theboondork's RV blog

Where does the time go?

12/13/2018

Desert Mountain sunset

Since I'm leaving Ben Avery gun range tomorrow today has been pack up day.

I know I say this every time I leave somewhere but since it's the truth it bears repeating, I can't believe I've been here for two weeks already, I've enjoyed being here so much the time has just flown by. And I can't point to any one thing that I've done since I've been here that's made it a great place to stay, it's just the whole experience.

Yesterday I started getting ready to go. I had some running around to do so I stopped at Denny's and had a real breakfast for a change instead of a bowl of cereal like I often make at home. I went to Big R and filled up one of my propane tanks at $2.45 a gallon. Now that I'm doing a little heating in the morning and sometimes at night, a 10 gallon tank only lasts about three weeks instead of the month they normally last without my radiant heater running.

I filled up with diesel fuel at $3.26 a gallon, Arizona's always been an expensive place to buy fuel. And since Walmart was right across the street from Big R and the gas station I stopped in and picked up a few things, only because where I'm going there isn't a Walmart.

But the big thing I accomplished yesterday was the laundry. I did four loads at a cost of $1.50 a load and three loads of drying at $1.75 a load. That sounds like a lot of dirty laundry but it actually wasn't. These commercial washing machines seem to get smaller and smaller. And after a summer of doing laundry at my daughter's house where the washing machine will hold a cow and two heifers, commercial machines look even smaller than they actually are.

Today I've done a few odds and ends like loading up the little beta 250, putting down my Wi-Fi antenna, and will soon hitch up. I'm thinking I will hitch up later this afternoon and pull the Arctic Fox over to the dump station and get that done so I don't have to do it in the morning when I leave.

I'm going to Wickenburg tomorrow I'm just not sure where yet. The three possibilities are go a few miles north of Wickenburg and boondock at an Escapees Park so I can get the Arctic Fox weighed this weekend. They have a Smart Weigh system there and for about 50 bucks they will do everything and give you a paper with all the weight information you need to know about your truck and RV.

Or I might keep going down the road a few more miles and boondock on BLM land in Congress, there's some BLM land just outside of town where there's lots of boondocking. And even though Congress isn't much of a town, it caters to RVers.

It's possible I'll go to Box Wash 4 or 5 miles south of Wickenburg, I like staying there. It can get a bit noisy on weekends with all the ATVs running around but I'm fairly tolerant of such things so I don't lose any sleep over it.

The last possibility is I might just do all three, I'm in no hurry, I have no destination in mind, and my only limitation is the two-week stay rule that I've imposed on myself. But wherever it is I'll let everyone know as soon as I know.

theboondork

A cloudy day in southern Arizona

6 Comments

Barney Ward

12/13/2018 04:11:21 pm

How does the two week rule seem to be working out? Should it be a ten day or three weeks or ???? to be a comfortable time frame. I roll again on Dec.30 is the reason for the question. This last year has taught me that 3 months is a bit too long for one place unless medical or heat causes the time frame.

Tom

12/13/2018 06:00:30 pm

I picked the two week stay obviously because that's your standard legal public lands stay, and since I've lived by that standard a lot I found in the past it works just about right for me.

By the end of the second week I've pretty much done whatever I want to do in that area and taken pictures of most things I find interesting, and start hankering for a new view.

I came to Ben Avery gun range partly because I enjoy it here, but mostly because I needed to receive some packages and Ben Avery's makes getting packages or mail very simple. So now that that's done I'm ready to ease on down the road and boondock where there's a new view.

So I would say so far the two week limit has been working great and I will continue doing it as long as it's working. It's keeping me from getting bored by motivating me to hit the road when there's nothing left to do, because sometimes my laziness tells me it's easier just to sit here.

And yes personally I think that inless your visiting family or the fishing is unbelievably great, three months is long time to stay in one spot.

Tom

12/13/2018 06:53:07 pm

Thank you for the experienced input. In the past the cheaper monthly rates were the reason I stayed for a month in many places. Most of the time I was more than ready to roll when the month was finished. I plan to implement a two week stay maximum starting with 2019 but will not rule out going back to a place later for another two weeks if it seems like a fun thing to do. I seem to get stuck in a rut all too easily.

12/13/2018 08:17:04 pm

I agree completely with your monthly stay concept when dealing with RV parks. It only takes a brief look at the RV parks price structure to realize that it's far cheaper to stay there for a month than it is to move a lot and stay in four RV parks for a week each. Which was another reason I gravitated towards boondocking most of the time.

Tomorrow I'm pretty sure I'm going to boondock at the North Ranch escapees Park between Wickenburg and Congress for a few days. I haven't been there for a couple years and I would really like to weigh the Arctic Fox at the Smart Weigh they have there. If I remember correctly they only weigh RVs on Saturday so I'll probably just spend the weekend there. I think they have a seven day limit on drycamping anyway.

Staying there will also give me a chance to check out the boondocking in Congress and see if it's crowded over there. And drive to Wickenburg and visit Box Wash two see if they still allow boondocking there or have turned it into a state Park yet.

It's easy to get stuck in a rut, I get stuck in mini ruts all the time. When you're as lazy and complacent as I am a rut is the simplest place to be because sitting still is easier than moving. I just have to keep reminding myself that my home has wheels on it for a reason and if I'm not going to use them I might as well buy a house.

But I think a rut is only a rut if you're unhappy being there and wish you were doing something else. even if you've been someplace a hundred times, if you're happy doing it, it's not a rut.

Tom

Malisa

12/16/2018 07:53:38 am

Wow that’s a pretty sunset picture!

12/16/2018 08:50:23 am

Well thank you Malisa, you have excellent taste. Anyone can take pretty sunset pictures in the desert, their often so spectacular that all you have to do is have a camera and be there.

Tom

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