Boondocking at Ocean Shores

Boondocking.  Dry camping.  Independent Camping.  Call it what you will, it’s camping without any hook-ups.  You bring your own electricity (coach batteries, solar and/or wind power, generator) and water and use your RV’s holding tanks for waste water.

Check out What is Boondocking? by Bob Wells.  Another interesting read is What is RV Boondocking?  How is it Different from just plain boondocking?

And often, it’s free.  Really! 

A few people scoffed at me when I said we were going to park right beside the ocean for the weekend for free.  They chuckled in disbelief when I said we could arrive late on a Friday and still get a spot.  Well, that’s exactly what happened.  Its land owned by the Quinault Indians, part of the property the Quinault Beach Resort and Casino is on.  Check out this site showing free casino parking across the nation – Casino Camper.   

About a mile from the casino, we stopped for gas and propane.  I was filling up the rig while Cheryl went inside to inquire about purchasing firewood.   While in there she asked to use the restroom and the owner of the place showed her a restroom behind the counter.  When I came in to use the restroom, he pointed to the outhouse outside!  LOL  I used the RV. 

And oh, firewood?   Well, on our first trip we had no wood, hatchet, newspaper, etc. for starting a fire.  We bought a bundle of wood from the KOA store and tried to get it going, but no luck.   So here, this very nice store owner, all googly eyed over Cheryl picks out two VERY nice bundles of wood that include something called kindling!  Haha  In fact this time we brought along newspaper and some fire propellant as well!  However…  Since stumbling on this RV parking spot a couple of years ago, they have banned fires, unless you have a fire ring or pit.  So we still have our wood!  And have added a fire ring to our “must have” list.

We pulled in about 8:15 PM.   The fog, or sea mist as a couple of locals called it, was THICK.  The forecast was for the same ALL DAY on Saturday.  We set up, with a few less steps this time.  Jacks down.  Gas on.  Break out the cheese, crackers and wine!   Open the windows and listen to the roar of the ocean waves.  Ah yes, this is my kind of camping.

As I was out turning on the gas, I met a couple from Vancouver BC parked two spots away from us. (They actually have spray-painted lines on the gravel to mark the spots.)   They were in a camper on a pick-up and there for just a night enroute to somewhere else.

In the morning I was out putting the awning up when I met Ginger.  She was beautiful.  And very playful.  She is five months old, really well behaved and belonged to the camper across the way.   His name is Mark and he’s from Auburn WA.  He and his wife have been coming to this site for over three years and camp in a towable (trailer) pulled by a big “dualie”.   Amazing how much you can learn about someone standing around campsites.

Well, despite the forecast of the locals, we awoke to clear skies and sunshine Saturday morning.  It was beautiful!  And wait.  Wait…  Yes, the sound of the ocean was still coming through the windows.  Ahhhh…

We made coffee, which we needed our generator for, and after lounging around for a while Cheryl made a scrumptious goulash breakfast – eggs, hash browns, sausage, cheese and salsa – and toast.   Yum! 

After breakfast we headed for the beach where we found horseback riders, paddle boarders, kite flyers, book readers, volleyball players and others enjoying the sun, warmth, sand and water!   Cheryl and I walked for a while before my knee said, “Enough.”   I turned back and Cheryl went for an hour-long walk.

We sat our chairs out in the sun and just lounged for a long time.  Ah yes…

Later we played cards and eventually prepared dinner.   We used the George Foreman grill, bought specifically for the RV, to grill some pork chops.  We added to this some steamed asparagus and freshly baked biscuits. 

In the camping area itself, there were couples, families and single people.  Deer, pheasants and hawks were seen.  There were pick-up campers, towables and RVs of all sizes.   Many of the Class A and Class C motorhomes towed cars and several had scooters with them.  Our goal before our next trip is to secure a trailer so we can tow the Gold Wing with us!   

The next morning we awoke to fog that never cleared before we left.   Even more thankful now for the sun we had Saturday! 

Breakfast prepared. Dishes done.  Showers taken.   So far we are mastering this boondocking thing!

Just before leaving around 2:30 or so, we decided to walk down a ways to a geocache.  Upon exiting our RV, we met Bob whose diesel pusher had rolled in earlier taking the pick-up camper’s spot.   He and his wife are from Houston TX and they have been on the road since June.  Their house is rented out and they are what you call “Full-time RVers”.   They plan on returning to Texas in September, but in the meantime they are NOT missing the triple digit temperatures at home!

