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Mountain Passes in a Heavyweight RV
I’ve finally managed to break free from work in California to head east towards the Continental Divide. The heat wave has yet to break, and my motorhome complained to me on the way up CA-20 towards Grass Valley yesterday. For the first time in almost ten years, the temperature gauge moved off the middle and…
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Missing Montana
Longing for Big Sky Country and Cool Clear WatersI had planned on making opening day on the Henry’s Fork on June 15, the start of my summer in the Yellowstone periphery. Technically, that would be missing Idaho, but I generally think of my trips to the mountains as “Moving to Montana“. And it is only 30 miles to the border at Targhee Pass.…
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A Green River Homestead
A Wyoming tie hack's property, 50 miles from nowhereIn the Pandemic Year of 2020, I was working in Colorado but had a couple of breaks where I was able to sneak out to visit some of my favorite places. In August I went to Jackson Hole and stopped on the way to fish the Green River, up above Warren Bridge to the headwaters…
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Abandoned Dreams on Ruby Creek
A Montana homesteader's dashed hopesOne of the things I like about my nomadic lifestyle is the ability to frequently explore new grounds, and I enjoy poking around old historic ruins when I find them. In 2021, I was fishing the Madison River in Montana, and I was based for a few days out of the Ruby Creek BLM campsite,…
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Wintering in the Desert
October, 2018: It got pretty cold in West Yellowstone and I finally had to face up to the end of my Montana adventure for the year. I started south towards warmer weather, but lingered on the Teton river in Idaho for a final week, and twice had pipes freeze in my motorhome. It had been…
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A Boondocker’s Thanksgiving
I’ve been on the road since 2015, and only a few times since then have I been able to spend Thanksgiving with family. That’s one of the impacts of becoming a nomad; it isn’t easy to leave your home somewhere in the desert and fly north for a week. But it’s also related to the…
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Motorhome Maintenance… Springs, Brakes and Driveline
Part One: Springs I’ve been traveling with my 2006 Fun Mover since 2015 and apart from oil changes and two sets of tires, I haven’t had to do much work on the chassis side of things. The house side is another story… there is always something that needs fixing. When I bought the rig in…
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Boondocking for Flyfishers: Steiner Flat, Trinity River, CA
In the winter of 2017, I attempted to catch a California winter steelhead on the swing. I spent three months on the attempt, and did not succeed… though I did get one under a damn bobber with an egg pattern (but that’s another story). That winter, the long drought broke, and all of the rivers…
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Nellis Dunes: OK for Camping or Not?
TLDR: Not. I was looking for a spot closer to Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where there was a kart racing event that I wanted to visit, and literally across the street is a large BLM managed area for off road riding. Nellis Dunes is listed on the BLM website as Dispersed – Nellis Dunes. It…
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Boondocking Near Valley of Fire
Valley of Fire State Park in southern Nevada is a wonderful stop for lovers of desert scenery and petroglyphs, but I did not stay at the campgrounds in the park. Instead, I boondocked at an area a few miles outside, that’s listed on many of the free camping websites… I had previously stayed on the…