Is the road less traveled becoming a super highway?

[jonsun]

RV'ers like the open road and the solitude of the mountains and rivers

 

[lenny flank]

Alas, it is an unfortunate reality that when it comes to "the wild", the more people who go to visit it, the more quickly they destroy it through their mere over-presence. Something backpackers and rock-climbers know all too well. It is the responsibility of the NPS, BLM and other owners to balance the need for protection with the need for availability.

I alas take a dim view of the future of our "lifestyle". As more and more newbies swarm in, more and more of them will have no clue what they are doing, and many of them will do stupid things that piss everyone off and end up getting us banned from more and more places. It doesn't take many dumbshits to wreck things for everyone else. (And I've already seen a lot of dumbshits in the Walmart lots.)

 

[John61CT]

A very literal example of Tragedy of the Commons.

 

[jonney38]

A very literal example of Tragedy of the Commons.

The Tragedy of the Commons, a great observation. I'm mostly not nomadic but looking at the YouTube's of those who are, a mythology about what is a "great" experience comes through. A "great" experience is always an isolated campsite with a mountain view. It's Arizona, Colorado, California or bust. 

There are lots of cheap places where the population is declining. In general its called rural America. Figure out how camp there and outsmart the crowds.

 

[lenny flank]

The Tragedy of the Commons, a great observation. I'm mostly not nomadic but looking at the YouTube's of those who are, a mythology about what is a "great" experience comes through. A "great" experience is always an isolated campsite with a mountain view. It's Arizona, Colorado, California or bust. 

There are lots of cheap places where the population is declining. In general its called rural America. Figure out how camp there and outsmart the crowds.

Well, I'm a bit different from most van-campers (at least most of the ones here in this forum--most folks here seem to be rural campers in the desert southwest)--I urban-camp almost exclusively and move from city to cityand coast to coast to see the museums, zoos, parks, etc etc etc (partly because I need steady urban access to wifi for my job--I'll do more of the rural national park thingies in a few years when I am retired). So I camp almost exclusively in Walmarts and Cracker Barrels. (I did a lot of backpacking in my younger days, so I've already been through the whole "hermit" thingie.

For me, a "great" experience is a city with lots of interesting things to see and places to visit. (I've never visited a city that I flat-out didn't likke--EVERY city has things to see and places to visit--though some cities are...um...nicer than others.)

 

[John61CT]

Albuquerque? Some nice environs sure. . .

Then again some of the changes in thirty years may have been for the better

 

[lenny flank]

I liked Albuquerque---some very nice museums there. And I met up with a cyberfriend who works as a nuclear physicist, who told me all about Chernobyl --he had just gotten back. And he gave me a small piece from a hydrogen bomb.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Note to self:

Keep geiger counter handy when visiting Lenny.

 

[lenny flank]

Note to self:

Keep geiger counter handy when visiting Lenny.

Well, you PROBABLY won't glow in the dark.....  

I actually wrote up the story on my blog:

https://lennyflank.wordpress.com/2016/11/25/the-nuclear-engineer/

 

[TNTX]

I've recently found this blog and Bob's youtube channel. I'm 51 and I want to exit the rat race is a few years. I've already started making plans but then I watched "THE FUTURE OF RV'ING AND CAMPING" by rusty78609 and he threw a wet blanket on my dreams. I'm worried I may be too late. Will there still be free and/or cheap camping for fulltime RV's?

 

[rvwandering]

I'm worried I may be too late. Will there still be free and/or cheap camping for fulltime RV's?

   I watched Rusty's video and many of his points are correct. We've been fulltiming almost as long as he has and have seen changes but nothing to be alarmed about.  In my opinion there will always be free and cheap camping. You may just have to go a little farther out or camp in places that aren't well known and popular.

 We camped in southern Wyoming over Memorial day weekend. It seems that no one wants to go to southern Wyoming :-D  The first pictures is BLM land about 10 miles east of Fort Bridger. The second is a BLM campground east of Rawlins.  Only one other campsite was occupied.

 

[highdesertranger]

y'all just want to suck me into this, don't you? highdesertranger

 

[TNTX]

   I watched Rusty's video and many of his points are correct. We've been fulltiming almost as long as he has and have seen changes but nothing to be alarmed about.  In my opinion there will always be free and cheap camping. You may just have to go a little farther out or camp in places that aren't well known and popular.

 We camped in southern Wyoming over Memorial day weekend. It seems that no one wants to go to southern Wyoming :-D  The first pictures is BLM land about 10 miles east of Fort Bridger. The second is a BLM campground east of Rawlins.  Only one other campsite was occupied.

Hi Tonyandkaren, thanks for posting a reply. I just hope there's enough room for me when I take to the road in a few years. 

 

[TrainChaser]

While the numbers may increase, there will also be a considerable number of people who try it and HATE it. Or they aren't constitutionally able to do it for very long. They will drop out and rejoin the National Debt Machine (NDM).

The American Way (of debt) has been embedded in (what passes for) the brains of many/most of the people in this country. I've seen quite a few YouTube videos from people who simply can't deal with the constraints of 'living small'. They 'need' the 3-bdrm+2bath house, they 'need' all the ModCons, they feel cramped in a van/RV, they can't deal with not having constant web access and cell service, they feel the 'normal' people are looking down on them, they do dumb things and get hassled by the cops, etc.

There are basically two types of people who live this life: those who like to see more of life than the same mailbox for 40 years, and those who can't afford to live the life that they have been living, or some combination % of the two. And that leaves out a HUGE part of the population who would never consider, or even think of, doing something like this. It is so much of a foreign idea, they they even cringe at the idea of other people doing it.

My advice would be not to borrow trouble by dwelling on how bad it MIGHT be. That's like believing the 'experts' who 'predict' 'possible' terrorist attacks. Think back, and you'll realize that they've been wrong 100% of the time.

Also, there is only one, single, solitary thing that 'everyone does': and that's breathe.

 

[jonsun]

poop and die

 

[John61CT]

pay taxes

 

[DLTooley]

Lobbying for continued access is something we should consider. Heck, perhaps even creating a loose association of campground hosts to underbid the corporates and keep at least a few pay campgrounds in an affordable range. I suspect Bob has gotten legally blacklisted for the 2016 Summer RTR. It happened to me as the result of appealing a 2010 camping ticket in SW Colorado. FWIW, same magistrate who had the Gold King Mine 'settlement' deal in his jurisdiction - a part time magistrate, part time real estate developer.

 

[lenny flank]

I'm not seeing any threat to access.

Nor do I view regulations to limit the damage caused by too many visitors, as a bad thing.

 

[DLTooley]

I've seen a few places that have recently become 'designated sites only'. That could be a good example of healthy regulation, but it could also be abused. There is certainly plenty of attitude out there in some areas, and that can be a problem in and of itself.

One big concern is that an intentional lack of enforcement can be used to close down an area. This happened on lower Hermosa Creek near Durango and they were trying in nearby La Plata Canyon. The two closest 'good' spots to the Town.

 

[RetiredNomad]

y'all just want to suck me into this,  don't you?  highdesertranger

   ...  they're not gonna get me to bite  ...
            so the floor is yours  ...