We found our geocache, prepared the rig for departure and headed out. 

We were worried about traffic, but the road was wide open, until Tacoma/Fort Lewis- McChord AFB area.   There is ALWAYS traffic here, so no surprise.  Along the way we of course needed to dump out holding tanks.  Many of Washington’s rest areas have dump stations for free.  Well, free in the sense you don’t have to pay each time you use them, but $3.00 is added to all recreational vehicle license renewals each year.  I had studied in detail the Idiot’s Guide to RVing on how to dump our waste.  I had purchased an adapter for the sewer hose end that went in to the sewer.  I had my rubber gloves.   I was set.   We pulled in to a rest stop and whoa!  No line!  In fact, two of the four dump stations were open!  We pulled up, hooked up the hose and drained our tanks in record time.  We are getting this down baby! 

Along the way, we rocked out to Bread, Anne Murray, Jefferson Airplane…   Remember, this is a 1996 rig and a cassette player is what we get!  I knew I held on to those cassette tapes for all these years for a reason!  Cheryl even fixed us lunch as we rolled up I-5.   Ahhh yes…

We arrived home at about 6:30 and in one trip took everything inside that needed taking in.   Our goal is to have most everything we need in the RV already and just take a few things with us each time.  We are getting there.

So, our second trip was a success on all fronts and we are liking this kind of camping!  Next trip is a five-day, four-night boondocking trip to a bi-annual family reunion in Darrington WA.  

Hope you’ll come along on our next adventure!

More pictures on smugmug!

Campground Sounds and Smells

Being so packed in a campground like the KOA in Concrete WA, you can’t help but hear nearby or passing conversations.  And other sounds…

Cheryl and I were sitting in the motor home when a man walks by with a young crying girl in his arms.  He says, “Now knock it off, that didn’t hurt!”   “Yes it did!” cries the little girl.   Dad responds with, “Stop the crying.  Do you want a spanking?   Then stop the crying!”  Why do we say things like that to kids?  Why do we think the child will STOP crying if we SPANK them!??!?!?!?   Moments later they pass by again, on their way back to the family reunion in the field.  The young girl now has a little stuffed animal in her arms and is giggling away.  That heart melting child’s giggle…

I watched a pickup coast to a stop in front of the camp site next to us.  “Hey!” yells the driver, “I am going to the store.  Wanna go?”    A few kids pile in to the back of the pickup, arms draped over the side or the tailgate and off they go.  For a moment, I slipped back in time….   To before the Washington law banning anyone from riding in the back of a pickup.   Back to the carefree days of a warm summer day.

Ahhhh, yes.

Of course the crowded camp grounds bring other noises too.  And smells.   

Yapping dogs left in a HOT tent…   The exhaust fumes from a car idling in front of your camp site while the occupants casually chat with acquaintances walking down the road…  Music of some unheard of genre playing from nearby campsites…  Late night arguments so heated you tense up waiting for the sound of a fist fight…  And snoring.  I can nudge Cheryl and get her to roll over when she is snoring, but what do I do with the guy in the tent 12’ from our bedroom window!!

Then the quite of night.   Hushed conversations from the neighboring campsites.  The crackling of fires burning.  Laughter.  

Gotta love the entire package!

First Trip in the RV

So, we are off on our first RV trip…    But before we departed, there was some preparation work to be done.

I spent a couple nights “playing” in the RV.   I opened every space I could find and flipped every switch I could in order to figure things out.   I checked all the fluid levels like the Idiot’s Guide to RVing told me to do.  

The trick was to FIND all of the dipsticks and fluid reservoirs!   And holy moly!   I discovered the transmission fluid dip-stick is literally 5-1/2 feet long!!

Then on to checking the light bulbs.  I replaced a bulb in one of the overhead lamps.  Felt pretty proud of myself for figuring out how to remove the cover!   Then I found a bulb in one of the three-way wall lamps was out.  I removed the darkened bulb successfully, but as I inserted the new bulb, I heard a little sizzling and crackling sound, followed by several lights going out.  Eghads, what had I done!?  I quickly figured out some lights worked and some didn’t.  Must be a fuse.  Now, where were those 12v fuses again?  

