A Tale of 2 Kitties…or how to travel the road with cats

They were the best of cats, they were the worst of cats….

It all started around 8 years ago when Paul’s mom took in a stray cat in Miami who turned out, as it were, to be pregnant. A few weeks later, out came 8 bouncing fur-balls of joy ready to climb the drapes, experiment with claws and generally get into trouble. We were visiting, and completely suckered-in decided to take 2 of the little ruffians back home to San Francisco. I asked all the kitties who wanted to come on our world travels and Taggart, in a true reflection of her personality came trotting out first. Rand, quite typically even at 6 weeks old, hid in the background, but since we were running late and out of time she got nabbed and added to the bag. So, there we were, 2 kitties in hand, ready to serve a lifetime of slavery to the cats…because as everyone knows…you don’t own a cat, they own you.

As they grew from fluff to medium-fluff and then pint-sized their personalities developed right in-line with their initial types. Taggart was outgoing, social, loved to party and always the center of attention. Rand was sweet, retiring and hated visitors. Together they cuddled and matched each other perfectly.

Eight years later they’re still a big part of our lives and as tight as ever. They’ve commuted between San Jose and San Francisco (for several years), travelled to Hong Kong and back to the US, lived in smog and sunlight, and are now in the RV.

So, how do cats travel? Although creatures of habit, with a little bit of love and aloooot (did you notice the emphasis?) of patience, cats can really adapt to anything. The key is to take it slow and give them lots of familiar comforts.

The Move Itself:

1. Prepare the RV – create “nooks and crannies” for hiding spots and beds. Cats love height and there’s plenty of cupboard space which is just perfect for this in the RV. We put a cat-bed in the clothes cupboard, and another “den” above our bed. We also have a basic cardboard box (with an entry cut-out) that we put under the covers of the bed during the day. Bring a scratch-pole too and find a good place for the litter (most people use the bath-tub and that’s exactly what we’ve done)
2. Prepare the cats – lots of stress-relieving stuff before the move. Feliway (sprayed around the cat-bags and RV) and Bach’s Rescue Remedy (rubbed on the ears) work great. A few days of L-theanine before the move can also help. The key to moving with cats is move all your stuff first, and the cats last. So, prepare the place beforehand and then move ‘em in when everything is set-up and ready to receive them.
3. Keep a routine – once you move in keep the regular feeding, petting etc. routine. Keep-up the Feliway and work in some cat-nip too. Give the cats time to adapt.

While You’re Driving:

1. Secure the cats – BEFORE moving-in the slides secure the cats. Always, always know where your babies are when you move the slides.
2. Give them a comfort place – while driving either a cat-bag or a hiding place works best. Our cats have decided under the bed-covers is where they want to be. A little Feliway before driving sprayed on the bed helps to keep things relaxed.

At the Parks

1. Keep the routine – cats being creatures of habit, keeping the feeding, petting, sleeping routine keeps your furry friends happy
2. Provide some entertainment – Cats need mental stimulation just like we do, so play-time and walk-time can be great tools. And yes, I did say walk-time. We leash-trained our cats several years back and it turns out they love it. So, everyday crazy cat lady takes them for a walk. Taggart prefers the day-time walks while Rand stalks the night. If you decide to do this buy a proper harness (HDW walking jackets are great), and take your time introducing kitty to the experience.

So, if you’re looking to travel with a little love, a few cat-licks and some purring, bring your furball along for the ride…

Taggart (orange tabby) and Rand (brown tabby) cuddling

Taggart walks the riverbank in Santee, CA

"Dens" for the cats...under the bed (cardboard box), in the cupboard (on the left) and up above the bed

Taggart enjoying an afternoon catnap in the RV

Procuring Food…and a story of love

It’s not everyday that you experience feelings of true love, but every now and then something comes into your life which sets off that giddy rush of emotion and puts you back into the babbling youth of your teenage years. 

Which aptly introduces our Walmart story.

As you may know Paul and I have been happily together for ~13 years now, but this week something struck which bought a third party into our relationship. It was, indeed, love at first sight.
Our eyes met….we were enraptured.
Our lips touched…we were enthralled.
And, after the fact we couldn’t stop thinking about each other.

You see, we had just discovered Lindt 90% chocolate at the local Walmart…a delicious, smooth, insanely chocolately concoction which had inspired the aforementioned rush of emotion.  Thankfully, both Paul and I share a love of good food, so bringing this little hot tamale into our lives was in no way a detriment to our relationship. In fact, food is such a significant part of our lives that we tend to have a rather “open” stance with it and spend a good deal of time both procuring, thinking about and preparing delicious meals. For, as we all know, you are what you eat, and may even think that way.

