Location: Spearfish, South Dakota
Date: 17 May, 2023
It's probably about time for us to tell you a little bit about Boondockers Welcome. In RV parlance, the term "boondocking" generally refers to free camping on public land with no services, usually "out in the boondocks".
Opportunities for this are plentiful out West where there is a lot of public land, and less so out East save for National Forests and a few wildlife preserves and certain other state and federal lands. Also known as "dry camping" or "dispersed camping" it is our preferred way to camp - free, away from the crowds, out in the country, and often in stunningly beautiful locations. However, being off the beaten path can also have it's disadvantages, particularly when you are trying to make progress back home to Virginia. When that's the case, we prefer to find spots that aren't too far off our route so we don't end up driving miles out of our way only to find the spot is unsuitable - full or not even close to level or requiring 4 wheel drive, etc.
Boondockers Welcome (a.k.a. "BW") is an organization that matches travelers with hosts who are willing to let RVers camp on their property for free. Many hosts offer electricity (with or without a fee), and most stays are limited to only a few nights. Guests pay around $80 per year for this service, and hosts get the service for free as a perk for hosting. Hosts get to set their own rules (for instance "no more than 2 nights" or "the camper must be 25 feet or less", that kind of stuff) which are made available to the guest, and guests are expected to abide by them. It is a peer review system in which hosts review guests and guests review hosts, keeping everyone honest. There are more than 3,000 host sites in the US and it's a fantastic resource for folks like us.
We have used it a lot this trip. We've made new, and we hope, lasting friendships with several of our hosts along the way, and have invited them to come stay with us in Virginia "if you're ever out that way".
So, back to the story. We decide we want to go to Rocky Mountain National Park, and if we follow the "green dots" (designated scenic routes on the map), as is our preference, we find Buena Vista, Colorado is one of the towns we pass through. A quick check shows a host location there. We read the host's profile. She's from the UK and his name is Mark. That's good enough for us! We request a 2 day stay and they accept.
As a side note, we have a Buena Vista in Virginia, and the residents pronounce it "Byu-na Vista" rather than "Bway-na Vista". Apparently it's the same here in Colorado so we feel right at home.
We pull in, meet our hosts, park, get set up, and make dinner. There are deer wandering around our camper. Nonchalantly. Graze, move a bit, look at us, graze some more. They're very calm about it all and don't seem to mind us being here.
The next morning we wake up, make coffee, look at the deer some more, and suddenly realize it's snowing! In mid-May! The flakes get bigger and wetter and the ground begins to get covered. We start to get nervous, since our hosts just told us last night that they got a surprise 3 feet of snow at the end of May last year. Will we be staying here longer than planned? We begin to think "maybe a visit to Rocky Mountain National Park should go on the back burner until another trip later in the summer".
Luckily, it quits snowing after an hour or so with less than an inch of accumulation, the sun comes out, and it's all gone by evening. But still....
In the afternoon while the snow melts, we go for a walk through town to a loop trail called the "bridge to bridge trail". Walk one side of the Arkansas River to a bridge, cross, walk back up the other side and cross at another bridge. As we're walking a young woman wearing a wet suit and carrying a short, stubby kayak passes us. By the time we get to the bridge, she's in the water doing tricks in a standing wave. Flips, turns, back flips, amazing! We watch for a while, take a few photos, and continue our walk.
We see an RV parked in an empty lot and, as we're always on the lookout for free camping opportunities, we stop and chat with the owner. It turns out there's a big kayaking competition coming up in a couple of weeks and one of the sponsors of the event has allowed some of the contestants to camp in his lot. So, alas, it's not for us.
We mention the woman we saw in the standing wave and he says "Oh, that's Abby. She's practicing her tricks for the free style competition. She's 19, a three time Jr. National Champion and is on the Team USA Freestyle Kayak squad. She just got sponsored by Winnebago and they've given her a new RV to drive around to competitions. She's camped right over there."
So, if you feel like an inspiring story that involves, among other things, camping and kayaking, check out Abby Holcombe -https://nobarriersusa.org/podcast/interview-with-abby-holcombe/
Okay, so that's our day in Buena Vista. With a 2 night limit to our stay, but not yet feeling like we've seen enough of this area, we get up the next morning and head about 20 minutes south to Salida, Colorado (pronounced with a long "I" like "suh-LIE-da") and another BW host.
Salida is another small town on the Arkansas River, also with loads of tourist appeal. Our host site is right in town only a couple of blocks from all the action. This whole area seems to attract very active people. We are, in fact, pleasantly surprised that they actually allow us in without the requisite kayaks and mountain bikes on the back of our camper.
We again walk along the Arkansas River and for the first time see river surfing. These guys wear wetsuits and helmets and surf on a standing wave in the river.
There are many standing waves in town and all of them have their contingent of people playing in them. Kayakers, surfers, free style kayakers, river rafters - if there's a way to play in the river you'll find it happening here.
On our second night in Sailda we are wondering where to go next when our new friends in Buena Vista call and say "we don't have any guests coming tomorrow and we're wondering if you'd like to come back for another night?"
We accept their invitation and head back up. Another lovely night with the deer, visiting on the patio, and getting to know new good friends better - very similar to our cruising days on Rachel and a pleasant reminder of what we miss most about cruising. We have really begun to appreciate Boondockers Welcome!
After checking the weather at Rocky Mountain National Park again and learning that the road through the park is still closed, we once again change our ever-flexible plans. A lovely drive through the mountains finally lands us in Longmont, CO , near Denver, at another host site.
Another great stay, this time parked outside the "Garage Mahal" (Mark has contracted a terminal case of "shop envy"), more kindred spirits, yet another invitation extended to visit us in Virginia, and we're off again the next morning.
Our next stop is Ft Laramie, WY, which played a major part in the expansion and settling of the West. Treaties we're made here, later to be broken after George Custer led an expedition onto Indian lands and discovered gold. That pretty much started the Indian wars.
Finally, we land in Spearfish, SD for a visit with one of Mark's cousins and his family. There's a lot more to come, so stay tuned!
