Roaming About

A Life Less Ordinary

Tag: camping (page 3 of 5)

Getaway to the White Mountains

August 1, 2020 / / 62 Comments

New Hampshire’s attractive White Mountains are located 150 miles (241km) northeast of our current home base in Massachusetts. It takes a little over three hours to get there in our van (as opposed to 2.5 hours by car), since we stick to an average highway speed of 55-60mph (90km/h) in Zesty. This consumes less diesel, and we rarely have to pass anyone!

White Mountain National Forest was our destination this past week. It is huge, at 800,000 acres (which expand into Maine), attracts millions of visitors annually, and offers countless recreation possibilities, like 1,200 miles of hiking trails. When Mark and I returned from visiting people in Maine and Vermont in June, we drove through this stunning area and were impressed. We vowed to return for a proper immersion.

(Scroll over or click on images to read photo captions in the galleries.)

Just driving through the White Mountains – Mt. Washington
Quick stop last June – falls at a swimming hole
Continue reading

Boondocking Behind the Scenes – Ten Free Campsites Turned Awry

May 21, 2020 / / 68 Comments

“A picture says more than a thousand words” is an expression I’m not fond of. Rather, I believe a photo instills certain words, telling only part of the story. Understandably, most people want to capture the beauty of a place. It is often possible to cut out less desirable factors, like hordes of people, piles of garbage, incessant bugs, signage obstructing the view, and so on. Personal moods, climate, noise, and other external factors are invisible. There is a lot more to the actual scene than meets the eye…

Locks WMA campground in Fort McCoy

I’ve played with the idea of taking “as it is” shots in sync with the attractive scenes and posting them next to each other. Yet, I too succumb to blue skies and beautiful scenery. So, this post does not quite display that juxtaposition, but it reveals the truth behind some of our camping experiences in Florida that might look “perfect” at first sight.

Dupuis Water Management District

1) Lake Panasoffkee WMD

Continue reading

Monthly Expenses – April 2020

May 13, 2020 / / 32 Comments

Expenses - image

Every month, I post a report of our expenses to show that it is possible to live a comfortable, exciting, and adventurous life without breaking the bank. The less money you spend, the less you need to make. 🙂

This report includes ALL of our expenses, in US$, for two adults and one 60-pound dog (we adopted Maya on June 4th, 2019). Under groceries we incorporate food, produce, and non-alcoholic drinks predominantly bought in supermarkets. Toiletries belong in that category as well. Dining out means eating at a restaurant/event or purchasing take-out food. The health category covers non-prescription medicines and vitamins/supplements; medical contains prescription drugs and doctor’s visits. Because of our income level, Mark and I are eligible for free health care within the state of Massachusetts. For check-ups, we both return to the East Coast.

The first half of April, Mark, Maya, and I spent in our camper van, boondocking (free camping) and driving. The last half, we lived in “the room above the garage” at my in-laws’ place in Massachusetts. Our accommodation costs remain nil (thank you, Carol and Stan) and we managed to save our April laundry up until we arrived here, taking the necessary precautions to avoid spreading a potential Covid-19 infection.

One of our campsites on the way north in April
The building in which my in-laws have a condo
The room above the garage – our current living quarters

Usually, when we visit Mark’s parents (our current home is also our residency address), we use their kitchen and share all the meals . Because we can’t set foot in the house, we had to buy a couple of kitchen appliances, which I briefly mentioned in a previous blog. Mark’s research always pays off, as we found a big toaster oven and a one-burner induction stove (both new) for $80. To complete our set-up, we are borrowing a water cooker and a college fridge.

Our kitchen “station” with the new oven and induction stove
We love being able to use an oven, as our van doesn’t have one.
We’ve been using our oven a lot!

Mark and I did order Thai take-out for our anniversary on April 30th (this is actually one of two anniversaries; it’s complicated), but we used gift money from my parents for that, so no “eating out” category , last month. 🙂

While we might be spending a bit more on certain products in the absence of generic brands or by having to go to different stores during this pandemic, April was another decent month.

