The Seinfeld fans out there will remember the episode where George Costanza decided to just give up. Rather than watch his weight or care about his appearance, he decided to wear sweat pants all the time and skip other necessary hygienic activities. Well the US has just decided to stop shaving, bathing, and has purchased the largest pair of sweatpants the world has ever seen.
While we're all celebrating the end of the government shutdown, there is one bit of information that I haven't seen reported anywhere in the news. A provision (named the Default Prevention Act of 2013) is buried within the Continuing Appropriations Act of 2014 that gives the President the ability to unilaterally waive the debt ceiling limit. Although Congress can override the President's move to lift the debt ceiling entirely, it would take a 2/3 majority in both Houses of Congress to block the action. That just would not be possible for all practical purposes. Whether you are a Republican or Democrat (or, like me, have little use for either), this provision has chilling implications.
When I first saw the news that a deal had been reached, I spent time scouring the Internet to see if I could find out the new debt ceiling limit - i.e. how much more deficit spending could occur between now and February 7, the next drop-dead date. I could not find any numbers. Now I know why.
It looks to me, based on reading the Bill, that the Senate slipped the provision into the legislation at a late stage in the game, when they realized that the Republicans had caved in and the world was begging the government to avoid default. I would bet a lot of money that most if not 90% of the Congressmen who voted "yes" on the Bill didn't even know that the provision was in there.
In addition to this, there is no specified limitation on the amount of debt that can be issued between now and February 7th, when supposedly Congress reconvenes to vote on extending the debt ceiling limit. But now it appears as if February 7th is a meaningless date. So now we have legislatively officially entered the realm of unlimited debt, unlimited QE, and interest rate and dollar instability.
In essence, while most people feel a sense of relief over the passage of the Bill enabling to government to pile on even more debt, the cold reality is that the legislation is a ticking time bomb for the U.S. dollar and it sets up the next stage of systemic collapse (or reset, choose your poison).
The truth is, the U.S. political and economic system is now akin to a runaway freight train in which the brakes have failed and it's headed toward a gorge where the bridge has collapsed. At this point, It would take a 30%-40% contraction in GDP to restore the annual budget to balance. Five years ago it would have taken a 20% GDP contraction. At the end of 1999, it would have required a 10% GDP contraction. As time goes on, we are accelerating more rapidly from a point where we could have fixed this problem with a minimum of pain. Our leaders have simply decided that it is better to just give up on fixing the problem and are hoping the charade lasts until they're retired and gone.
Monday, October 21, 2013
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Tails from the Back Seat: Huckleberry Hounds
Dateline: September 2013
Locale: Far North Idaho
Activity: Huckleberrying (a verb in these parts)
Huckleberry, the state fruit of Idaho
So, off we went for what we thought was a normal romp in the woods but John and Susan had other plans. They said that we couldn't, in good conscience, call ourselves North Idahoan dogs unless we experienced the Zen of picking huckleberries. Not sure what that meant, but we were game! As we climbed the trail to over 3,800 feet in elevation, we found the purple paradise: shrubs about 4 feet in height laden with small purplish berries that gave off a heavenly aroma and squirted juice when we jostled them with our noses...yummmmm!
Since the season was just getting started, we didn't realize that these plants would be found in literally every alpine area in the Idaho Panhandle, along with deluges of migrant pickers/campers who infiltrate the area during this time of year; boondocking spots were at a premium. We also got used to seeing huckleberry-filled coolers bungee-corded to every flat surface of the pickers' well-worn cars barely drivable under their own weight on the local backwoods roads.
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| Now you see them...soon you won't! |
Since the season was just getting started, we didn't realize that these plants would be found in literally every alpine area in the Idaho Panhandle, along with deluges of migrant pickers/campers who infiltrate the area during this time of year; boondocking spots were at a premium. We also got used to seeing huckleberry-filled coolers bungee-corded to every flat surface of the pickers' well-worn cars barely drivable under their own weight on the local backwoods roads.
