be prepared

Desert wildflowers

The weatherman played an April fools joke on me today by reporting it wasn't going to be windy, which caused me to make plans to go somewhere. But when I woke up this morning the wind was blowing so hard I almost considered putting down my rear jacks. Funny guys those weathermen,

And then the folks in charge of things decided to turn off the water to the campground for a while, jolly jokers. But that didn't bother me in the least, they failed to realize that they were dealing with a professional boondocker and I always have water in my water tank, so I just turned on the water pump and continued living a normal life.

And that brings to mind how important it is for RVers in general and boondocker's in particular to adopt the Boy Scouts motto of "Always Be Prepared". The kind of lifestyle we live requires a certain amount of personal responsibility for taking care of ourselves no matter what life decides to throw at us and I believe it makes us a happier camper if we know were able to handle minor emergencies when they occur.

The last minor emergency I had was when I was in Ajo and I got a nail in my truck tire coming back from Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and I'm out in the middle of nowhere in the rain watching my tire go flat and even though I always carry a can of Flat Fix, for some strange reason it wasn't there. But you can bet the farm that there's two brand-new cans of Flat Fix in my truck right now. So I think it's a good idea especially for boondocker's who are sometimes alone in the middle of nowhere to think about things that can go wrong and what you can do about it.

To me at the top of the list is to carry a cell phone that has the best cell coverage that you can afford. Yes you can save money every month on a cell phone that only has coverage in a decent sized city but if you're a boondocker that's false economy If you plan on spending time in places where only AT&T or Verizon has coverage.

So I do my best to plan on dealing with things that go wrong. I carry tools to fix things, I carry a shovel to dig myself out, I have a quality cell phone that has the technology and power to make a call from the middle of nowhere, and I carry two cans of flat fix just in case one rolls under the seat where I found my last one several days after I needed it ....... no amount of planning can fix stupid.

                     theboondork

Wagon wheel

Saguaro skeleton.