Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Sandra on December 3, 2009 at 5:21pm

Very cool idea -- I'm jealous! As to suggestions, if it were me I'd head south for the winter and north for the summer, obviously.

In the southern California desert there's a place called Slab City that is populated by RV'ers during the winter months. Plus, it's free to camp there. Lots of people similar to you live there during the winter, and I'd imagine it would be a great place to pick up information. It's near Niland, CA. They have a website at http://www.slabcity.org and another interesting, informative one by a resident there is at http://www.desertdutch.org/slabcity.htm. They even have a Wikipedia page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slab_City.

You might want to check out Free Camping at http://freecampgrounds.com.

Also, Don Wright has some excellent books on free camping -- check them out at http://www.amazon.com/Don-Wrights-Guide-Free-Campgrounds/dp/0937877417.

Hope this helps a bit. Are you going to have your computer with you? Please stay in touch, because I'd be very interested to hear about what you see, discover, and the places you camp.

Really, you should keep a good journal about your travels and maybe turn it into a book. There is definitely a market for such a book.

Permalink Reply by L Michael Smith on December 3, 2009 at 7:30pm

Thanks Sandra, for the info and the encouragement. I am a retired photographer, (if you can ever retire from something like that) and I do hope to keep a Blog of my adventures and link them to my Facebook page. I will try to link them to other sites as well if interested. I appreciate any and all tips and advise from readers.

Sandra Essary said:

Very cool idea -- I'm jealous! As to suggestions, if it were me I'd head south for the winter and north for the summer, obviously.

In the southern California desert there's a place called Slab City that is populated by RV'ers during the winter months. Plus, it's free to camp there. Lots of people similar to you live there during the winter, and I'd imagine it would be a great place to pick up information. It's near Niland, CA. They have a website at http://www.slabcity.org and another interesting, informative one by a resident there is at http://www.desertdutch.org/slabcity.htm. They even have a Wikipedia page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slab_City.

You might want to check out Free Camping at http://freecampgrounds.com.

Also, Don Wright has some excellent books on free camping -- check them out at http://www.amazon.com/Don-Wrights-Guide-Free-Campgrounds/dp/0937877417.

Hope this helps a bit. Are you going to have your computer with you? Please stay in touch, because I'd be very interested to hear about what you see, discover, and the places you camp.

Really, you should keep a good journal about your travels and maybe turn it into a book. There is definitely a market for such a book.

Permalink Reply by Sandra on December 4, 2009 at 12:26pm

Please link to CampersIndex, too -- we would love reading your blogs from the road! Very interesting stuff you're doing. And I'm sure your pix will be great, too.

Permalink Reply by Kim ellery on January 25, 2010 at 7:18am

HOw exciting for you! I am anxious to hear about your travels and view your pix. Gosh, there are so many neat places to see in this beautiful country. I currently live in Texas, but moved here a year ago from Utah and am originally from the west coast. Southern Utah holds such a special place in my heart and can wait to hear your thoughts on it, if you go through it. The Valley of the Gods on federal land near Monument Valley is spectacular, as is Natural Bridges NM in Utah... By far the darkest and remotest places to go. Oh my... I could just go on and on. Have you read or seen "Into the Wild" by John Krakauer? For once the movie was a very good rendition of the book... but I think they talk about slab city in there, don't they?

I can't wait to follow your travels. Enjoy your amazing journey!! Jealous!;o)

Permalink Reply by L Michael Smith on January 25, 2010 at 7:31am

I am very familiar with Sothern Utah and the places you mentioned, Kim. I have a sister in Cedar City and have been exploring Utah and the 4 corners area for years. I used to live in Parowan, Utah, for a year.
My launch date has been delayed about a month. There is alot to get rid of and arrange here.
Thanks for your interest and any camping or other advise you may have in that area would be appreciated.
Michael

Kim ellery said:

HOw exciting for you! I am anxious to hear about your travels and view your pix. Gosh, there are so many neat places to see in this beautiful country. I currently live in Texas, but moved here a year ago from Utah and am originally from the west coast. Southern Utah holds such a special place in my heart and can wait to hear your thoughts on it, if you go through it. The Valley of the Gods on federal land near Monument Valley is spectacular, as is Natural Bridges NM in Utah... By far the darkest and remotest places to go. Oh my... I could just go on and on. Have you read or seen "Into the Wild" by John Krakauer? For once the movie was a very good rendition of the book... but I think they talk about slab city in there, don't they?

I can't wait to follow your travels. Enjoy your amazing journey!! Jealous!;o)

Permalink Reply by Sandra on July 17, 2010 at 7:24pm

Are you on the road? Have access to a computer?