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| The Huckleberries of Wrath |
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| We think he likes the beer label too! |
but are more dense in texture and more tart in flavor. Eating them makes your face flush and tongue tingle with the tons of antioxidants that explode in your mouth; their medicinal properties are numerous. In World War II, some pilots claimed eating huckleberry jam improved their night vision and today they are used to treat and prevent various health issues such as diabetes and urinary tract infections. Good thing for John since his favorite use for huckleberries is Huckleberry Beer!
Prime picking season is August, but the season extends as late as October. Perhaps we will venture out again, it's not easy work, but the rewards are tasty!
"Sweet" Dreams......
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
A River Runs Through It
In wandering around the country sometimes you just stumble upon a place that has that special "something" going for it. Usually it won't be a place that is written up in any travel or ratings guide. The River Clan Saloon is that kind of place.
Located in central Idaho near the town of Kooskia, this little riverside pub sits on one of the prettiest stretches of the Clearwater River you can find. The spot isn't just perfect for steelhead fishing, it's also perfect for the slip 'n slide set-up that takes you right into a sweet spot on the river. We didn't partake of it ourselves, but it does provide better entertainment while sipping a beer or a glass of wine than just about any other establishment we've visited in our travels.
Like most places with soul, the pub is owned and run by the family that lives on the property. When you arrive, you're greeted by Larry, the family standard poodle, who knows how to relax and have a good time. We became fast friends.
The pub was started and is run by son Anderson, a recent business school graduate. His business model/motto for the saloon declares:
"We've been to where you are going, and this is better"
We are inclined to agree. This was one of the best stops on our three month travels through Idaho.
Like most family run establishments, the River Clan Saloon is a total family affair. Mom cooks the hamburgers to order (excellent, especially when enjoyed creekside) and dad rolled up with a group of his friends on their Harleys and was happy to provide all kinds of valuable information about the area for people like us who are looking for land in Idaho.
The family also has accommodations for the the fishermen who descend on this valley each year for the steelhead run. Their section of the river is the definition of perfect trout waters.
If you happen to be going through the heart of Idaho, take a ride along beautiful Highway 13 and look for the River Clan Saloon. They are between Grangeville and Kooskia down by the waterside (3341 Highway 13). It's the perfect place to linger for an afternoon (or two or three).
Sunday, August 4, 2013
The Real Healthcare Scam
It's time for a healthcare rant.
As two of those sad souls who don't have health insurance through through a government program, union affiliation, an employer, or one of the increasingly rare rare corporations that still offer healthcare coverage to retired employees, you would think that we would be delighted about the promises of Obamacare.
Unfortunately, Obamacare will not solve ours or this nation's healthcare problems and will just serve to perpetuate the pricing issues that are at the root of the problem.
For example, from Bloomberg News:
Shetty is not a public health official motivated by charity. He’s a heart surgeon turned businessman who has started a chain of 21 medical centers around India. By trimming costs with such measures as buying cheaper scrubs and spurning air-conditioning, he has cut the price of artery-clearing coronary bypass surgery to 95,000 rupees ($1,583), half of what it was 20 years ago, and wants to get the price down to $800 within a decade. The same procedure costs $106,385 at Ohio’s Cleveland Clinic, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
“It shows that costs can be substantially contained,” said Srinath Reddy, president of the Geneva-based World Heart Federation, of Shetty’s approach. “It’s possible to deliver very high quality cardiac care at a relatively low cost.”
No, it shows that our existing model in the United States is a scam that is promulgated by the so-called "health care" companies, doctors, "insurance" companies, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and others all of whom conspire together to lobby for monopolistic pricing protections from our political leaders so they can steal everything that isn't nailed down and half of what is.
And it's not just heart surgery. If you took the price of having a baby in 1963 and inflated it by the CPI you could walk into any hospital, have that child, and spend under $1,000 -- including three nights in the hospital. Today you're lucky to get 12 hours and the price is 10x as high as it should be.
From the same Bloomberg News article:
“The current price of everything that you see in health care is predominantly opportunistic pricing and the outcome of inefficiency,” Shetty, 60, said in an interview in his office in Bangalore, where he started his chain of hospitals, with the opening of his flagship center, Narayana Hrudayalaya Health City, in 2001.
