theboondork's RV blog

my last day at Rocky Mountain national Park

8/22/2018

I think I will start off my blog today with a brief rant.... It irritates the living baJesus out of me to see a wild animal with a radio collar on, and lo and behold this is the first animal I see in Rocky Mountain national Park ! The wildlife people have been tracking deer and elk, and every other critter they can get their hands on, for my entire life, what in tarnation do they still need to know about deer and elk. For crying out loud their creatures of habit, they do the same thing over and over every year. It seems to me it's got more to do with government employees justifying their phony baloney jobs than anything to help the Elk..... End of rant.

The rest of my trip in Rocky Mountain national Park went downhill from there, and I mean that literally. I went down the mountain and stopped at a national Park campground that was built mostly for tents. Vans and small RVs were okay but the turns in the campground were a little tight for larger vehicles so their banned allowing more room for us tenting folk who tread lightly on the earth, are trying to stop global warming, and shave the whales.

My last night of sleeping in the truck was still pretty comfortable. I did the same thing I did the day before, I set up the tent with my chair and my computer inside and basically lived in the tent and slept in the truck. Technically I could've set up my cot and slept in the tent but since there were bear warnings everywhere, and bear food lockers to keep all of your food in, hefty fines for leaving food that you don't happen to be eating sitting out on the table, and having seen what a bear can do to a tent in a couple of minutes, I slept much cozier in the truck.

The next morning I got up and had an easy drive into Denver and got back to the Arctic Fox before lunch.

I would have to say that the trip was a success. I had fun, I was relatively comfortable, and I learned a lot about camping with a tent. I can see a future in being able to take mini vacations away from the Arctic Fox. But I'm not sure if there's a benefit to doing that when I'm in the desert areas of Arizona and New Mexico because I can't think of places that I would like to go that I can't take the Arctic Fox, so I'm going to have to give that some more thought.

theboondork

A snow melt Lake above timberline. since there's nothing in this picture to give a sense of scale, I would guess the lake was about 100 yards long

one of the many horseshoe turns on Trail Ridge Road

Smoke-filled Rocky Mountain national Park

I guess my biggest memory of this minivacation will be the smoky vistas of the mountains in the distance.

My last campsite in Rocky Mountain national Park. I miss the mountains already.

15 Comments

Linda Sand

8/23/2018 03:00:12 pm

I immediately noticed that collar then realized i was clenching my jaw. Enough already!

I like your hybrid type of camping.

Tom

8/23/2018 03:39:56 pm

Thank you Linda Sand. I don't think my "hybrid" type of camping will be useful everywhere I go. The key to the tent being useful is dependent upon there being places that I either can't or don't want to take the Arctic Fox. And having the availability of a safe place to leave the Arctic Fox while I'm gone for a few days. And Colorado fits both of those situations perfectly.

Enough already indeed! My understanding is that a radio tracking collar gives no more information than where the deer or elk has been. It doesn't tell anybody what the deer's been eating, or if the deer is healthy, or where it's going, it only tells them where it's been. I can see how that might've been useful information 50 years ago but it seems like by now they would have figured that out. And if they still have questions they can go out and ask the hunters, farmers, and ranchers that are around the Deer and Elk all the time.

But noooo, they have to tranquilize the animal, hang this thing around it's neck, and then tranquilize it again and again to change the batteries every once in a while.

I knew the head wildlife officer in the district where I hunted, and even he could not give me a rational and plausible explanation for endlessly tracking these Deer and Elk. So I'm sticking with the perpetuating their phony baloney jobs and qualifying for various government grants concept.

Tom

Tim

8/23/2018 08:21:06 pm

Hi Tom - Did my first real distance today and drove about 250 miles into Iowa. I'm staying at my first Harvest Host at a museum and it's also my first night boondocking (if this counts). So far, so good.

8/23/2018 08:40:36 pm

If you're not hooked up then it counts.

Since your house batteries are only being charged by your truck that will probably limit the amount of electricity you can use. I'm assuming you had a battery isolation solenoid installed when you're trailer wiring was put in, but if not make sure you unplug the trailer from the truck so you don't end up draining your truck batteries.

250 miles pulling the Arctic Fox is pretty much my upper limit. Mostly because I leave late, and stop early, since there's seldom a reason to do otherwise.

I've never done the Harvest Host thing so it will be interesting to find out how that works out for you.

I imagine after a day of towing you're starting to feel a lot more comfortable having a trailer behind you now and by the time you get home you will probably feel like an expert. Which means that by the time you get ready to go fulltime climbing into the truck and hitching up the Arctic Fox will feel like slipping on your favorite pair of slippers.

Tom

Barney Ward

8/23/2018 09:23:58 pm

I thought of another Texas middle of nowhere and very little used locations you like. It is Elephant Mountain Wildlife Management Area. They require you to have a Limited Use Permit to stay there. Several of the sites are pull through. The road is partly primitive but not rough the last time I went in there. AND about halfway north to Alpine is a great roadside rest area I have had lunch and a nap at several times. I am aching to get back westerly.

8/24/2018 08:59:53 am

That does look like an interesting area, at least it's closer to a town and not as desolate as some of the areas around Big Bend national Park.

But there was one thing in the government blurb that I read about it that I didn't quite understand. It stated that something is closed, and I'm not sure exactly what, from January through April due to the Bighorn sheep lambing season. But I read through it all pretty quickly so maybe I got that wrong.

But anyway, I will file that in my places to boondock in Texas file. But it's still hard to beat the San Pedro campground, which by the way I read was closed. https://www.nps.gov/amis/planyourvisit/camping.htm

Tom

8/24/2018 09:51:38 am

San Pedro closes during the hot weather. It gets above 100 there for several months. Those new steel tables might not make it through without a severe sag in them. I forgot when they normally open again but it is when the weather cools enough for live things like humans can survive there. It saves a lot on maintenance costs for the park.

