another crackdown in Ehrenberg

[wayne49]

I'm sorry about starting the PFD/PDF flow.
I knew it was a typo on HDR's part.
The PFD in the wash was funny.
I did not imagine that it would be done to death.

 

[highdesertranger]

don't worry about it Wayne, I had a brain fart. the deleted posts had nothing to do with PDF vs PFD. LOL I almost blew it again. highdesertranger

 

[Kaylee]

But Wayne, I like ranting about cybersecurity!!!

Also... "skyl4rk" and you both deserve Geek Points (skyl4rk for "Personal Flotation Device" and you for SEAD (Suitably Excessive Acronym Defintions)).
(Resistance was Futile)

Far more seriously:
I'm seeing a major uptick in email-borne malware & phish.
I'm expecting it to get particularly bad over the next year.
Please be careful out there, and be wary of all file attachments and all links.

The 10 "substantive" posts rule is a very good one!

 

[Headache]

I just want to add that the major clean up that occurred earlier in the year was never completed.  I have no idea what happened but there was a mountain of trash that hadn't been picked up as late as March, as well as a pile of tires.  The boat had been on state land for a few years and was being used to pile trash into and drag it to the dumpsters.  I'm assuming they ran out of room because the full trash bags left over by my camp were still there, but that was on state land.

I understand the confusion regarding where the various land boundaries are.  I didn't know I was camping on state land.   I've seen signs in a lot of areas but in Ehrenberg it's a gamble where you are.

I'm assuming they picked up the trash left by the clean up as well as the rest that wasn't rounded up.  I'm surprised they finally went in.  The rangers and the state have known about the squatters for years.  They cracked down on a drug house that was built and bulldozed it years ago but left it there after.  It got picked up in the clean up.

 

[txmnjim]

i believe this one was from that place, or maybe the Slabs area...

 

[Qxxx]

I'm sure the local BLM rangers were extremely happy with the cleanup at Ehrenberg that was conducted around the first of the year.

First off, I remember someone in a youtube mentioning how the BLM was allowing boondockers to stay there for an extra 2 weeks so they could participate in the cleanup.

Then, I saw videos of large piles of crap that had been moved to the collection area. Most of said crap was clearly decades or more old.

Then, when I camped on the mesa in late February, I saw only a small pile of stuff still left at the collection point. Most of it was gone. Also, I walked all over the place, up and down off the mesa in between rain storms, and saw next to no residual crap in the bushes.

All in all, I'd say the whole idea of RVer volunteers working with officials to help keep areas clean is probably win-win scenario. Maybe we should start a "movement" in regards making such events more frequent. In my 15 weeks traveling this year, I have not seen any places overrun by trash, but maybe people could point out where they have seen a mess, and people could congregate informally in those places for a cleanup.

 

[straydogtalking]

i believe this one was from that place, or maybe the Slabs area...

It's gonna need some work. :s

 

[jeanmarie]

It seems like every time a site gets very popular and too much attention is drawn to it, there is a tightening and a crackdown of the rules. Sometimes, the site is closed, permanently. Whatever one thinks about how the normal fulltimer behaves, there always is that element that makes a mess and causes trouble. We can't very well police other people's behavior. So, DH and I do our best to move when we are supposed to, leave our sites cleaner than when we came, and to behave ourselves like good neighbors.

We also NEVER broadcast where we are or let others know about good boondocking sites we find. Maybe the 1 or 2 people we would tell would be fine. Maybe the few people they tell would be fine. But who knows about the people they tell or the people after that? Before you know it, "that element" are trying to set up a permanent trashy campsites, drag in derelict junker trailers and cook meth or raise chickens in them. Soon, another camping area with lenient supervision is gone.

 

[B and C]

Yep, it even seems some in the crowd at the last RTR didn't leave their sites in that good of shape either. How does it go, one rotten apple spoils the whole barrel?

 

[WanderingRose]

It is truly a sorry state of affairs that some have to organize to clean up after others who can’t be bothered to.

Tho it happens in towns, too, with S&B dwellers.

 

[highdesertranger]

it is very sad. I got burned long ago by sharing nice places. you have to be a special person for me to share a site today. I surely won't share a site on a public forum.

I still have dozens of off the beaten path places that are not ruined and not well known at all. I despise these sites advertising places.

learn by doing like us old timers did not from a website or a guide book.

sorry if that sounds selfish but there are far to many assholes out there.

highdesertranger

 

[cyndi]

I just want to add that the major clean up that occurred earlier in the year was never completed. 