"Opportunistic pricing" is just a nice way of saying legalized extortion. That can only exist one way....when firms, individuals and everyone involved in doing it has to go to the government and get laws passed to protect them from competition, otherwise someone will come in just like Shetty and completely destroy their existing healthcare model by undercutting the price by 90% or more.
There is no crisis of health care and its cost in the United States or anywhere else. There is a manufactured system of theft that is maintained only through legalized extortion by everyone involved in it, and absent their special protections that they have lobbied for, all of it and everyone involved in it would be able to be prosecuted under existing laws -- specifically, the Sherman and Clayton Antitrust Acts.
We have spent much of the last two years searching for healthcare alternatives that are reasonably and transparently priced, do not involve insurance, and enable us as individuals to take personal responsibility for our healthcare choices.
The dental profession tends to be among the best for open and competitive pricing. Perhaps the best example is in the laser eye surgery field where a lack of insurance coverage led to both improvements in service and lower prices as firms had to compete for patients. In lab testing (PrivateMD Labs) and even medical scanning (MRIs, etc.Wecaremedicalmall), it is becoming possible to search for providers on the Internet that offer these services at 1/10th of the prices usually charged through insurance companies (and often cheaper than if you went through your insurance company and paid your share of the coinsurance for the procedures). Another example is the Oklahoma Surgical Center, a group of doctors who do not take insurance and charge dramatically lower prices for common surgical procedures. However, these free market examples are few and far between, the existing laws and anti-trust protections making it difficult for the individual to find affordable healthcare options like these.
The simple fact of the matter is that roughly one quarter of all economic activity in this nation is tied to this monopolistic pricing scam, directly and/or indirectly. One quarter of every dollar earned (or more usually borrowed) and spent, and of that, ninety percent or more, is simply stolen through these pricing machinations. This scam is larger than any other, and yet there is not one political party or organization that has taken this up as their headline issue.
The reason is simple:
They are all in on it and profiting from it, even the so-called Libertarians whose political beliefs in general I tend to lean towards.
We can start with the political claim that Medicare is "necessary" for older people to get reasonable medical services when the proof is right here that you can have your heart fixed for under $2,000 and in fact you could fly to India and back plus have the procedure done for less than $5,000.
Any person, institution, corporation or lawmaker who supports, advocates for or otherwise keeps in place the "special protections" that are the only reason healthcare pricing exists at more than 70 times the market level (including travel costs) and claims that this model is sustainable in this country on a long term basis is simply lying to us. The worst part is that so many of us want to desperately believe the lie and won't demand the real solutions.
And before anyone out there starts claiming that we pay more in this country because our healthcare services are so far superior to the rest of the world, do your research first. That may have been true 30 or 40 years ago, but not now.
And for those of you who believe that our rule of law and malpractice laws makes our healthcare system more consumer friendly than the rest of the world and therefore presumable worth more money. Just ask yourself, "If something goes wrong with my surgery, is it worth paying 70 times more for that surgery in the US just so my family can have an easier time suing someone?"
And finally, those of you out there who believe you are immune from this issue because your government, union, employer or former employer provided health plan will take care of you....well you are fooling yourself, have your head in the sand, etc. The healthcare pricing structure in this country is becoming increasingly unsustainable. Obamacare, and nothing proposed thus far by the Republicans, will solve our problem.
As two of those sad souls who don't have health insurance through through a government program, union affiliation, an employer, or one of the increasingly rare rare corporations that still offer healthcare coverage to retired employees, you would think that we would be delighted about the promises of Obamacare.
Unfortunately, Obamacare will not solve ours or this nation's healthcare problems and will just serve to perpetuate the pricing issues that are at the root of the problem.
