Our final stop before arriving at our “summer home, Margaret McKenny Campground in the Capitol State Forest, is part of a large network of “free” campgrounds peppered around Washington state. What Do I Mean by “Free”? Washington state, like many states, has a state park pass program. They go by different names in different states, but in Washington, it’s called the Discover Pass. As of writing, they cost $50 for
While making our way up the west coast to our summer spot, we elected to take the more scenic road along the 101. While the views were amazing, when the fog cleared, the public land was few and far between. This meant that we stayed at more than a few casinos, and even a welcoming cheese monger along the way. Shoal Water Bay Casino was in the former category, and
While trundling up the 101, we had the opportunity to stay at more than one unique boondocking spot. We’re no strangers to casino stays. A little less common is when boutique businesses open up their lots to travelers. Blue Heron Cheese Company is one such business. It’s an adorable delicatessen and cheese shop with a huge parking lot welcoming travelers. What to Expect at Blue Heron French Cheese Company When
Skull Creek Campground was one of those rare treats: a free 14-day BLM campground with facilities! The campground is pretty easy to get to, but taller rigs should be careful, as both entrance roads have low branches overhanging the road. Our bus, at just under 12’ tall, barely passed under the branches. Amenities at Skull Creek Campground I don’t mean to oversell it. By facilities, all I mean is a
We had an opportunity to visit the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and needed a place to stay. While looking up locations on Freecampsites.net, Buck Divide Road caught our eye. While it wasn’t great, it was a free place to park. Buck Divide Road: Not Great for Large Rigs Buck Divide Road can be roughly split into two sections: the woods and the staging area. When we arrived in mid-spring, we were
We’re no strangers to spending a few nights at a casino. Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino, while not our favorite to date, wasn’t the worst by far. Camping at Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino When it comes to parking our rig at casinos, we’ve seen everything on the road from FHU to large open fields or parking lots. Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino is closer to the latter. They have
We’re no strangers to pivots, and Hanning Flat Dispersed Area is probably our favorite pivot to date. In the spring of 2025, we were planning to travel north up the east side of California before crossing the Sierra Nevada Mountains around Redwoods National Park, but wildfires made those plans change. We found the Hanning Flat Dispersed Area, just outside of Isabella Lake, California. What to Expect at Hanning Flat Dispersed
One thing that’s been a blessing as a nomad is the BLM’s Long Term Visitor program. We’ve talked about it in detail before when talking about Quartzsite, but there are more than just the four LTVAs in Quartzsite. The next biggest and most populous LTVA is the Imperial Dam LTVA in Winterhaven, California. Time Considerations at Imperial Dam LTVA Often associated with Yuma, AZ, the Imperial Dam LTVA is actually
Not every boondocking spot is amazing. But none of them, to date, has been horrible. The BLM land off of Arizona 337 south of Holbrook sits happily in the middle, maybe biased toward the latter. While most, if not all, BLM land is “mixed use,” this area is more so than others. The area is a sprawling scrubland that’s heavily used by local ranchers for cattle range. When we were
We’ve been lifetime members of the Fulltime Families RV group since we launched in the summer of 2022. It’s opened up many doors and experiences for us that we normally wouldn’t be open to. One such experience was the Fulltime Families Balloon Fiesta Experience. This RV rally was centered around the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta! Fulltime Families, or FTF, have hosted Balloon Fiesta events for several years and have reserved