8/24/2018 10:22:04 am

I see, that makes sense. I thought maybe they'd closed it because of another airplane crash or they heard you were coming or something. I would hate to see it close because that was my favorite place to stay in Texas.

Tom.... Having toooo much fun figuring out where to go this winter.

8/24/2018 07:03:01 pm

Quick update - stayed at the museum last night, toured part of it today and staying at a Winery in Illinois tonight. Tomorrow, I plan to drive another 3.5 hours or so. So far, everything is working well. BTW, I unplugged the truck last night after reading your post.

8/24/2018 07:37:27 pm

Then it sounds like I did my good deed for the day.

If your truck alternators, I have two, are the only thing charging your house batteries you won't get very much charging very quickly. It will charge them but will probably never get them up to the correct voltage. The wires going from the alternator all the way back to your house batteries are very small and very long, and small and long is not what you need to move a lot of DC current, as you will find out when you start installing your solar panels.

I think if I was living at a winery I might never want to leave. Or never be in a condition to leave. Maybe you could stick around and be a taster, or a wino, you're free to be either one.

Keep the updates coming, it's interesting to hear how things are going for you.

Tom

8/24/2018 10:22:26 pm

Tim make that two folks interested in reading your adventures. What is your blog 's name?

8/25/2018 04:10:44 pm

Barney, unfortunately I haven't started an RV blog yet - I'm just posting on here for now (sorry about that Tom).

So, today I left the winery at about 7am and drove to an air museum in Indiana. I got here in time to toured the museum and it was great. It's supposed to be really hot and humid the next few days, so I'm heading to a camp ground to plug in. If I like it there, I'll probably stay two nights to recover, clean up a little, etc. Then, it's on to Pennsylvania.

When I get back to a computer, I'll type more of my thoughts on everything.

Oh, and so far no problem with electricity. This AF came with a 15 watt solar panel, so between that and the truck, it's charging up okay. I did buy a generator and used it a little last night to run the microwave. I also have a fan that runs on rechargeable drill batteries that's been great and helped a lot.

Arrgh, it's painful typing on my phone!

8/25/2018 04:54:31 pm

You're welcome here anytime Tim.

I'm glad to hear you have some other ways of charging your batteries. Some people live on a generator alone and that appears to be enough for them.

Isn't it great to be able to stop and see things that look interesting? When you go full time that's what it will be like every day. And if you stop at a place that requires a lot of walking, like a big Museum, you can walk till you get tired then go out to the Arctic Fox and take a break for a while then walk some more. It's a great way to see things without being in a hurry, and remember full timing is all about not being in a hurry. And sometimes since you're a customer, if you ask the right person, some places will let you overnight in the parking lot.

I was just wondering, doesn't your phone allow you to dictate instead of type. If I had to type things on my Samsung phone it would be a nightmare.

Tom

8/25/2018 06:16:30 pm

Hi Tom I took your advice and downloaded a dictation app and using it right now; it's working great so far

So the generator I'm planning on just using until I get solar panels installed which I'm not sure when that will be but - so far it's going fine with electricity and I haven't run the batteries very low

I'm looking forward to being hooked up to electricity tomorrow in Ohio. Although it's been a lot of fun boondocking. And you're right it is nice to be able to stop at places along the way and see things that I probably wouldn't think about if it wasn't for the RV.

So the only thing that I see the negative so far is I'm meeting a lot of great people; however I realize I will probably never see any of them again so it's kind of weird in that aspect. Also I think part of what adds to that is the fact that I'm only spending one day and then driving 2 or 3 hundred miles the next day. When I go full time, I never want to travel this many miles in this short of time again. I think that adds to these weird feelings of meeting people and then moving on.

On the plus side the reason I'm meeting so many new people is that they're intrigued by the RV lifestyle. I think if I wasn't traveling, wouldn't have so many interesting things to talk about and it would be more difficult to meet so many people. Its a Catch 22.

You're right, this dictation app is much much much easier!

8/25/2018 08:32:47 pm

If it wasn't for being able to dictate I wouldn't even attempt to have a blog, it would just be too laborious. Embrace the dictation, love the dictation, be the dictator.

One of the many good things about being in the RV world is no matter what problem you're having another RVer has found a solution for it. So as long as you've got some Internet you can find someone that can give you some ideas on how to fix whatever problems you're having.

Yes in your travels, if you're an extrovert, you're going to meet a lot of people and almost all of them will be nice folks. And when you go full time a lot of those nice folks are going to be RVer's, because we all tend to go to the same places and do the same things. So chances are by then you may have started a blog or vlog and you will exchange websites with those folks and keep up with those people on the web. And in the winter when half the RV world is in Quartzsite Arizona you might visit with each other and its like visiting with old friends. Not to mention all the times you will accidentally run into folks you've previously met at state parks, RV parks, and yes even popular boondocking areas.

So the point is these people you meet will be people crossing your path again and again as you live your full-time lifestyle so you may very well see them again, spend a couple of days catching up on what's been going on and then go your separate ways. And depending on how you want to live your full-time lifestyle you can do a lot of that or none at all.

When you go full time your going to have nothing but free time, and when you meet folks that you enjoy being with you can stay there as long as you want or leave as soon as you want, there will be no schedules or rules, other than the ones you make for yourself and those should be few and easily broken.

Normal folk whose lives are rooted to the ground are almost always interested in our Gypsy lifestyle, so they're easy to talk to. And the RV people you meet are also easy to talk to because we all have so much in common. All in all it's very easy to meet people when you're living in an RV.

Tom

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.

my last day at Rocky Mountain national Park

Leave a Reply.

Archives

CONTACT THEBOONDORK