For example, from Bloomberg News:
Shetty is not a public health official motivated by charity. He’s a heart surgeon turned businessman who has started a chain of 21 medical centers around India. By trimming costs with such measures as buying cheaper scrubs and spurning air-conditioning, he has cut the price of artery-clearing coronary bypass surgery to 95,000 rupees ($1,583), half of what it was 20 years ago, and wants to get the price down to $800 within a decade. The same procedure costs $106,385 at Ohio’s Cleveland Clinic, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
“It shows that costs can be substantially contained,” said Srinath Reddy, president of the Geneva-based World Heart Federation, of Shetty’s approach. “It’s possible to deliver very high quality cardiac care at a relatively low cost.”
No, it shows that our existing model in the United States is a scam that is promulgated by the so-called "health care" companies, doctors, "insurance" companies, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and others all of whom conspire together to lobby for monopolistic pricing protections from our political leaders so they can steal everything that isn't nailed down and half of what is.
And it's not just heart surgery. If you took the price of having a baby in 1963 and inflated it by the CPI you could walk into any hospital, have that child, and spend under $1,000 -- including three nights in the hospital. Today you're lucky to get 12 hours and the price is 10x as high as it should be.
From the same Bloomberg News article:
“The current price of everything that you see in health care is predominantly opportunistic pricing and the outcome of inefficiency,” Shetty, 60, said in an interview in his office in Bangalore, where he started his chain of hospitals, with the opening of his flagship center, Narayana Hrudayalaya Health City, in 2001.
"Opportunistic pricing" is just a nice way of saying legalized extortion. That can only exist one way....when firms, individuals and everyone involved in doing it has to go to the government and get laws passed to protect them from competition, otherwise someone will come in just like Shetty and completely destroy their existing healthcare model by undercutting the price by 90% or more.
There is no crisis of health care and its cost in the United States or anywhere else. There is a manufactured system of theft that is maintained only through legalized extortion by everyone involved in it, and absent their special protections that they have lobbied for, all of it and everyone involved in it would be able to be prosecuted under existing laws -- specifically, the Sherman and Clayton Antitrust Acts.
We have spent much of the last two years searching for healthcare alternatives that are reasonably and transparently priced, do not involve insurance, and enable us as individuals to take personal responsibility for our healthcare choices.
The dental profession tends to be among the best for open and competitive pricing. Perhaps the best example is in the laser eye surgery field where a lack of insurance coverage led to both improvements in service and lower prices as firms had to compete for patients. In lab testing (PrivateMD Labs) and even medical scanning (MRIs, etc.Wecaremedicalmall), it is becoming possible to search for providers on the Internet that offer these services at 1/10th of the prices usually charged through insurance companies (and often cheaper than if you went through your insurance company and paid your share of the coinsurance for the procedures). Another example is the Oklahoma Surgical Center, a group of doctors who do not take insurance and charge dramatically lower prices for common surgical procedures. However, these free market examples are few and far between, the existing laws and anti-trust protections making it difficult for the individual to find affordable healthcare options like these.
The simple fact of the matter is that roughly one quarter of all economic activity in this nation is tied to this monopolistic pricing scam, directly and/or indirectly. One quarter of every dollar earned (or more usually borrowed) and spent, and of that, ninety percent or more, is simply stolen through these pricing machinations. This scam is larger than any other, and yet there is not one political party or organization that has taken this up as their headline issue.
The reason is simple:
They are all in on it and profiting from it, even the so-called Libertarians whose political beliefs in general I tend to lean towards.
We can start with the political claim that Medicare is "necessary" for older people to get reasonable medical services when the proof is right here that you can have your heart fixed for under $2,000 and in fact you could fly to India and back plus have the procedure done for less than $5,000.
Any person, institution, corporation or lawmaker who supports, advocates for or otherwise keeps in place the "special protections" that are the only reason healthcare pricing exists at more than 70 times the market level (including travel costs) and claims that this model is sustainable in this country on a long term basis is simply lying to us. The worst part is that so many of us want to desperately believe the lie and won't demand the real solutions.
And before anyone out there starts claiming that we pay more in this country because our healthcare services are so far superior to the rest of the world, do your research first. That may have been true 30 or 40 years ago, but not now.
