's about 20° outside after lunch, so my little electric heater keeps it warm enough. And I'm sure my factory furnace would also keep me warm, but it would be going through a lot of propane now days to keep me from turning into an Icicle.

I don't recall it ever getting this cold in Arizona in the winter. And even when it does get cold, it doesn't last long, certainly not long enough, or cold enough, to use up a tank of propane in a few days like I would be doing here if I wasn't plugged in.

They're saying on the Internet that since this is an El Niño year, and since El Niño years are supposed to be wetter in places like Arizona, and since being wet is one of the criteria for a flower super-bloom I wonder if there will be a super-bloom this Spring. It would be fantastic to see two super-blooms in a row. And since many cacti bloom in June, I might consider staying in Arizona a bit later than usual just to see the Cactus blooming.

Theboondork

It looks like some poor working stiff had to go to work early on a Sunday morning. I feel their pain....been there done that.

I was going to walk around the neighborhood and take some snow pictures this morning,  but it was 19° outside, and the road wasn't any fun to walk on, so this is as far as I got from the house.

Neighborhood roads.

Since it's Sunday and there's no school, the snowplows won't get around to plowing the neighborhood until tomorrow. They plow the highways first, and the school bus routes next.