theboondork's RV blog

nature calls

10/19/2018

I took these two pictures before it snowed. The flower garden is pretty much wiped out and there's very little to take a picture of anymore except the devastation caused by below freezing temperatures and a little bit of snow.

My latest plan on when to leave Denver, which is not so much a plan as a fleeting thought, is Sunday afternoon. The weather is not a motivating factor anymore since it's chilly at night and 60s in the daytime and is predicted to be so for the next 10 days at least. But a new reason for leaving has cropped up which I had never experienced before because I've never stayed here this late in the season before.

The sun is now noticeably lower in the sky, and my boondocking spot next to my daughter's house is shaded, either by large trees or buildings for most of the day now, so not only is the Arctic Fox not being warmed by the sun, which means I'm using extra propane to heat it, but more importantly I'm getting very little charging from the solar panels.

So with my batteries not getting charged up as quickly as they should, and my propane use increasing it looks like nature is telling me it's time to ease on down the road.

theboondork

9 Comments

Barney Ward

10/19/2018 03:12:00 pm

I have noticed a few bloggers already in the Quartzite area. Rockport is having lots of moderate rain messing the area up. At least we are not really cold except when I got caught out on a pier and got soaked.

Tom

10/19/2018 05:10:43 pm

I'm really craving some warm weather about now. So I think I'm going to head over towards the Laughlin Nevada, Las Vegas area and use that as a starting point to head south and then east.

I'm considering the concept of moving more often and staying in more places than the usual way I travel. I have found that the longer I sit in one place the more sedentary I become and then my laziness kicks in and I don't want to make the effort to go find a new home.

So I'm thinking of making a bendable, stretchable, easily breakable rule for myself that requires me to move at least once every two weeks and hope that this will prevent me from putting down roots and enable me to experience more places and do more things this winter, and if it doesn't work I will at least know not to do that again.

Tom

10/19/2018 07:06:42 pm

I have found that I mostly do not like moving more often than once a week but by three weeks I am very antsy to roll somewhere. Of course when I do move it tend to go farther than you in a day. This last trip out I found that I really did not like moving every other day much less daily. Changes changes changes as I age.

10/19/2018 07:45:56 pm

Generally I only move every day or every other day when I'm trying to get somewhere which is normally in the fall when I head South and I'm trying to escape the cold weather.

But moving every day is too much like work, I'd much rather stay someplace for a week or two so I can get to know the area a little.

Yeah I definitely don't travel very far in a day because normally I'm not in a hurry to get anyplace. And since I'm almost always boondocking there is no cost to spending a week on the road getting someplace like there would be if I were paying $30 a night to stay at RV parks for a week on the road.

Right now is a good example of my method of travel planning. I'm pretty sure when I leave Denver I'm going to the Laughlin, Las Vegas area. I don't know how long I will be there but when I leave I'm pretty sure I'm going south. That's it, that's the only plans I have for the entire winter, everything else I'll make up as I go along.

I haven't even made up my mind how I'm going to get there. I might take I 70 west out of Denver, or I might take I 25 south, hit I 40 and go west. And I probably won't make a decision of that magnitude until I'm leaving Denver. I never was very good at making decisions. It'll be simpler when I get older and more geezerly, I'll just travel from VA Hospital, to VA Hospital, sleeping in the parking lot.

Tom

10/19/2018 08:16:45 pm

Likely some predicted weather will assist in making your decision of route.

10/19/2018 08:36:45 pm

Weather is a major motivating factor in choosing places I go, as I'm assuming it would be for most full timers. Which would explain why so many RVers are attracted to places like Quartzsite, its not the prettiest place in the country but it's hard to beat the winter weather conditions there. Throw in a million acres or so of free boondocking and a town that's built around the RV lifestyle and it's easy to see why so many RVers consider "Q" the hub of the winter RV travel circuit.

Tom

10/19/2018 08:40:49 pm

I got way off track answering your question, yes the route I take out of here has everything to do with the weather. I 70 west will take me through some the snowiest country in Colorado and can get that way in the blink of an eye. Meanwhile I 25 south is far less problematic and gets me into warmer weather quicker.

Tom

Richard Rousseau link

10/21/2018 08:51:59 am

Travelling when the weather is blowing white is no-one's choice for getting anywhere. We try seeing things heading down and on our return. Hoping you have a Safe and Enjoyable Trip no matter which route you take. "It's the journey not the destination that makes life memorable."

It's about time.

10/21/2018 03:02:17 pm

Thank you very much. Sorry it took me so long to get back to you but I've been busy doing last-minute things before hitting the road, but now I'm safely ensconced at a state Park about 3 miles from where I started.

Yeah I've had enough years of dealing with snow to last me a lifetime so I feel I've paid my dues and now try to avoid it if at all possible.

I visited your website but didn't have much time today to read through much of it. But my first thought was it looks like it was professionally made, it looks very slick and is easy to navigate. If you did that yourself I'm very impressed.

Tom

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