And for those of you who believe that our rule of law and malpractice laws makes our healthcare system more consumer friendly than the rest of the world and therefore presumable worth more money. Just ask yourself, "If something goes wrong with my surgery, is it worth paying 70 times more for that surgery in the US just so my family can have an easier time suing someone?"
And finally, those of you out there who believe you are immune from this issue because your government, union, employer or former employer provided health plan will take care of you....well you are fooling yourself, have your head in the sand, etc. The healthcare pricing structure in this country is becoming increasingly unsustainable. Obamacare, and nothing proposed thus far by the Republicans, will solve our problem.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
A Tale of Two Parks
Great Basin National Park - Baker, Nevada: An undiscovered treasure
Weekends and holidays are the bane of a full-timer's existence; trying to find boondocking sites or campgrounds that are not already fully occupied is a challenge. So when we decided to visit Great Basin National Park in Nevada over Memorial Day weekend, we anticipated the need for at least several days advance encampment to assure us a spot during the holiday. However, Great Basin National Park is a park in the way that an eariler generation remembers national parks. As "advertised", the park is one of the least known and visited areas in the West. Even over a summer holiday weekend, we hiked trails all by ourselves, enjoyed the solitude of an awesome boondocking site, and basically saw only the park rangers, even then on an infrequent basis.
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| Route 50 leading to Great Basin NP, aka "The Loneliest Highway" |
The location of the park, in east-central Nevada near the Utah border, is hundreds of miles from any metropolitan area so visitors don't just come for a weekend getaway. And because of its location, the air quality of the park is the best in the continental US; with visibility exceeding 120 miles, star-gazing is beyond compare! Of course, cell phone reception is non-existent and news of the real world comes a day late, but the opportunity to join with Mother Nature of her terms and experience a slower pace cannot be better experienced than here. The Great Basin appeal has to do with silence and space, with the grand lonesome sweep of the country itself, and with long vistas and clean air...and entry is free.
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| Boondocking site on BLM land, 5 miles from Great Basin NP |
Designated as a National Park in 1986, the name Great Basin is derived from the landscape's theme of alternating basin and range -- broad basins hung between craggy ranges, from the Wasatch Mountains of Utah to the Sierra Nevada of California, in seemingly endless geographic rhythm. The entire basin region covers more than 200,000 square miles, as much area as the combined land mass from Maine to Maryland.
However, far from a wasteland, the Great Basin NP is a diverse region that includes 13,000-foot Wheeler Peak; 5,000 year old bristlecone pine trees growing on rocky glacial moraines (one of the world's oldest living things!); a six-story limestone arch (or is it a natural bridge??) and over 30 spectacularly beautiful marble and limestone caves, most notable Lehman Caves. Hiking opportunities abound throughout the park, many not for the faint of heart, as they follow ridge lines or canyons and elevation rises to subalpine lakes and the bristlecone pine forests can be as much as 1,000-feet per mile! Not dissuaded by those challenges, we were truly rewarded on our hikes by the desert's solitude, lungfuls of sagebrush, juniper, and pinyon pines, and dramatic views so expansive and crystal clear it was as if the Park provided complimentary polarized sunglasses! Although we did encounter several higher-elevation trails still covered in snow, the weather during our visit was quintessential--sunny, mid-70's during the day and bright starlit skies, low-50's at night.
However, far from a wasteland, the Great Basin NP is a diverse region that includes 13,000-foot Wheeler Peak; 5,000 year old bristlecone pine trees growing on rocky glacial moraines (one of the world's oldest living things!); a six-story limestone arch (or is it a natural bridge??) and over 30 spectacularly beautiful marble and limestone caves, most notable Lehman Caves. Hiking opportunities abound throughout the park, many not for the faint of heart, as they follow ridge lines or canyons and elevation rises to subalpine lakes and the bristlecone pine forests can be as much as 1,000-feet per mile! Not dissuaded by those challenges, we were truly rewarded on our hikes by the desert's solitude, lungfuls of sagebrush, juniper, and pinyon pines, and dramatic views so expansive and crystal clear it was as if the Park provided complimentary polarized sunglasses! Although we did encounter several higher-elevation trails still covered in snow, the weather during our visit was quintessential--sunny, mid-70's during the day and bright starlit skies, low-50's at night.