Which brings me to eating on the road. It’s actually not significantly different from eating at home except for a little research on where to get your stuff. Walmart is around everywhere and a fine establishment it is, but (apart from the chocolate and the love story) for the finer things in life we tend to go more local. The absolute best way to do this is with a farmer’s market. There’s almost always a local market wherever you go, and the produce sold is typically grown by the farmer him or herself. So, not only do you get access to very fresh veggies, but you also get to talk to the farmers, buy home-grown eggs and even pastured meat. In this way we’ve had fresh Chard in Santee, homemade pastured liver pate in Borrego Springs, and fresh eggs in Desert Hot Springs.

Several places to research your local market:

• Newspaper. Typically the local paper will list any local markets
• Internet. A quick and easy way. California keeps a list of all certified farmers markets here, and in Phenix there’s the Arizona Community Farmers Markets
• Your friendly local. The locals are almost “in the know” and can point you to the best produce. If they buy there and eat there, it should be good.

So, next time you buy try going local. Who knows, you may even fall in love all over again…

Fresh produce & gorgeous veggies

The night market at Palm Springs...food, produce and music too

How Much Does it Take?

A question we are often asked is ‘How much money does it take to live the full-time RV lifestyle?’ Or other not so direct questions trying to get to this point. Before we did this, we asked this question many a time as well. So, I thought I’d address it here on the blog.

During my research into living the RV lifestyle the most common answer I received to this question was ‘whatever you have’. Being an engineer and semi-paranoid about the future this was just not going to do. Thus my journey began. After month and months of on-line research, trolling many on-line RV forums, generating a thousand versions of spreadsheets and comparing them to Nina’s meticulously compiled actual expense spreadsheets, I can confidently say that I have the answer. Ready. The answer is….. ‘whatever you have!’

Now, before you send in some smart alec comments allow me to explain…

First, the hard numbers. A few surveys done over recent years by RV groups show that most full-time RVers live on $1,000 to $4,000 a month of income with the average being $2,500. These numbers do not include an RV payment or taxes but do include everything else. They assume the motorhome is owned outright. On the road you do see a large range of lifestyles from the 20ft mini tow trailers to the 45ft tag axle ‘tour buses’. $2,500 a month is $30,000 per year. Factor in the number of years you would  like to lead this lifestyle for and you have an approximate number for how much it takes. That’s the simplest calculation and is probably adequate if you’re only thinking of the lifestyle for a short period of time, say less than 5 years.

If you want to retire for good and live off your savings then the calculations are  bit different. The best rule of thumb for retirement planning (a topic I’ll address in future posts) is to not withdraw more than 4% of your savings in any given year. This will insure that your savings survive a long period of time (say 30 years) and keep pace with inflation. Using the $30,000 per year number means that you would need a nest egg of $750,000 ($30,000/ 0.04) to safely begin retirement. That’s a pretty big number. Fortunately, there are many other options. By the way, this analysis applies to whatever alternative ‘retirement’ lifestyle you may be considering. Full-time RVing is just one of many and an option that allows one to live with pretty modest means.

Here are a links to a few full-time RVers websites where they publish their monthly expenses:
1. RV Dreams
2. Happy Wanderers
3. Road Less Traveled

Now, for some alternatives to the straight retire-never-work-again approach. Well, the most obvious one is to do some work. You probably want to do something, even if its just part-time. One of the beauties of RVing is that there are many ways to make side income to support your adventure. One of the most popular ways is camp hosting. This is where you work at the campground you’re staying at in exchange for a free camp site with full hookups (elec, water, sewer). Usually this involves 20hrs/week of work (for a couple) at the campground doing various jobs like fee collection, light maintenance, light housekeeping, etc…Since the RV site fee (your rent) and fuel are two of the major expenses for full-time RVers this option can reduce monthly expenditures quite a bit, as much as $1,000/month. That sure makes a big difference – now we’re talking of needing $18,000 per year, down from the $30,000 original estimate.

