A while back, we decided we wanted to experience Las Vegas, Nevada as a family. In our research, we found there were not a lot of good opportunities to boondock around the city. However, when we discovered our “Every Kid Outdoors” pass got us into not just national parks, but also into national recreation areas. This really opened up doors for us. The door that we were most excited about
Raising kids is challenging. No one can dispute that. Gallons of ink have been spilled on the internet and libraries on how-to articles, advice chats, and training videos. Through all of these resources and tricks, one of the most powerful tools I’ve come across and use is noticing out loud. What is noticing out loud? It is exactly what it sounds like: Noticing when your children, coworkers, friends, or others
Typically we try to avoid staying in parking lots when there is a nation of public lands to explore, but sometimes we don’t have much choice when we’re trying to keep our travel times manageable. The Morongo Casino was the 2nd or 3rd casino we’ve stayed at, depending on how you define them. Of the three, it was probably our best casino parking experience. Camping Accommodations at Morongo Casino While
When you’re living on the road, you occasionally need to pull off of the road to rest, eat, tend to acts of nature, etc. While exciting, and full of novel experiences, life on the road doesn’t tend to be a very lucrative lifestyle so free camping is one of the best ways to find success. Before you get too involved in looking for free camping sites, you’ll want to do
Apple Canyon Campground was our first experience with “Yellow Post” camping in California. Yellow post camping differs from traditional dispersed camping in that camping is restricted to designated sites, and the sites have minimal improvements in the form of fire rings and benches. The standard rules of dispersed camping still hold true. Stays are limited to 14 days and Leave No Trace is the expectation. Getting to (and leaving) the
It’s no secret that we love to visit national parks. It’s also no surprise that we love to camp for free. Lucky for us, so far we’ve been able to find dispersed camping on public land pretty close to every national park we’ve visited, and Joshua Tree National Park isn’t an exception. Just as Joshua Tree National Park can be split roughly into two areas, so can its dispersed camping
Joshua Tree National Park is a park with two vastly different experiences. The park can be roughly divided into 2 “zones;” the south side and the north side. The division is roughly around Porcupine Wash. The south side of the park is not very popular, without many named attractions, as well as fewer roads. The north side of the park, at least when we visited, was perpetually crowded with parking
As you may have guessed from reading Dadding on the Road for a while, we are Washington state natives. During the winter of ‘23/24, we decided to book a flight back to Washington for Dad and the kids. We wanted to visit the grandparents and let the kids rekindle old friendships from back “home.” While we were perfectly happy boondocking in Quartzsite, Mom wasn’t looking forward to a 2-hour, one-way
A little bit ago we, talked about Xscapers’ New Year’s Eve party in Quartzsite, AZ. Today, I want to tell you about the big party, Xscapers Annual Bash! This party is so much more than it is hyped to be, and when we arrived at our first we were a little underprepared and overwhelmed. Let’s see if I can help you through that hump. This is a week-long event with
So far on our travels, there haven’t been many places where we had a need or opportunity to go back to. Standard Wash, specifically the Sandpit, is one such location. Just outside of Lake Havasu City, and right off of the highway, this large, relatively flat area is the perfect location to stay while touring this popular city in the middle of the desert. Getting to the Sandpit is a