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| Wheeler Peak, highest point at 13,063 feet, offers a Scenic Drive to take in the views... |
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| ...or you can hike it... |
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| ...and experience the many exquisite subalpine lakes on the way to the top! |
Exhibiting the diversity of the Park......
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| A grove of ghostly aspens awaits Spring at higher elevations... |
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| ....while Spring has already sprung at lower elevations |
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| Some hikes are through the arid desert, complete with its ecosystem.... |
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| ...while others are through lush canyons, brimming with flora and fauna |
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| Trails leading to the bristlecone pine forests at over 10,000-ft elevation stymied us with snow..... |
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| ....while others were a "walk in the park" |
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| Naturally-formed Lexington Arch, a 6-story limestone arch, stunned us with views from the trail.... |
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| ...and from the Arch |
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| Even the more "ordinary" sites.... |
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| ...were extraordinary! |
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| Taking time to smell the flowers took on a whole new meaning in the Park. Ever wonder where pine nuts come from? Pinyon pine trees in the Great Basin are the most significant source in North America |
Crater Lake National Park - Oregon: A discovered treasure
Great Basin NP took our breath away by its solitude and space, truly a highlight of our travels and an undiscovered treasure. Crater Lake NP is arguably more breathtaking, but it does inspire the awe of thousands of visitors during the summer season, surely a road more traveled. Even though the northern half of the 33-mile Rim Drive was still closed due to snow when we visited in late June, the pullouts, viewpoints, and hiking trails that were open were filled with lots of eager visitors getting a jump on the season. Still, if ever there is a place where pictures say more than words, this is it!
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| Overnighting in eastern Nevada on our way to Crater Lake... even the Walmart parking lots are scenic! |
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| Petroglyphs at Grimes Point Archaeological area near Fallon, NV Situated right next to Highway 50, aka The Loneliest Road, meant the free BLM campground, cool hiking trails, and an abundance of petroglyphs were for our eyes only! |
And now what you've been waiting for.......
A massive volcanic eruption 7,700 years ago left a deep basin the place where a mountain peak once stood. Centuries of rain and snow filled the basin, forming a deep blue lake whose waters are of unmatched color and clarity. It is also the deepest lake in the United States.
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| After snow-melt, a popular excursion is a boat ride to hike Wizard Island...we'll be back!! |
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| In the meantime, we found a secluded overlook to enjoy our lunch..... |
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| peaceful contemplation..... |
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| and time to breathe..... |
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Tails from the Back Seat: BLM & Free(dom) for All
We like to travel with John and Susan, but when we pull into a campground, we have to admit, our hearts drop...that means we have to be on leashes, we have to be quiet, and we can't do our business just any ol' place...it's kind of a drag.
But when we hear them say BLM, it means a free for all...oh, we mean freedom for all :-) !!! Fortunately, since we've been out west, BLM is the norm and campgrounds are few and far between!
We know the acronym stands for Bureau of Land Management, which to John and Susan means freedom from the grid (and free camping), but to us it means a free for all, Barking Loudly and Madly as we get to chase squirrels, rabbits, and each other...generally creating all kinds of mayhem as we roam freely to our hearts content! BLM spots always have interesting sights and smells, as well as interesting tastes (although those usually get us in trouble), and miles and miles of land and water to explore. Of course, we are never allowed out of sight, but just knowing we could be if we wanted to is the best freedom we could ask for!
We hope you experience our "free for all" through the following photos taken on BLM land near the Great Basin National Park in Nevada...can't you just hear us Barking Loudly and Madly??????!!!!!