April 2020 Overview:

Groceries:

Camper (diesel: $130; repairs: $89):

Household (oven + stove):

Alcohol:

Dog (food + fish oil):

Utilities (phone):

Postage:

Entertainment (e-books):

Accommodation:

 

TOTAL:

 

$338

$219

$80

$66

$46

$35

$2

$2

$0

———

$ 788

To find out what other full-time nomads spend each month, check out the expense blogs of our vanlife friends Duwan and Greg at Make Like An Ape Man.

Monthly Expenses – March 2020

April 8, 2020 / / 46 Comments

Expenses - image

Every month, I post a report of our expenses to show that it is possible to live a comfortable, exciting, and adventurous life without breaking the bank. The less money you spend, the less you need to make. 🙂

This report includes ALL of our expenses, in US$, for two adults and one 60-pound dog (we adopted Maya on June 4th, 2019). Under groceries we incorporate food, produce, and non-alcoholic drinks predominantly bought in supermarkets. Toiletries belong in that category as well. Dining out means eating at a restaurant/event or purchasing take-out food. The health category covers non-prescription medicines and vitamins/supplements; medical contains prescription drugs and doctor’s visits. Because of our income level, Mark and I are eligible for free health care within the state of Massachusetts. For check-ups, we both return to the East Coast.

How did the outbreak of the Coronavirus affect our expenses? Less than you might think. The only category that spiked is groceries. I think that happened because of our “constant” topping up of the fridge and cupboards, each time we anticipated self-isolating in the woods of Florida. But, as I wrote about previously, most of those attempts failed, so we kept buying more provisions and – in the beginning – our only choices were name brands instead of the cheaper generic brands we usually buy.

Boondocking along a river and boat ramp in Western Florida
Sunset at the boat ramp
Vultures along the waterfront
Another campground in Osceola NF, Florida, that didn’t work out because of heat, bugs, and incessantly barking hunting dogs.
It doesn’t look like a bad spot from the observation tower.
Lines (with social distancing) before the store opened, at Sam’s Club in Hilton Head

We drove a lot during our quick circle down and around and back up Florida. If we would have been able to sightsee, we would have driven more, but we would have traveled slower. We boogied north quicker than expected, because of our rising discomfort with heat, humidity, and bugs and not so much COVID-19. Therefore, our monthly fuel expenses are pretty much what they would have been otherwise. The diesel price was as low as we’ve ever seen it!

The fuel prices have dropped a lot.
This is the cheapest diesel we ever bought for Zesty. $1.99 a gallon boils down to 50 cents a liter.
Our tank wasn’t totally empty when we found this Sam’s Club/Walmart fuel station.

If it wasn’t for the recent pandemic, our entertainment and camping categories would be higher (I really wanted to visit the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg and spend time with the manatees while camping at Manatee State Park), the health topic would have popped up as I urgently needed a haircut, and doing laundry might have cost twice as much. Instead, Mark cut everyone’s hair and we did a load of laundry by hand.

Dog beach at Fort DeSoto Park, Florida
Short hair again after Mark chopped it off
Maya received a haircut as well, which helps with the heat.
Hanging our clean laundry at the campsite to dry. We found a water spigot at a park an hour away.
The netting offers a reprieve from the bugs at our current campsite

The drinking and eating out expenses can be blamed on hanging out with friends and Mark’s birthday (a self-proclaimed brewery tour) before social distancing took effect. Since then, I have been able to keep in touch with friends and family via email, social media, Skype, and Zoom!

Approach to our current campground
Boardwalk in the nature reserve
We are enjoying our daily hikes in nature, without people around.
Our current campsite
A $3 meal for two – egg noodles, asparagus, and chicken thighs.
A total spoil: cheese platter including two kinds of Brie!

All in all, March was not a bad month under the circumstances, but it is the most expensive one this year so far.

March 2020 Overview:

Groceries:

Camper (diesel: $187; registration: $12; tolls: $4):

Bank charge (annual credit card fee):

Alcohol:

Drinking out:

Dining out:

Dog (food):

Utilities (phone):

Postage:

Entertainment (dog beach @ state park):

Laundry:

Miscellaneous (printing taxes):

Camping:

 

TOTAL:

 

$433

$203

$150

$90

$66

$63

$35

$35

$11

$5

$5

$3

$0

———

$ 1099

To find out what other full-time nomads spend each month, check out the blog of our vanlife friends Duwan and Greg at Make Like An Ape Man.

