theboondork's RV blog

I have circled back to my original position

5/15/2022

Today its again possible to click the pics, now that there are pics to click.

No ordinary sunset clouds these. Nope, this is smoke from the nearby forest fires, and it's been plaguing me either a little or a lot ever since I got to Santa Rosa, and its probably from the big fire that's near Las Vegas New Mexico. Which oddly enough is probably where I'm headed next.

When I got up this morning, the first thing I did was check on the him lack of Internet situation, and found it to be exactly the same as yesterday, which was one measly intermittent bar which was not enough to upload a picture. So, instantly casting off my lack of ambition and inherent laziness, I reared up on my hind legs and roared to no one in particular that this situation... SHALL NOT STAND, and something has to be done and done right now... So I made a cup of coffee and relaxed while giving it some thought.

After breakfast and a lot of thought, I decided that I would walk over to my old boondocking spot, carrying my Verizon MiFi and phone with me to check on the Internet situation where I had boondocked before. Ordinarily, I would drive that far but putting the top of the bronco up and down just to go a mile seemed like a terrible waste of time and effort, considering I can walk there and back in the time it takes me to put the Broncos top up and down.

Finding that I had three bars of service at my old boondocking spot, I hot-footed it back to the truck and moved my homeless camp back to my original location.

Since I'm leaving here tomorrow, I could've just stayed where I was, except living with little or no Internet has apparently become extremely difficult for me and even for a few hours was more than I could bear.

Theboondork

If you've never spent much time camping at various state and federal parks you may have never met the "Iron Ranger," and if that's the case, let me introduce you.

The Iron Ranger is the one standing at attention with a "pay here" sign on his chest, and you would be wise to consider that sign is a demand, and not a suggestion. The iron Ranger is short and not too big around, but his authority is unquestioned, and his demand for money has never been, nor will it ever be, satiated.

There's a lot of different Rangers around, there's Park Rangers, Texas Rangers, and the Lone Ranger. But If you're a camper the Iron Ranger will have a bigger impact on your life than all the other Rangers combined.

Due to the lack of reliable, usable, Internet, I did a 180 and moseyed back to my original boondocking spot here at Santa Rosa State Park. For some reason, even though it's only about half a mile away, my original spot had, and continues to have, perfectly usable Internet.... Go figure.

An Earthcruiser from Georgia boondocked down the road. I looked it up on the Internet and this campers basic price with no luxury items, like air conditioning, starts at almost $400,000. COME ON! How can it cost as much to make this thing, as it does a 40 foot long luxury motorhome.

This is a Japanese four-wheel-drive Isuzu delivery truck with a fancy camper on the back. There's no way this thing could cost over half a million dollars.
Personally I think these outrageously priced "off road" RVs are just a fad. And when I'm actually boondocking off road I don't ever recall seeing one of these enormously expensive off-road RVs. I do see them camping, just like this one, but I don't ever recall seeing one in a place a pickup truck couldn't go.

8 Comments

Judith

5/15/2022 09:25:08 pm

Oufff. Bad "clouds" in that sunset. Glad you are back online at a decent and usable speed. Will be interested to see what you do next......Las Vegas? Well, that's one of my favorite towns (I know, I always say that about NM towns, small towns at any rate). You have been sounding like a person who just might head out straight on to Denver ASAP. LV could be on that route I guess.
I have never heard of an Earthcruiser, so looked it up. I see that it has a "microwave mounted in the ceiling" and a composting toilet. Sounds like fun to me.

Tom

5/15/2022 09:44:40 pm

Yeah those smoke clouds are about all I see anymore. Yeah Las Vegas is one of my favorite towns also to. The history of Las Vegas goes back a long way, I do love history, especially when it's real and you can reach out and touch it like in Las Vegas

Yeah, with my one track mind I do feel like I could make a sprint for Denver without even thinking about it.... But, my aversion to driving long distances in one fell swoop, keeps me from getting back there quicker than a couple of days.

Well that earth-snoozer has nothing on me. If the bronco had a microwave I would mount in the ceiling. And if I ever get a composting toilet I'll mount that in the ceiling to. $400,000 my patootie.

