Back to Boondocking Basics in Big Q

January 21, 2015

Yesterday was moving day as we decided to leave our Rally encampment and seek quieter quarters. The Rally site was a short walk to the bustling Big Tent and Tyson Wells vending area, which was convenient for our shopping and eating walks.

Selling Doghats is exhausting!

The whole sales staff is asleep!

Seriously! A mechanical bull ride for the 70-year old RVers?

Adrenaline Hounds

Pot Luck at the View/Navion Rally

There are Vendors for Everything (that you don't need)!

Greg memorized the contents of all 12 hardware tents

Another Navigator waiting for his pilot.

Turquoise Beads

Full after 1100 AM when the beer and live music start

ATVs are very popular

The Big Water Filling Station

We enjoyed seeing old friends and meeting new ones, but the introversion calling is strong in both of us and knowing we have a few busy months coming up, we wanted some desert “alone time”.

Greg checking out used Class A "jumbo" RVs

The Rally with 30-something Views, Navions, and other Sprinter-based rigs

Hoping to serendipitously meet up again on the road with new friends, we said our goodbyes and drove to the La Posa South LTVA area, hoping to snag the great campsite we found last year at the end of the road. After a bit of a wait to dump and take on water at the only dump station for four huge camping areas, we drove south until we reached the BLM boundary. Our old campsite next to the Saguaro cactus was empty, but, someone else was set up right next to it, and boondocking etiquette called for more space between us and the next camper, so we turned around and found a branching off dirt track.


Loosely following a wash, and after passing a few other campsites, we found a good spot next to a scrubby mesquite tree. There is no one in sight to the west of us, so we have a clear sight line to the mountains, and an unobstructed view of the sunsets. Last night we were surprised to find it was warm enough to keep all the shades up and enjoy the desert and the stars. The previous nights at the Rally, we were shut up tight with Reflectix and insulated curtains, trying to conserve our heat. Apparently we are now at a slightly higher elevation and not in a cold sink. But, today the weather is turning. The sun is out, the clouds have cleared and the wind is blowing at 25 mph. Tonight and the next few nights will dip back to near freezing, so I guess we will need to close up better again.

Relative Solitude in La Posa South

Greg has been ready all week to get back to this part of La Posa so that he can bike around the ridge south of us like he did last year. So, off he went this morning for a few hour bike ride, just as the wind began howling! Wish I had that sort of dedication to fitness. I am content to stay inside out of the crazy, dry wind. The desert dust still manages to filter into the rig, coat everything and make me sneeze! We grilled out last night and stood outside and watched the sunset. Not tonight, unless we want sand coated food. Greg left the water jugs and grill out when he went to bed. I had to awaken him later when the coyote sounds got too close. Since our incident in northern Arizona last Fall with the coyotes chewing holes in our water jugs in the middle of the night, we are more aware of what they can do. Greg got up and moved the jugs and the grill inside.

Biking the Jeep trail into the New Water Mountains

Huge pile of Cholla spines collected by a Packrat family to keep away unwelcome guests

Big and old rainwater collection cistern 10 miles up in the mountains. Left from Mining?

End view of the Cistern and Corrugated Steel collector.

Lots of water in the cistern.

We are back to basics for the next week until our 14 day pass runs out Tuesday morning. Since we left Maryland mid-November we have been mostly on water and electric hookups in Florida, and Arizona. Florida doesn't have boondocking options, and we were hooked-up at Douglas, and Bisbee. Organ Pipe had no hook-ups, but water spigots close by, and solar-heated showers, so we got lazy and wasteful, or as wasteful as you can be in a small rig like ours! Quartzsite is boondocking, so we had to quickly get back in the habit of carrying extra water and conserving our water, waste tanks, and electrical usage. There is no water close by, so we have to carefully ration our jugs. Now that we are settled in our new, more remote spot, we would like to stretch our time to the full week without heading to the dump and water, but we are a jug short. (A jug short of a full tank? I guess some people think we are!) We have four this year instead of five, so we'll see.


Food-wise we are fine. I bought at least two weeks worth just before we arrived, and we only needed more half-and-half for Greg's coffee which we picked up in town yesterday when we moved campsites. By the end of this week we'll be down to carrots and cabbage for cole slaw, as all the more perishable vegetables will be eaten first. My tiny fridge and freezer groan when I first fill them up, but, they are just big enough to get by for two weeks.


We enjoy the challenges that come with the opportunity to live quietly and peacefully away from the crowds. The trade-offs are worth being careful with our resources in order to soak in the beauty and solitude of the desert. And you can't beat the sunsets...