After running to an auto parts store and buying 42 fuses and a fuse puller/tester, I was back in business.  So just to be sure the bulb is what blew the fuse to start with, I tried it again.  Fuses – 2, Doug – 0.

Cheryl was busy stocking the motorhome with LIGHTWEIGHT things.   The idea being of course is we have the RV loaded and ready to hit the road with very little prep time.  So we have gathered items from the store, from home and from garage sales.  We splurged on a couple of things.  Cheryl found a mini-blender for her morning protein shakes.  I ordered a small George Foreman Grill.   The kitchen and bathroom are well stocked.   We have color coordinated throw rugs.  Cheryl even found some colorful towels on sale at Target.

Remember that blender mentioned above?  It's hot pink.  Well maybe an off-mauve color.  Wait...  Cheryl tells me the color is actually fuschia.  And so is the multi-function Dirt Devil vacumn Cheryl picked up.  Seriously folks, we are taking color coordination to unheard of levels!

Gassed up.  Watered up.  Loaded up.  Time to hit the road.

As we headed north, I asked myself, "Now what were all those things I was supposed to remember?"  Right, increase my following distance, remembering that now fully loaded my stopping distance is increased.  And as it turns out this is very true.  I learned to downshift to 2^nd to help slow me down, but keeping my distance was the best plan.  Besides, it was easier for cars to cut in front of me when there was more room.

Let’s see, what else?  Get in the center lane and just stay there.  That seemed to work.  The rig runs well and we were always able to maintain our speed, so no worries about Washington’s law regarding the delaying of 5 or more vehicles.   At least on this trip where we didn’t have a lot of hilly terrain!

Cheryl puts her freshly painted toenails up on the dash and sits back in comfort.  With duct tape over her mouth.  You know, so that I could drive…   Just kidding of course.   

The GPS guided us up I-5 to just past Mount Vernon where we headed east on Hwy 20, destined for a KOA Kampground in Concrete WA.  Estimated arrival time was 7:30.  We arrived at 7:47.  Not bad given all of the traffic from Lynnwood to well north of Everett on I-5. 

At the entrance to the campground, we were given our assigned spot.   We followed the map to site #105 where we discovered a group had sprawled out a wee bit, using our spot for one of their vehicles…  Someone passed by that knew who owned the truck and it was quickly moved.   Now to back in to our space with EVERYONE watching.  OK, just a few.  Maybe 5 or 6.  But still, the pressure was immense.

Low and behold, it only took me one attempt and we were set.  Even properly aligned with the power/water pedestal!  Yeah for me!  Haha   

OK.  What am I supposed to do next?   Oh yeah.  Leveling jacks down.  Check.  Hook up power and water.  Check.  Deploy the awning.  Check.  Turn on the hot water heater.  Check.  Turn on refrigerator.  Check.  Turn on the A/C.  Check.  Ahh yes, this camping is tough stuff I tell ya. 

Finally, we opened the wine, sliced a variety of cheeses and relaxed.

Good first trip so far!   Thanks for coming along with us.

  

Well, we took the plunge today and purchased an RV.  A 1996 34' (yes thirty-four feet long) Fleetwood Bounder Class A motor home. 

We came across it two weeks ago while out on a motorcycle ride...   We were just riding some back roads and as we were riding along OK Mill Road in Snohomish WA, Cheryl taps on my shoulder and points out a Bounder that has a "for sale" sign in the windshield.  We circled around and came back asking if we could look at it.   We spent a couple of hours there making new friends with Allen and Melinda.  Eventually we had to leave, but promised to let them know...

During the coming week we looked at other homes and figured out finances.  This was a good deal and in good shape.  We called them back. "Is it still available?"   "Yes," they said.  So we headed out last Saturday to give it a closer look and left a deposit.

Today we went back, completed the paperwork, did a final run through of how things worked, and drove 'er home.  

The rig handles so well and the engine is powerful!  I frequently found myself going OVER the speed limit rather than trying to keep up with it!  

Cheryl was able to load the rig up with all of the stuff she has been setting aside or buying this week.  We are READY to hit the road!

First stop?  A KOA campground in Concrete WA for our first two nights out.  Our shakedown cruise!

Hope you are able to come along on our trips!   Cheers.