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| Oh, there's a trail I'm supposed to be on?? |
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| Yes, Jake, get over here! |
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| Come on, John, catch up!!! |
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| We can really use a drink... |
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| ...and a swim!! |
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| OK, Susan, we'll pose for a photo... |
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| ...or two |
Until the next time....Monday, July 8, 2013
Boondocking Paradise
Being outfitted to camp without hook-ups for long periods of time makes us work hard at finding spots to camp for free. We spent most of the last year in Michigan, Canada, and the northeast and southeast parts of the country. It was really hard finding good places to camp on public lands. We managed to find good spots in some national forests (Hiawatha, Oconee, Ocala) and even on some private property (Rhinebeck Aerodrome, Inn at Little Washington), but for the most part we were stuck at campgrounds. While campgrounds sound like fun to a lot of people, they really aren't that great to us. There's usually too much noise, too many campfires, too many barking dogs, too many people, and too many dollars paid for few to no facilities.
Now that we're finally back in the west, we can't believe how easy it is to find great places to camp. Where we used to search for days to find one decent spot we now routinely find multiple spots within a few hours. It's like life is one big Easter egg hunt now. We haven't hooked up to an electric outlet in six weeks and may not for the rest of the summer. Finding free places to dump our tanks and fill our water tanks is also easy.
Even this roadside picnic area in Texas gave us great views and a quiet evening before moving on the next day. Even if staying over one night isn't really boondocking, you can't even find places like this on the east coast where you can spend a pleasant night.
There was more hiking for us and the dogs than we could cover in a year. We went hiking on one of the most popular trails in the park on Saturday over Memorial Day Weekend and didn't see another person.
One of the many sites we found for boondocking near Great Basin in Nevada had some abandoned pavement in the middle of a BLM sagebrush desert at the foot of the mountains. This spot would handle just about any size rig or a group.
In Oregon we stayed mostly in the southeastern part of the state. There were ample boondocking spots all around Crater Lake and Klamath Falls. We'll definitely be back to finish some hiking we didn't get to at Crater Lake.
One place we lingered for a while was a nice little spot right next to the Williamson River.
Idaho offers so many places to stop for a night or multiple days that I'm not sure why anyone would use a campground here unless they absolutely had to. Here are a few examples.
Although part of the reason to boondock is to find those out of the way places where you're all alone (especially at night), we're finding spots where we could easily camp with other people. We'll eventually be looking for kindred spirits people who like to camp off-grid, do some fishing, go on day hikes, grill local products for dinner and sit around a campfire at night.
Now that we're finally back in the west, we can't believe how easy it is to find great places to camp. Where we used to search for days to find one decent spot we now routinely find multiple spots within a few hours. It's like life is one big Easter egg hunt now. We haven't hooked up to an electric outlet in six weeks and may not for the rest of the summer. Finding free places to dump our tanks and fill our water tanks is also easy.
Even this roadside picnic area in Texas gave us great views and a quiet evening before moving on the next day. Even if staying over one night isn't really boondocking, you can't even find places like this on the east coast where you can spend a pleasant night.
In Nevada, basically the entire state is a boondocking opportunity. While we were in Great Basin National Park, we found free sites all over the place in BLM, National Forest and even in the National Park property.
This spot next to a stream and a grove of silver aspens worked well for us for two and a half weeks.
There was more hiking for us and the dogs than we could cover in a year. We went hiking on one of the most popular trails in the park on Saturday over Memorial Day Weekend and didn't see another person.
We also had a nice dinner view in the backyard.
One of the many sites we found for boondocking near Great Basin in Nevada had some abandoned pavement in the middle of a BLM sagebrush desert at the foot of the mountains. This spot would handle just about any size rig or a group.
In Oregon we stayed mostly in the southeastern part of the state. There were ample boondocking spots all around Crater Lake and Klamath Falls. We'll definitely be back to finish some hiking we didn't get to at Crater Lake.
One place we lingered for a while was a nice little spot right next to the Williamson River.
Idaho offers so many places to stop for a night or multiple days that I'm not sure why anyone would use a campground here unless they absolutely had to. Here are a few examples.
Although part of the reason to boondock is to find those out of the way places where you're all alone (especially at night), we're finding spots where we could easily camp with other people. We'll eventually be looking for kindred spirits people who like to camp off-grid, do some fishing, go on day hikes, grill local products for dinner and sit around a campfire at night.
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