Finally, there are many full-time RVers who make enough income to cover their lifestyle expenses 100%. Obviously, this involves more work but again there are tons of options out there. I’m constantly amazed at how people make their living on the road and at how many ways there are to do it. There is even an organization that caters to this segment, called Workamper (or Work Camping). For example, recently I saw a job opening for full-time RVers to tag along with a traveling circus and help out teaching/tutoring kids of the performers. Check out some of the cool jobs offered at Workamper under the sample jobs section. Nina is planning a working on the road post where she’ll tell you more…

As for the RV, there is also a huge range of options from the 20+yr old used motorhome (see pic below) for $11,000 to the luxury tour bus type motorhomes for $500K. The most economical options are the travel trailers, fifth wheels and used motorhomes. A very nice full-timing solution can be had for less than $50K.

So, in the end, the answer really is ‘whatever you have’. Like many things in life its about adapting the lifestyle to your particular situation and desires. Hopefully this has given you a few more of the hard facts as to what is involved with full-time RVing.

Anyone enticed??

$11K for your new home!!

The RV Toolbox…or what not to forget

There comes a time in every travellers life when they realize they’ve forgotten something important. No matter how hard you plan, or how many lists you make, it appears to be the universal law of travelhood that at some point you’ll slap your hand against your forehead, followed by some kind of lamenting sound, possibly a bit of foul language, the 4 stages of grief and then onto “ok, what do we do now?”.

So it was for us in Quartzite, AZ.

We had driven several miles into the “boonies”, enjoyed an afternoon in the wilderness, slept the deeply sound sleep of those who know that all is right with the world and then gotten ready to take the car into town.

That’s when it happened. You see, we tow our car behind our RV (like many do) which involves hooking up the car to a tow-bar, attaching cables that transfer the brakes to the back and leaving the key half-turned in the ignition so that the wheels are loose and can move while we drive.  Usually we unhook as soon as we get to a RV park, but out here in the wilderness it hardly seemed necessary until we needed the car. So, we had happily left the car hooked-up with the key in the ignition, which was equally happy to slowly drain the batteries overnight leaving us with a completely dead car, and the dead obvious question “honey, we bought jumper cables, right?”.
Which, in matter of fact, we hadn’t.

Now, all turned out fine in the end. Paul, being the strapping man he is, peddled the bicycle cross-country into town, got the cables and speeded back. We had ourselves a good half-hour of weight-pushing exercises getting the car rolled over next to the RV and then jump-started off the 650 amp engine batteries on the beast (for those not in the know, 650 amp is rather large and could easily jump-start a full-grown truck, so no worries there).

Which, brings me to the topic of the RV toolbox. Here’s a list of things we advise you bring should you be silly enough to start the trip without a list (or even with one, given what you might forget):

• Jumper Cables – yes, seems bleeding obvious now
• Assortment of tools (hammer, drill, wrenches, screwdrivers, nails, screws, measuring tape etc.)  – a plastic toolbox will house everything just fine.
• Utility Gloves – useful for when you’re dealing w/ the black-tank and all kinds of other projects.
• Camping axe – particularly helpful for opening coconuts, although I’m sure we’ll find more uses for it as time goes by
• Wood & metal saws – good for home projects and lots more
• Clamps - for use with saws and home projects on the road
• Trowel - most usefull indeed…see yesterday’s post if in doubt
• Bag of extra fuses – for when one of the fuses dies in your massive RV panel
• Power-testing light - if something ain’t working in the RV this handy little tool will tell you if power is getting there
• Grease & lube - all things move in the RV and they all get dry at some point so you’ll need an assortment of useful greases. We’ve got WD40, silicone lube, trailer-hitch grease and a few more which Paul has hidden around the place
• Multi-Stage Ladder – the RV is BIG and having a ladder is key for all kinds of projects. We highly recommend the Werner 13-foot collapsible Ladder. It’s the exact same design (as far as I can tell) as the Little Giant but for a lot less.

I’m sure we’ll think of more as time goes by.

Jumpstarting the car in Quartzite

A selection of tools & lubes

The awesome Werner ladder

How to Poo in the Woods

As I was contemplating the boondocking post, I became most philosophical and was  naturally drawn to a topic that any good outdoorsman will understand. In fact, all of mankind can find kinship in this matter and that is in the need to eliminate. And further, I would care to venture that there is no better way to do this than in the wild. Yes, I am talking about going to the loo, taking a trip to the John, doing a number 2, or just plain ol’ shitting.

