theboondork's RV blog

Yuma

1/3/2023

Click the pics and see how crowded it is.

Thanks to being small and highly mobile, I was able to find a little spot all to myself, in a very crowded boondocking area, that bigger RVs can't get to

I pulled into the Yuma VFW boondocking area at about 10 o'clock this morning, and it is the most crowded I've ever seen it. In fact, if you got rid of half these RVs, it would still be the most crowded I've ever seen.

I wonder what caused this? It could be the time of year, and folks are coming here to wait for the Big Show in Quartzsite. Possibly the place has become more popular for some reason. Many more people owning many more RVs would be a good guess. Or some boondocking areas closer to the Mexican border in Yuma may have been overrun with illegals, so boondockers had to come here.

Yuma is a very popular place for RVers. This time of year, it would be surprising to me if the RVers didn't easily outnumber the locals. The town is big enough that it has a Walmart, plenty of shopping, and some really huge RV parks that mostly cater to the 55 and over snowbirds. There used to be a great border crossing near Yuma called Los Algodones that I used to go to but now I feel it's too dangerous. And the Colorado River runs right through it. This is why Yuma is here; it was the safest place to cross the river.

I found an empty spot in the back of the boondocking area, but it could be better. I'm facing the wrong way, and huge trees behind me will block the sun at certain times of the day, so I'm wondering if my solar panels will like that. There are so many people packed in here, and I'm not seeing a lot of solar panels on these RVs, so I'll have to see if I can stand the racket from a bunch of noisy generators. I had planned on staying here a few days, but now I'm still determining if I will. But it's not a big deal; if the place bothers me, I'll hop in the truck and leave.

Theboondork

I believe anyone driving by would think that this is an RV Park, and I wouldn't blame them.

Crowded boondocking Yuma Arizona Picture

I can't believe so many people want to park awning to elbow while their boondocking, it doesn't make any sense to me. And a lot of these people aren't just spending a couple of days here, they've got all their stuff spread out like they're going to be here for a while.

But fortunately its not my job to make sense of anything anybody does, and we all want to live our lives the way we see fit.... And after all I can't be "holier than thou" since I'm staying here to.

I took this picture last night in Quartzsite showing a mom, dad, and there young son, sitting around the campfire boondocking in a van... It would be a better world if more families did this.

10 Comments

Judith

1/3/2023 07:49:47 pm

My goodness, that's a lot of people. Here's some photos of what it's like less than 30 miles from you, taken by someone in a rig that looks similar to yours.
(Well, it's a camper on a truck. That's all I know.) https://geogypsytraveler.com/2023/01/03/exploring-the-cargo-muchacho-mountains . It IS in California though. Ha.

Tom

1/3/2023 08:57:42 pm

Thank you for that blog Judith. She takes some mighty pretty pictures.

Unfortunately for the state of California, I have vowed never to return there and absolutely refuse to honor them with my presence or my money.

Tom

OFM

1/3/2023 10:46:41 pm

I have been following geogypsy for about thirty years. She has been producing really nice photographs of the west and boondocking for longer than I can remember. But I have never crossed her trail in real life. Studying her photographic compositions really helped my photos. She should be an interesting person to visit some day if I am lucky to meet her. She roams a lot of southern Az.

1/4/2023 08:48:51 am

30 years huh? Yeah that sounds like a stalker.

Yes I can tell she puts some effort into her pictures. Maybe I should keep up with her blog. But there are thousands of RV blogs out there and I just don't have the time to keep up with any more than a handful.

I keep up with yours but I figure you're so old you can't be writing for very much longer, and sooner or later you won't be able to find a ribbon for your typewriter. I used to follow the Bayfield Bunch but ever since they stopped traveling I lost interest in it; if I wanted to read about how to mope around the house and not do anything, all the while complaining about the miserable cold weather, I could read about that in my diary.

Southern Arizona is a good place to roam, because my experience is southern Arizona has more "comfortable" days in the winter than any other place in the country. Like I've said in the past it's that low humidity that will keeps you wearing a T-shirt more days than any other place. And remember I lived in Miami Florida, the only tropical jungle in the United States for 20 years... So I know what humidity is.

But getting back to the geogypsy, she does sound like an interesting person and travels a lot so in my travels I will keep an eye out for a blue Dodge truck and a Week Ender truck camper... For the places she goes a truck camper is a good choice.

Tom

1/4/2023 11:05:24 am

You are right about needing to pay attention to the number of comfortable days as the most important criteria. Thank you for catching my mistake . Now I see the reason for that area being so popular. Another of my life 's mysteries is eliminated now.

1/4/2023 01:31:11 pm

The humidity is a big thing, but not the only thing, as someone who survived two decades of living in Miami I can assure you that being able to live without mosquitoes is a life changer. I can walk outside after dark without hearing that dreaded hum of a thousand mosquitoes coming out of the bushes headed in my direction, closely followed by a million no-see-ums. I can't even remember the last time I had a bug bite in Arizona.

A couple of critters that worry people the most about Arizona are rattlesnakes, and Gila monsters. In all my years of coming to Southern Arizona and poking around in the desert, I have seen exactly one rattlesnake, and one Gila monster.... And I actually go looking for critters like that.

Tom

Linda

1/4/2023 12:45:48 pm

I have not yet read this blog but I thought you might want to see this: https://www.carscoops.com/2022/12/an-eagle-cap-camper-snapped-a-ram-3500-dually-in-half-to-the-tune-of-17000/

1/4/2023 01:28:37 pm

Wow! Thanks for that Barney. Those are some scary pictures.

Reading the article they mention some of the same problems that I had when picking out a truck camper, which is when you look at the amount of weight that my three-quarter ton Chevy can haul it looks like a lot. But when you add on the weight of the crew cab, the diesel engine, four-wheel-drive, and other stuff that the basic truck doesn't have the amount of weight my truck can carry is substantially less than the basic truck.

That's why it took me a while to find a camper that was light enough for my truck. Campers that weigh over 3000 pounds are very common, one's that weigh around 2000 pounds not so much.

But I feel that I'm okay on the weight, I had the Arctic Fox weighed by Smart Weigh at an Escapees campground, and the pin weight that the Arctic Fox put on the truck was 2600 pounds, which is considerably less than the loaded Lance puts on it.

But those are still some real scary pictures.

Tom

1/4/2023 03:05:01 pm

I wonder why I never stayed at that VFW? I knew it was there. I stayed once in the SKP park in Yuma. I stayed on BLM land just barely into California with friends but didn't go back there, either. We stayed once in the foothills at a place owned by an RV driving school instructor. I guess I never got into being south of Quartzsite. I mostly stayed in the Q or Parker areas. Although I have family in Phoenix so went there occasionally.

1/4/2023 04:09:38 pm

I accidentally stumbled onto the place when I first started full timing. And whenever I was here, eight or ten RVs would be scattered around the area, but I'd never seen it like this before. My best guess would be it's probably all the new RVers from the bat flu days.

I've stayed at that Escapees RV Park before it's way south past the Naval Air Station. But they charge for boondocking at Escapees parks, and the BLM, VFW boondocking area was free, plus it's easier to get to Walmart.

Q and Parker have everything an Rver needs, so other than looking for a new view there are not many reasons to leave that area.

Tom

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