After leaving Jerome, I set my Google Maps
app to aim me towards Eugene, OR as my general direction and I hit the
road. It was already early afternoon so
I knew I would probably only travel about 4 hours or so before hunting a
campsite for the night. Kingman AZ was
the town that I came to about the time I felt I was ready to settle in for the
night. It was now after 5, which I
usually start looking for a site by about 4:30, so I have time to explore
different sites in the area to find one that I like before it begins to get
dark. I pulled off the expressway and
stopped at a gas station in Kingman in order to
browse the web for a campsite nearby…
One area stood out, it is BLM land and had
great reviews. It was also close to the
expressway so that usually means a good cell signal, and it was only about 6 miles from my
location. I merged back onto the highway
heading for the campsite when I noticed a half dozen or so vehicles camping
just off the road on the opposite side of the highway. I thought I would keep that site in mind in
case the one I was headed for was unsuitable.
I had to drive about 3 miles north, then Google Maps told me to make a
u-turn, which I did, and I was eventually directed right back to that same site
I saw off the side of the road…
I have to agree with the reviews I read
about this place, it’s very nice. I
found a space to camp, distancing myself from the neighbors as best as I
could so they can have their space as well, and parked for the night. Generally I like to be off the beaten path,
away from highways and the seeming inevitable features of our modern day
society and culture. But here I am,
right by the expressway, electric lines running through the landscape, other
campers nearby, very windy at times, but it just feels great. From my experience, different areas have
different feelings, and a place that seems perfect for what I generally prefer
often times doesn’t feel right, and places that would seem to be out of
character for what I would normally prefer, are the most enjoyable. This place is one of those unexpected feel
good surprises…
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| Prickly Pear cactus in bloom. |
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| Globe Mallow plant in bloom. |
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| Many BLM land areas are also used as grazing areas for farmer's cattle. |
I haven’t been on the road for probably a
month now. Mostly spending time inside
an apartment, in a fairly large apartment complex. I know I’ve said this before but it bears
repeating. I had all of the amenities at
my disposal, flush toilets, running water, washer, dryer, hot showers, etc..
all the things that most people would say are basic necessities for life, but I
found that lifestyle oddly inconvenient and utterly wasteful. Each time I flushed the toilet I thought
about the 3 or so gallons of water I just used to flush away the relatively
minuscule amount of waste, or the 30+ or so gallons I used when I showered. While on the road I seldom use over 15
gallons of water per week and that includes water for cooking, washing dishes,
and showers, but everything gets done and done well, it’s just a choice to be
more frugal with what you have…
As far as the inconvenience is concerned,
it seems that having a stick and brick home, apartment, etc… would be vastly
more convenient than having all that you own crammed into a van with less than
72 sq. feet of floor space, but from my experience it isn’t so. I found myself spending much more time and
effort to accomplish what I wanted to do, like cooking a meal, than I do in my
mobile tiny house. I can sit on my
stool at the rear of the van and almost without exception, complete the food
preparation, the cooking of the meal, and the cleanup afterwards without moving
from the stool, and often times I eat there as well, very convenient. The same holds true with my clothes, all is
in easy reach, entertainment is readily available, as are all of my artistic
and craft interests…
In other words, I am so happy to be back
on the road with Anastasia. I am
spoiled! I can’t imagine being back in
the stick and brick world, it’s so wasteful and unfulfilling, no offense to
anyone, each to his/her own…
I met another nomad while I was here, a man
named Rudi, he used to live and work in CA, but retired and has been on the
road with a nice pickup bed camper for right at 2 years now and his travels
have covered at least 45 states, ironically KY wasn’t one of them. A really nice guy, we got along well and I
gleaned as much information from him as possible during our talks...
I have decided to stay at least another
day at the Kingman 93 BLM camping area because I feel so comfortable here, and
it’s not like I have to be anywhere in particular, I’ll just move when I’m
ready and the next place I go will be a new adventure with more to love. I have in mind to check out another camping
site about 5 hours NW from where I am now, it looks interesting, there is a
clothing-optional hot springs pool (how’s that for a teaser… lol), beautiful
landscapes, sunsets, and has lots of great reviews. So I’ll see how it goes…
Until the next post, peace and love…
