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

Note/ Review updated as of last stay Nov 2012

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 with palm trees/oleander bushes & hillside views all around. All sites offer 50Amp/water/sewer (just upgraded 2012) with concrete pad “sitting area” and picnic table. Biggest dings are sites are mostly open (no real privacy between sites) and are rather uneven with some requiring quite a bit of levelling. It’s open seating so you chose your site on arrival. Sites at back of the park (furthest from the spa) tend to fill up last on busy family week-ends, so if you’re looking for more space & quiet park your rig there.
2. Facilities = 4/5
   The campground just upgraded the RV site bathrooms this year (2012) so facilities are looking much, much nicer. Bathrooms are in somewhat dated buildings, but showers are large individual stalls with attractive new tile and good temperature & pressure. All are kept nicely clean. The spa bathrooms are lovely with modern tile and fancy “raindisc” shower heads.
3. Amenities = 4.5/5
   The amenities are what make this park special, especially the spa area. There is a good-sized main pool with lounge chairs, separate kiddie pool, 4 huge natural mineral hot pools, relaxing waterfalls, small lake, grassy picnic area, and even a modern sauna + steam-room, all beautifully landscaped. This is most definitely the highlight of the park. Good working WiFi throughout the park but you need to pay for it (only ding). Full-sized and very modern laundry, plus a small general store available at the office.
4. Location = 3.5/5
   You’re somewhat out in the boonies with this park. You’re not that close to Palm Springs (~30 mins), or to Joshua Tree (~40 mins), but within easy reach of downtown Desert Hot Springs and reasonable driving distance to the rest. All the major stores are in the surrounding area, but still need to take a little drive to get there.
5. Pet friendliness = 5/5
   Great area for doggie.There is a small grassy fenced-in dog area inside the park which is OK, but the real draw is access to miles of open land for dog-walking & hiking all around the park. Open desert can be reached from either the front or back gate entrance, and longer walks can be done all the way to the mountains. Relaxed and friendly about pets in general.

 Overall rating = 4.1
BONUS ALERT: 4 gorgeous 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 -> open sand/gravel pads which are rather uneven (some require levellers!), 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. This is a family spa so it can get very busy on week-ends and holidays, but tends to be rather quiet inbetween. Snowbird season (Jan-Mar) can also be busy. Daily rate ($44) is more than we usually like to pay, but the monthly rate ($520) is an absolute deal, plus you can extend indefinitely and 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 Salton Sea, Johsua Tree and Palm Springs with associated sights and shops. If you’re looking for a relaxed park with fabulous pools this is the definitely spot. We’ve come her 3 years in a row and will most definitely be back again.

Extra Info: Verizon just installed new cell towers (2012) and now offer 4G signal in the area (yeah!). Snowbird tower overloading sometimes slows it down on peak week-ends, but otherwise the signal is decent. On-site Tengo Internet works well, but you need to pay for it. Sites cost $44/night (daily rate), $520+elec (winter monthly rate) -> all rates include unlimited spa access.

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

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

View of one of back rows. Our RV on right in site#196

Another view of back row. RV on right in site #159

View of site near mobile home area. #152 shown w/ mobile homes in back.

View of “sitting area”. Concrete pad with picnic table.

Another “row” view. RV in right in #206

View of the pool area

View of kiddie pool area

The info chart for the 4 mineral pools at the spa

The mineral pools…absolutely awesome!

View of on-site dog run

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.