It was many years ago, as we were backpacking in Alaska that I discovered this delightful experience. The whole process was so pleasant and so unlike anything I had tried before that I was immediately gripped. With my usual tenacity I sought to learn more about the experience, and in my research discovered a most excellent book dedicated to the topic which I’ll highlight here:

 How to Shit in the Woods: An Environmentally Sound Approach to a Lost Art (9780898156270): by Kathleen Meyer (now in it’s 2nd edition)

So, as it turns out, I’m not the only one who’s pondered the mysteries of life’s free treasures, and this book is a fabulous introduction to the uninitiated. There is an etiquette to this art of course, such as digging a hole, burning or packing out your paper, and staying appropriately away from water sources. A simple “poo-pack” will do the job with a trowel, paper and matches (where allowed), and a little ziplock or bag to pack out whatever is appropriate.

But, practical bits aside, enjoying a morning poo with the beauty of the wilderness stretching before you gives a depth and perspective in life unlike any other. In all ways it’s a natural endeavor…the human body designed for the position, a soft breeze to fan those delicate areas, and a view that would rival the best-built loo in any million dollar mansion. It makes one think, if we could all just experience this bliss, peace would indeed abound on earth.

With that in mind, the remaining few shots of Quartzite:

The one and only coffee shop in Quartzite

View of "downtown" Quartzite...you can get anything from meteorites to fuses

View of the classic Arizonan cactus (taken during our morning walk)

Polly and a whole lotta nothing

Just in case you should be tempted to speed

Boondocking in AZ

Patricia: “I wonder where we’ll end up?”
Joe Banks: “Away from the things of man”

If you’ve never seen “Joe vs the Volcano” it’s a wonderful movie of life, purpose and going off the beaten path. And that, if you will, explains why we headed off the road in Quartzite, AZ and out into the “boonies” in our very first foray into the alternative world of “boondocking”.

In the US, you see, you may take any self-contained unit and park it almost indefinitely on government land, otherwise known as BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land. The BLM manages ~253 million surface acres across the US, in other words, a whole lotta land…and a lot of it is “out there”, or rather “really, really out there”. There’s 2 ways to go on BLM land:

• You may take your RV and park it anywhere for free on undeveloped BLM land for 14 days at a time in any 28-day period (and then you have to move 25 miles).

Or/

• You may park in designated “Long Term Visitor Area (LTVA) Sites” for up to 7-months at a time for a small fee.

The regular BLM land’s got nothing, just wide open land, so you need to come prepared. Some of the LTVA land has basic stuff such as a water area, dump area and maybe even a porta-potty, but otherwise it is also just a whole lotta wide, open land.

The whole practice of doing this and going off the beaten track has become such a phenomenon that it has it’s own terminology “boondocking” = the practice of parking your RV in the “boonies”. And, it’s become so popular during winter that some of the Long-Term Sites overflow with literally hundreds of thousands of RV’ers who create their own little cultural sub-phenomenon. Quartzite is one of those famous winter sites, and since we were driving by we just had to see it. This time of year most of the craziness is gone and so we were pretty much out there all on our own with a view worthy of a million.

So, as I sit here sipping my rum and coke, reclining in the deckchair overlooking the Arizonan wilderness, I ponder the things in life that are free. We are surrounded, not by the things of man, but by the sounds of crickets, a pack of coyotes howling mournfully in the background and the buzz of a hummingbird seeking the last pollen of the setting sun. Colors grow warm, shadows long and a gentle breeze follows the changing heat. We are, indeed, well out there!

Officially boondocking...yup, that's a whole lotta nothing in the background

Another angle of the open view

Dirt road leading into BLM land

Sunset view from the RV

A Whole Lotta Desert…

As one travels through the Western US one is oft to make the comment…”now, that’s a whole lotta desert”. In fact, most of the west can seem very monotonous. Long, straight highways cutting across miles of arid wilderness. So, it can be easy to loose track of the details and beauty in each area. The Mojave Desert area has a few of these little gems, and those I wanted to highlight here.

An obvious start is, of course, Joshua Tree National Park  located in the “high” desert (that would be higher up rather than lower down) and a very unique micro-wilderness. It’s home to the iconic Joshua Tree, forever immortalized by Irish rock bands, but otherwise more or less specific to this area. The Joshua Tree isn’t in fact a tree, but a Yucca, or rather a giant member of the lilly family, and once a year it blooms great globulous white flowers. The area also has a long history and has been used by primitive people, Indians, cattlemen & rustlers (who apparently hid their illegal cattle in the area), and finally us modern folk.

Another little gem in the area is the Coachella Valley Preserve which has several Palm Oasis, plus houses the fringe-toed lizard apparently found no-where else on earth (and apparently not easy to find there either, based on our little excursion to the place).