IWSG Writing Update April 2020 – Coronavirus Status

April 1, 2020 / / 62 Comments

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) engages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement, or anything really, about their writing. A different question is posed each month as a writing prompt. Answering it is optional.

For April, the question is: “The IWSG’s focus is on our writers. Each month, from all over the globe, we are a united group sharing our insecurities, our troubles, and our pain. So, in this time when our world is in crisis with the COVID-19 pandemic, our question is: how are things in your world?”

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the co-hosts are Diane Burton,JH Moncrieff,Anna @ Emaginette,Karen @ Reprobate Typewriter,Erika Beebe, and Lisa Buie-Collard.

((After the park ranger told us Wood Lake Campground would close (see last photo of my previous post), she recommended another spot in the forest where we would be able to boondock (primitive camp for free), showing it on her map, from a safe distance. Based on the amount of bugs and the lack of cell service in Apalachicola National Forest, FL we decided to move on.))

My answer to the question (How are things in your COVID-19 world?)

Continue reading

Monthly Expenses – February 2020

March 11, 2020 / / 27 Comments

Expenses - image

Every month, I post a report of our expenses to show that it is possible to live a comfortable, exciting, and adventurous life without breaking the bank. The less money you spend, the less you need to make. 🙂

This report includes ALL of our expenses, in US$, for two adults and one 60-pound dog (we adopted Maya on June 4th, 2019). Under groceries we incorporate food, produce, and non-alcoholic drinks predominantly bought in supermarkets. Toiletries belong in that category as well. Dining out means eating at a restaurant/event or purchasing take-out food. The health category covers non-prescription medicines and vitamins/supplements; medical contains prescription drugs and doctor’s visits. Because of our income level, Mark and I are eligible for free health care within the state of Massachusetts. For check-ups, we both return to the East Coast.

February was a good month and the cheapest one since April 2019. That makes two months in a row under $1,000. Let’s see how long we can keep this up. 🙂

We did spend a little bit of money on camping – happy to stay somewhere multiple nights in a row WITH smooth, groomed, comfortable grass. You know, the kind on which you walk barefoot and Maya relaxes bug-free, rolling around without picking up leaves, branches, needles, or burrs. The kind that is quite rare, especially boondocking. The surrounding area offered nice hiking trails as well.

Locks WMA near Fort McCoy – not a bad campground for a few dollars a night
Training Maya to run with a bike
(Wide) part of the Florida Trail – even the trails were grassy!
Canal next to the locks – the Florida Trail goes over it
Cute AND comfy!

Extra costs in February went to a new bike cover and the annual Massachusetts tax  for our van (both under “camper”) and to internet, propane, and dump stations in the “utilities” category. Our monthly AT& T internet (phone) bill is usually $35. Except, this amount actually gets paid every four weeks. Last month is where this caught up with us and we had to pay twice. Darn leap day!

Our shiny new bike bag – they seem to last about one year in the elements and cost $15 more than last year!

In Florida – as opposed to other states we have visited – it’s difficult to find free dump stations, so we look for the cheapest options. Once, we used a free one and decided to support this RV center’s “generosity” and buy their propane, not even researching the competition. Ha! It was the most expensive propane we ever bought in the US: $4 per gallon. In a way, we paid for this free dump and water fill-up as well.

We went to Lake Griffin State Park and paid the $5 entrance fee to dump. And go for a short walk.
The narrow boardwalk through the swamp was fun, but we could only do it so long with Maya.
Maya is tiny in comparison to this “second largest live oak tree in Florida”!

And, for the loyal expense report follower, who scrutinizes our monthly numbers: guess which category is missing in February? It’s something that was always present, but we really tried hard to keep it at zero this month (I cheated a tad by buying Mark a little bit as part of his birthday gift) …

February 2020 Overview:

Groceries:

Camper (fuel: $43; tax: $77; bike bag: $65):

Utilities (phone: $70; propane: $21; dump: $16):

Dining out:

Health & Fitness:

Drinking out:

Computer Software (Quicken):

Dog (supplies):

Gifts:

Camping:

Laundry:

Household:

 

TOTAL:

 

$270

$185

$107

$100

$34

$30

$25

$22

$21

$11

$5

$3

———

$ 813

Solo Camping – The Joy of Being Me

February 12, 2020 / / 66 Comments

For the last five years, Mark needed to return to Massachusetts in January for doctor visits. Sometimes, I joined him. Not that I wanted to (who prefers to be in the Boston area in the middle of winter?) but because it was my only solution. Other times, I stayed at a house sit. This year, because of our lovely dog, there was no way out. Maya and I would remain in Zesty for those five days.

