Earlier in January, I had the fantastic experience of boondocking for two weeks. This was the first time I had ever tried being completely free of any hooked up amenities and I had some initial concerns about being able to pull it off. To my delight, I found boondocking to be one of the best RV experiences I have ever had and I plan to do a lot more in the near future.
There are inherent challenges with a teardrop trailer when you are not hooked up to sewer and water due to the small tank sizes. As with any challenges, there are ways to meet them. Water is readily available in Quartzsite and you can fill up several water containers and transport it to camp. When work and planning go into obtaining water, it becomes a precious commodity and none is wasted. Showers gave way to basin baths and heated water for coffee was also used for dishes. With careful use, I was able to wait two weeks before having to dump the tanks in town.
When I arrived at Quartzsite I did not have any type of ancillary power and the trailer has only one battery and no generator. One of the many wonderful things about the group of people who attend this gathering is their generosity of knowledge, time, and spirit to help one another with whatever needs to be done. One of my knowledgeable neighbors, Paul, assisted me with the ordering and shipping of my portable solar system of 150 watts. He also hooked up and made a plug-in modification of the system when it arrived. Thank You, Paul!
Once you have the systems in place to take care of basic needs, you can direct your attention to the peace and beauty of nature’s surroundings when parked away from the normal bustle of an RV park. I believe our nervous systems try to accept the normal din of neighborhood and park living situations. Only when you are far from man-made noise do you begin to hear the softer soothing sounds of nature. I woke up to the calls of birds and went to sleep with the sounds of wind blowing through my open windows. Sometimes, I woke up in the middle of the night and stepped outside to stand and turn and marvel at the brilliance of more stars than I have ever seen.
I had made new friends I hope to cross travel trails with down the road, learned a great deal about self-sustainability, and found a sweet spot of peace inside that whispers, “Come back to nature.”