And, then there’s the little spot you just find by accident somewhere off the highway. Some of those are our favorites, actually.

Well, that’s it for California. Next stop boooondocking in Arizona and a philosophical post on the great mysteries of the morning poo

Enjoy the shots….

Beautiful, blooming Joshua Trees

Desert Aloe in flower

Long shadows at Joshua Tree

Open dunes in open land...one of those happy sites we found by accident on the road

Massive Palms in Coachella Valley

A gorgeous desert sunset

RV Park Rating – Sam’s Family Spa (Desert Hot Springs, CA)

Hiking with Polly in the space behind Sam's Spa

A quirky park with simply fabulous hot mineral pools in Desert Hot Springs, South-Central CA (review updated per stay Nov, 2011)

Link to park here: Sam’s Family Spa 
Link to map location here: Sam’s Family Spa

1. Site quality = 3.5/5
   We’re in the desert here, so these are basic gravel/dirt sites. Reasonably sized and nicely landscaped area. However sites are rather uneven and some require quite a bit of levelling. Table and concrete pad at each site. A mix of 30 and 50AMP hook-ups. It’s open seating so you chose your site on arrival.
2. Facilities = 3.5/5
   A mixed bag on the facilities. The RV bathrooms are a tad on the older side, but kept decently clean (Note/ this was not the case during our last stay in April, 2010, but the park seems to have improved this). Individual stalls with good temperature and pressure. The spa bathrooms are also a tad dated but have lovely showers with super-modern tile and those fancy “raindisc” shower heads. If you need to use the showers go there!
3. Amenities = 4.5/5
   Great shaded natural pool area with waterfall, natural mineral hot pools, picnic area, and even a sauna + steam-room. This is most definitely the highlight of the park. Good working WiFi throughout the park but you need to pay for it. A small generals store available at the office.
4. Location = 3.5/5
   You’re kind of stuck in the middle with this park. You’re not that close to Palm Springs (~30 mins), or to Joshua Tree (~40 mins), but within driving distance to both. All the major stores are in the surrounding area, but still need to take a little drive.
5. Pet friendliness = 5/5
   Small fenced dog area inside the park, but access to plenty of open land for dog-walking & miles of hiking all around the park. Relaxed and friendly about pets in general.

 Overall rating = 4.0
BONUS ALERT: 4 natural mineral pools for soaking within crawling distance of your RV 

Summary: This ia a quirky park, albeit a little in the middle of no-where. Half the park is RV sites and the other permanent mobile homes.  The sites are quite basic -> sand/gravel pads which are rather uneven with a selection of either 30 or 50 AMP, but separation is decent, the landscaping quite nice and you have pretty mountain views all around the park. What  makes this place exceptional is the pool/spa area. There are 4 huge mineral pools of varying temperatures surrounded by a beautifully landscaped spa area with water-falls, playground, lovely showers, steam-room & sauna. Daily rate ($44) is more than we usually like to pay, but the monthly rate ($520) is an absolute deal, plus you get unlimited spa access. Lots of space all around the park to hike and explore the hills, plus you are within reasonable driving distance of Johsua Tree and Palm Springs with associated sights and shops. If you’re looking for a basic park with great pools this is the spot. We’d come back just for the hot springs. 

Extra Info: Verizon signal seems very poor/slow here. Decent connection, but possibly the towers are over-heavily used in winter? On-site Tengo Internet signal works well, but you need to pay for it. Sites cost $44/night (daily rate), $520+elec (monthly rate) -> all rates include unlimited spa access.

The pool area

The info chart for the 4 mineral pools at the spa

The mineral pools...absolutely awesome!

The RV sites at the park...basic sand, but not bad

View near entrance of park (RV in site #237)

Another "row" view. Our RV on right in site#196

Desert Hot Springs, CA…a little gem in the desert

When we first came down the long, bleak stretch into Desert Hot Springs the place looked very much like yet another massive desert. As it turns out, this little gem of a location hides a bunch of well-kept secrets. From underground mineral spa’s, to alpine forests (no, I’m not kidding) and the unique Joshua Tree National Park, this is truly a gem in the wild.