Tom

Linda

5/16/2022 01:57:00 pm

If you decide to ignore an Iron Ranger, you will soon meet a Park Ranger. One not in a good mood. Campers beware.

Also, Iron Rangers do not accept credit cards so always have cash or checks available. La Posa South in Quartzsite has a check-in building but inside that building is an Iron Ranger so no credit cards accepted there, either.

5/16/2022 04:15:04 pm

Wise advice Linda I had forgot about that . At the la Posa LTVA, I would fill out the paper and put the money in the envelope and when I would try to hand it to the hosts they pointed me to the iron Ranger there in the office and made me put it in myself, I figure they weren't allowed to touch the money. I wasn't allowed to touch the money in my house either.

I keep an envelope in the truck that's full of singles fives and tens, and that's my Iron Ranger money only, that's just about the only cash I have with me.

Tom

Larry Worsham

5/17/2022 05:36:49 am

Speaking of putting cash in the Iron Ranger. We were camped at a State Park in Nevada when we were contacted by the Rangers and asked why we hadn't paid. I told them we had and they said they had no envelope from the Iron ranger. Fortunately we had paid by check and had the duplicate copy types of checks which we showed them and they accepted this. Later we were told that several other envelopes were missing and an investigation was ongoing. Didn't here what happened but we made a habit of paying by check after that.

5/17/2022 06:38:02 am

Interesting, I was talking to a ranger at Elephant Butte State Park recently, and he said one of the reasons the New Mexico State Parks started using Reserve America for their reservation system is because theft of the cash going into the Iron Ranger was losing too much money.

I think the lower-level Ranger positions, especially from states as poor as New Mexico, don't pay very much, and the overflowing Iron Ranger during holidays may be too much temptation for the shorthanded, overworked Rangers that every year are asked to do more, with less.

But maybe Hi-Tech will solve that problem. My recent visit to Valley of Fires I saw a new way of paying for camping that may one day put the Iron Ranger out of business.

Valley of Fires is a Federal Park, managed by the BLM. And all the campsites had a post with one of these funny-looking pictures on it that only a scanner can read, and if you had the proper app on your phone, which I didn't. All you had to do was scan this picture on the post and the proper amount of money for that particular campsite was snatched out of your bank account and automatically sent to the US government's account without you having to do anything but wave your phone around.

If nothing else I think this shows how our new cashless society is going to work when the government can quickly and easily decide what you can buy and when.

You driving too much and wasting gas... The app will only let you buy 10 gallons a week

Want a new hunting rifle? Nope, the app says you already have one, and one is the limit.

Didn't pay enough taxes? No groceries for you until you do.

1984 is upon us.

Tom

5/17/2022 10:20:34 am

As a boomer I have a hard time accepting my cell phone as a manner of payment. You are totally correct times are changing and too fast in my opinion. I've never seen the use of the bar code or what ever that thing is to make a payment.....wow! If we are not careful it very well could lead to more governmental control. We have smart electrical meters that can cause you to have a brown out if using to much electricity and so forth. Controlling movement could be the next frontier. We shall see I suppose and at 72 I may not witness it. Heavy thoughts!

Don't breathe to much smoke and Safe Travels!

5/17/2022 10:53:18 am

It took me a long time before I trusted paying bills on the Internet, but now it doesn't bother me, even if it should. I find that the convenience of paying bills online when I'm on the road outweighs any concerns I have about its safety.

I think all the technology is in place to do a way with cash, and I think I'm inadvertently helping the situation because I hardly ever have any cash with me, except my envelope of Iron Ranger cash. I started this winters trip with a $20 bill in my pocket, and it's still there.

Back when guns were a hobby of mine, I always carried a bunch of cash when I traveled just in case a gun deal presented itself, and cash talks in those kind of deals. But I don't do that anymore so I have no need for cash. A few credit cards, and Internet banking is all I seem to need now days.

Not breathing smoke was difficult in New Mexico. But I'm back in Colorado now boondocking at my favorite Walmart in Trinidad Colorado.

Tom

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I have circled back to my original position

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