It was completed. 


http://publiclandsociety.org/2019/second-ehrenberg-cleanup-continues/

Sorry to go off topic but I could not let that statement stand without a correction. So many people and groups put their time, money and efforts to complete the endeavour. HOWA played a big part in the completion of the project.

 

[Qxxx]

"http://publiclandsociety.org/2019/second...continues/"

This is very nice - too bad it was posted on some webpage that exists off in some corner of cyberspace, where no one would know to go, except the few the knowledgeable.

I will toss out again a comment I've made in another post. These cleanups are such a good idea that I think there should be some sort of formal or informal means to organize them, more widely known. Good for the BLM, good for RVers, good for the land, good for general PR.

Would be nice if there were an Important Thread section in Gatherings to deal with this, called "Cleanup Gatherings". Could be totally self-organizing. People could post ideas for locations sorely needing cleanup, and maybe Cheap RVers could congregate there at various times, and/or Caravans going to those locations.

 

[Cammalu]

Will there be another cleanup this year? I can’t walk around much but can bring my putt putt and haul trash.

 

[Headache]

It was completed. 


http://publiclandsociety.org/2019/second-ehrenberg-cleanup-continues/

Sorry to go off topic but I could not let that statement stand without a correction. So many people and groups put their time, money and efforts to complete the endeavour. HOWA played a big part in the completion of the project.

Weird because when I was there in April and again in May just before I left I still saw trash bags and tires from the area I had camped in that had been there since January. The bigger area where the dumpsters were where the tire mountain was I'm assuming was addressed?  Maybe they didn't know about the other part?

 

[LoveCareThinkDo]

I despise these sites advertising places.

HDR,
What would you think about someone offering thorough, detailed, helpful information about already well-known areas, like the published caravan locations? The idea would be to give newbies more confidence about being able to navigate an area and know where their vehicle would AND WOULD NOT be able to go. Plus, interesting areas where they might want to hike or take pictures.

Sent from my SM-T510 using Tapatalk

 

[highdesertranger]

where is your sense of adventure? there are just to many people doing this, a cool site can be overrun in a short time now-a-days with the internet. many(not all) of these newbies looking for the easy way out are also looking for other easy ways out. like not packing out their trash. I found my secret spots by exploring not by reading it off a web page, they mean a lot to me, far more than if I read it off the internet. sorry I am selfish. highdesertranger

 

[Qxxx]

HDR is indeed a sly one. You will notice he is all the time on the internet, keeping everyone on the straight and narrow. That means he has discovered secret camping places with very good cell service. The two would seem to be almost mutually exclusive of each other, but  :angel:

 

[B and C]

Nope. I have my places too with good cell coverage. Am I putting them on the internet? Not only no but he** no.

 

[bullfrog]

Look there is already an example of this, our National Parks/Recreation Areas are as easy as it gets for the newbe to try out or old timer to go to if they need services. Yes too many people use them, many have been over run because of the internet. Some have increased visitation from 4,000 to 400,000 in just two years. Yes many need the trash picked up and repairs to services. Yes they have rules in place to try and deal with the huge number of visitors and to a point it works for the majority of people looking to figure out camping / boondocking without destroying BLM land. Most parks have BLM land nearby with few rules and lots of freedom to enjoy oneself. Prospect, hike ,offroad and generally get away from masses of people to star gaze and sleep well at night. If you don't know, are too lazy or just haven't figured out a way to deal with 14 days worth of trash or poop, how to keep clean, carry and dispose of water go to the National Park to do so then eventually when you have or even while learning go outside the National Park/Recreation Area to BLM land and learn how to explore and enjoy nature without destroying it. There are lots of special places out there and everyone needs to find theirs. They are special mainly because you found them. I like many others here have lived long enough to see many of the special places I found destroyed or changed so much that I was disappointed and saddened to return to them with expectations they would remain as I found them before. Which is why I have learned to enjoy the moment and keep looking for new places and experiences. Change is going to happen and there is little you can do to stop it. Enjoy it and try not to destroy it while you can. Learn the skills and practice them or just stay in the National Parks and Recreation Areas and visit the wild areas with as little impact as possible. The internet and cell service will eventually be everywhere but for now where it isn't are the best places! Now everybody knows!