The story of Desert Hot Springs goes back to the wild west, as all the best stories do, and specifically to a most astonishing man called Cabot Yerxa. A pioneer of his time, and most definitely a consummate optimist he bought a small burro in Desert Hot Springs around 1913 which he named Merry Christmas. Convinced he would find water in this bone-dry environment he started digging and sure enough, 27 feet down he hit some natural hot springs. Through sheer guts and luck, the healing mineral waters of Desert Hot Springs had just been discovered, and the town eventually built around that event. The story of Cabot’s remarkable life is well worth reading as is a trip to the Cabot Pueblo Museum. 

“Taking the waters” in the hot springs is a great little pastime, and apparently quite healthy too. In fact, after a week of twice-a-day soaking we find that we are both better looking and more intelligent, so I’m happy to recommend the practice. There’s lots of places you can do this both around Desert Hot Springs and in the neighbouring towns. For the risqué of you lot there’s even nudy spa’s.

If after a morning of soaking and sunning you should happen to decide you need a frolic in alpine trees and snow, then Palm Springs, despite it’s name is ready to deliver. The Mount San Jacinto State Park, located  Just 20 mins from Desert Hot Springs and a monumental 2 ½ mile cable-car ride from the desert floor to a height of 8,516 feet is just the ticket. With 54 miles of hiking trails this is a unique micro-wilderness and well worth the visit.

And…the list doesn’t end there….we have

• Night’s out in Palm Springs. A hot-spot for foodies, bars and even casino’s
•  Golfing. If that’s your fancy, this area abounds with locations
• The Palm Springs Thursday night village fest & street fair. Music, arts and fooooood, and it’s dog-friendly too
• Farmer’s Markets. There’s one almost every other day somewhere close

Overall we were surprised how vibrant and varied this area is. Worth coming back, no doubt about it.

Snow & alpine wilderness in San Jacinto State Park

The 2 1/2 mile arial tramway to San Jacinto Park

Night out with Matt and Tracy in Palm Springs

Cabot's Pueblo Museum in Desert Hot Springs...quirky and well worth a visit

The Ancient Weather Rock at Cabot's Museum: When rock is wet it's raining, when rock is white it's snowing, when rock is hard to see it's foggy, when rock is moving it's windy or there's an earthquake...ROCK IS NEVER WRONG

RV Park Rating – Palm Canyon (Borrego Springs, CA)

Following on with the Park Rating system we invented here, we’re travelling on in time from the first park we stayed at to the second. Palm Canyon is located right next to Anza Borrego State Park and we passed 2 weeks in this gorgeous location. Here’s the low-down… 

Link to the park here: Palm Canyon Resort 

1. Site quality = 3/5
   This is a basic, sandy desert and these are basic desert sandy sites. Sparse shade, except in the back row of the park but even then it’s a stretch. There are pull thru and back-in sites. The pull-thrus sites are nice and long with 50A and 30A available, but a bit close together so you’ll be tight with your neighbours when it’s full. Cable TV available. Table at each site.
2. Facilities = 3.5/5
   Clean and spacious with very large showers but nothing fancy.
3. Amenities = 3/5
   Pool, laundry and cutsy little restaurant/bar, but no WiFi at the sites (only in hotel = it’s free, but you need to walk over there)
4. Location = 5/5
   Less than 1 mile from the Anza Borrego Nation Park entrance. Also, side of the park is right next to a desert area with literally miles of trails and hill hiking where nary a soul will distrub your peace. So, you can literally fall out your RV and into the desert. Also, very near the town of Borrego Springs which has all your basic needs but no major stores. Great Farmer’s market on Fridays AM’s.
5. Pet friendliness = 5/5
   Very relaxed about pets, even being off-leash. Tons of space to walk your dog next to the park.

Overall Rating = 3.5
BONUS ALERT: walk from your RV to Desert hiking trails 

Summary: This is a pretty basic RV park but you’re coming for the desert and you just can’t beat the location. This park puts you right in the middle of the desert experience with miles of hiking right out the steps of your rig. During wildflower season you’re literally in the middle of the blooms, and you simply can’t get any closer to Anza Borrego Park. If all this is too much civilization there is a lot of boondocking nearby (Peg Leg is a popular location). Oh, and only come here in the winter months, It gets way over 100F in the summer and the town practically shuts down. 

For more posts on Borrego Springs see here:
Peg Leg Smith Liars Contest
The Great Sonoran Desert 

The Palm Canyon Resort Restaurant/Bar

 

View of RV sites..great when it's empty, but a little tight when full. That's Anza Borrego Park in the background.

 

The "dog run" literally crawling distance from the RV site. Miles and miles of hiking and no-one seems to go there.