Mark and I have pretty much been together 24/7 since the day we became a couple in December 2004. Despite our compatibility, I’m quite independent and truly, utterly adore time alone. In the past, I treasured spurts of me-time on visits to Belgium (which didn’t happen in 2019), a few solo days in California, or evenings apart during Mark’s job at Amazon. Still, I’d never been alone in our camper van for more than 11 hours. So how did that work out last January?

Continue reading

North Cascades National Park, Washington

October 11, 2018 / / 53 Comments

After our whirlwind visit to Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Mark and I wished to explore Glacier National Park in Montana. My intention was to then continue our trip into Canada: Waterton Lakes NP, Banff and Jasper NPs, and saying a quick “hello” to our friends Sue and Dave in Calgary, before heading west to Vancouver and Vancouver Island.  I write “my intention”, because we never plan much in advance, and this whole itinerary might have been a tad ambitious, as summer was already ending this far north. Why was that a surprise to me?

Upon doing research online about Glacier National Park, we discovered that massive forest fires raged on the western edge of the park. This was the preferred side for us to enter, because it offered spectacular views, contained free camping, the distance was doable, and it made most sense for our route north. But, the western entrance was closed. We decided to skip this park altogether and drove westwards within the United States, choosing North Cascades National Park as our new destination in Washington state.

Liberty Bell Mountain, seen from Washington Pass overlook
View into the valley we just drove through
Approaching the main part of North Cascades National Park
Diablo Lake from above
Diablo Lake viewpoint, along WA-20

The Logistics

Continue reading

Two-week RV Trip, Part 1 – Rocks and Petrified Wood

June 13, 2018 / / 69 Comments

After Mark and I finished our two-month house sit in Santa Fe, the end of May, we had no other assignments lined up. Partly because the 2.5-week gap before our train journey east was tight to find a “perfect” house sit; partly because we wanted to give full-time RV living a chance. We planned to make a loop from Santa Fe west into Arizona, north to the Four Corners region, east through Southern Colorado, and then back south into New Mexico. Memorial Day weekend would offer us a little break away from the computer, and since our business partner was on holiday for ten days early June, Mark’s job would be more relaxed then as well.  During those once-a-year periods, he only deals with customers over email, and postpones phone calls until “vacation time” is over.

The southern part of Petrified Forest National Park

Our trip was off to a rocky start, since our windshield was still leaking. We’d come back earlier, after two weeks, and deal with it then. First stop: El Malpais National Monument, where we’d briefly stopped for a free night of camping after picking Zesty up in Arkansas, almost a year ago.

El Malpais National Monument

Already on day one, our bikes came in handy. We explored the eastern part of the park at our own pace, and photographed rocky outcrops, peddled through Indian Reservations, and discovered a natural arch.

Zesty and the bikes in the Joe Skeen campground of El Malpais
The black patches are lava rock
Sandstone Bluffs
La Ventana natural arch

Continue reading

Highlights in Southern New Mexico – A Long Weekend Away

May 9, 2018 / / 64 Comments

Mark and I finally did it! After months of frustration, stress, and dealing with atrocities out of our control – from having both our websites hacked, to rude Wirie customers, to issues with Blue Host, to incapable Mass Health employees messing up our health plans six times – we pulled ourselves away for a long weekend. Our destination: White Sands National Monument and Carlsbad Caverns National Park into warm weather. Both New Mexican highlights had been on the mental list since last summer, when we first house sat in Santa Fe for four weeks, but remained in the area.

So, we packed up Zesty, filled the water and diesel tanks, and drove south for about four hours. Lake Holloman became our free campsite for two nights, merely 3 miles away from the National Monument.

Free camping at Lake Holloman Military Base

White Sands National Monument

The scenic drive brought us smack in the middle of dunes, created by the brightest, whitest of sand. Where is the ocean? Continue reading

Older posts Newer posts

© 2025 Roaming About

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