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
We’ve crisscrossed the southwest several times, and like to stick to public land when we can. Sometimes, however, it’s nice to break up the boondocking with a paid campsite from time to time. While trekking from the Albuquerque Balloon Festival to overwinter a second time in Quartzite, we booked a few nights at the Bluewater Campground outside of Prewitt, New Mexico. Amenities at Bluewater Campground Bluewater Lake State Park is
We stayed at the Coronado Campground when leaving the Albuquerqueballoon Fiesta. A good place to recharge and recoop before heading on.
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
The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is the most popular ballooning event in the world. It attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city of Albuquerque each year. With such numbers come congestion, logistical conundrums, and stress. Let us try to clear some of that stress by outlining several ways you and your family can attend this often-bucket-listed event! Staying at the Balloon Fiesta Grounds There are several ways to
Sometimes we choose a spot to give us access to national parks, but other times it’s to give us access to an area to explore! Cibola National Forest stretches over a vast area of land from Magdalena, NM to Gallup, NM. We stayed in a spot just outside of Gallup. Staying in Cibola National Forest We really enjoyed (most) of our stay in the forest. The first spot we stayed
While making our way south from our summer hangout in the mountains of Colorado, we needed to find a little stop between stops to break up otherwise long, mountainous drive days. We’re a big fan of Freecampsites.net, but the sites on this page are not always guaranteed as advertised. Miramonte Reservoir West Campground is claimed to be free online. As we approached the site, we saw signs saying otherwise. Staying
As we started to leave the mountains of Colorado, we plotted a route that not only got us closer to some events we had planned but also put us in range of more national parks. The BLM lands outside of Montrose, Colorado not only put us in range of Mesa Verde National Park but also unlocked some other great experiences in and around the city. Actual BLM Camping Around Montrose
To date, one of our favorite summer hiding spots has to be Stillwater Pass National Forest outside of Grand Lake, Colorado, and within spitting distance of Rocky Mountain National Park. The area had daytime highs in the 70s and overnight lows in the 40s making this the perfect free spot to beat the summer heat. What to Expect at Stillwater Pass Stillwater Pass has a unique blend of scary and
As we spent the summer in the mountains of Colorado, we jumped around to several dispersed camping areas in the region. One of which was the Gordon Gulch Dispersed Camping Area outside of Nederland, CO. Like our stay at Deep Creek, Gordon Gulch Dispersed Camping Area is limited to numbered spots. Most of these spots are down super sketchy and deeply rutted roads only suitable for high clearance off-road vehicles.