Please advise Chicken Girl leaving Flagstaff

[pamerica]

Hello everyone.   I have been out here full-timing almost 2 months now and need some thoughts.  I have met 19 or 20 tribe members and it has been great, that way.  I like and appreciate every one.  These truly are good folks.
 
But as I learn what works for me and what doesn't, a couple issues have come up that necessarily separated me from the group the past few weeks.  I miss them all and as they split into two groups, each has invited me to stay with them, but I can't.  And I am asking for thoughts on where to go next.

The first month was glorious.  On top of a beautiful mountain with 12 others, and more coming and going.  Big dogs, little dogs all merrily getting along.  Group dinners, talking around campfire at night, everyone friendly with no agendas except get along, help each other, enjoy this great life.

Then the rains came.  This mile long uphill road to the campsite became too rough for my old van to handle.  I have more rattles and squeaks now and hope they are not serious issues.  I also am in a Class B that not only does not have high clearance, but has a propane tank suspended underneath.  So bumpy, muddy roads with huge ruts to maneuver are not good for me.

Then I went with others to A-1 Mountain Road.  A lot of you here know where this is.  Beautiful campsites, level roads, etc.  As soon as I got there, we noticed a flat, so flat the tire was off the rim.  I have AAA RV Plus, and learned they will not come past pavement more than 50 feet.  You know, with a car, pickup, regular van this would not be such a problem.  But with my Class B, it is.

Thankfully, wonderful Wayne came off the mountain and got enough air in my tire for me to reach the pavement.  Even AAA needed the two guys to change my tire.

So I am rethinking remote sites, in case I need some mechanical assistance that we can't handle ourselves. 

Now my next problem, and this is where Chicken Girl comes about.  In one of my previous posts I talked about being in pitch dark and lonely...not doing it.
Anyway, since it is getting colder here around Flagstaff, some of the group went lower elevation about 50 miles away where it is 10 degrees warmer.  I followed.
Oh, what a simply stunningly beautiful place.  Like a movie set and so convenient.  A public free park with lake swimming, fishing, each site had nice picnic table and trash can.  Real restrooms with flush toilets, free dumpster..the works.  And at night....the stars !  I had been hoping for years to see something like that night sky.
Wonderful place...UNTIL ...later that night some trucks came on the upper road and made a couple bonfires and partied for a while.  I don't know why but it made me uneasy.  I still fell asleep and was awakened twice around 3 and 4 by something hitting my van.  Not hard, just bumps or taps or something.  In the morning I learned that 3 of us at least had the same thing happen.  There were only 4 of our vans there plus an older gent.  One of our group thought it might be birds, but another fellow felt sure someone was throwing rocks at our vans.  All of us were awakened by this and put our lights on, etc.  That fellow refused to camp in the same spot the next night, he said.  I left... no way am I going to be 8 miles outside town with just a few others in the pitch dark.  I just feel too vulnerable; can't do it.  And what/who was hitting our vans in the middle of the night?

So for the past few weeks I have been living in a 30 mile radius, dividing my time between WalMart, Pilot and Love's truck stops.  By myself.  I keep in touch with the others and hope to meet up with them and other members of the tribe once everyone makes their way towards Quartzsite, I guess.  Now I am not complaining about this... I have met wonderful people at all these places.  And in Williams, I am so well known now, that I get the locals' discounts in one of the stores I frequent.   It has actually been fun but time to move on.  

I met someone who told me to go to Kingman...several WalMarts and truck stops.  Then to Laughlin and park at casinos.  Then...?  It is still too hot in those places. Yesterday someone told me to go to Prescott. It is cooler there.  And I have been looking at campsites on various websites and reading reviews, but am still too new to really understand all this.  I know, I'll learn.  

What I am asking here, is do you have any ideas where I can camp now until November...where it is not remote, not lonely and not pitch dark unless there are at least 10 others like us with some yappy dogs thrown in for good measure?  Oh, and free or real low cost, of course.  Not asking much  ...really, do these issues make this way of life too difficult to achieve?  Am I now only able to park at truck stops and WalMarts overnight?  If so, that's okay.  Just not what I was thinking when I started this life.  I plan on heading towards Quartzsite, Ehrenberg, Yuma... the classic places to see what they are all about.

Thanks for reading this if you got this far.  I hope you are having a wonderful day.

 

[rvpopeye]

You were in a place that just happened to be where a few jerks decided to hang out.
I've seen things like that happen on occasion , more often in a parking lot and less in the boonies..............but could be anywhere.
I think you will find that to be the exception , not the rule.
Don't let it keep you from going where you want.

Now the low clearance and not so great roads ,,,,you should pay attention to.

Most road service co's are shy about going away from pavement with their trucks!!?? Go figure. Wimpy Woosies ! (Glad you got the tire fixed anyway despite that.)

 

[cyndi]

Are you on facebook?

there's a couple of great, very supportive, solo women's groups on facebook and a good number of solo women hanging in the NM state park system. A NM state annual state park pass is $225. That's free camping no hook ups and some cheap fee for hook ups.

You'll find a list of women's groups here: https://vanlivingforum.com/Thread-GIRLS-ROOM-Nomadic-Women-s-Groups-on-the-internet

As for the bumps in the night... Are you on open range? Maybe some cattle passing through, or wild burros. BTDT

 

[rvpopeye]

Hah ! Good point Cyndi...I hadn't thought of that. Quite possible.

 

[GotSmart]

Here it is big bugs like grasshoppers hitting the side of the window.

 

[jimindenver]

We got a 4x4 stuck on a trail a few years back, cost $1300 to get some help up there. Well worth it since they guided us the rest of the way down 8 miles of trails I would have never intentionally gone down. We had to spend the night in one of the Expeditions and I woke in pitch darkness, hearing something go through the boxes we had taken out of the truck to sleep in it. Took a while to get back to sleep after that.

 

[gnarledwolf]

I have a brother I travel with... we camp in tents... we've even resorted to carrying our solor setup up to half a miles for a good spot.... never really had a problem. We use lighting and battery power for everything... and sleep easy through the night for the most part. We are like the snowbirds... north in the summer, south in the winter. We've been doing this just over a year now and doing pretty well here and there. Right now we have our Eclipse parked and locked along side the road and are camped about 5000 yards back in the woods where we have a nice clearing. A life of parking in car lots sounds dreadfully limiting to me. It's just something to think about.... but you should definately have a buddy or two.

 

[Every Road Leads Home]

Lots of things can sound like things hitting a car at night. Bugs, acorns, animals, etc. I always try to rule out nature first, before blaming it on humans. There will always be some aholes in the mix, but the one thing to remember is the good people far and away outweigh the amount of bad.

Keep staying in your comfort zone and as time goes on I think you'll get more comfortable with the different scenerios. Hook back up with the tribe as soon as you can as it sounds like that's when you're at your most comfort. Quartzite is just around the corner.

 

[dancemama]

i don't have any suggestions about parking places. but i want you to think about what you wrote and be very proud! you are accomplishing so much. you are meetlng new people, learning about the good and the bad of your set up and you did not run screaming lnto the night when frightened. i vote for cattle bumping in to your rig. i've had it happen several times and it's a soft bump it's like the don't want to wake you up lol good luck finding a good place to park

 

[pamerica]

You were in a place that just happened to be where a few jerks decided to hang out.
I've seen things like that happen on occasion , more often in a parking lot and less in the boonies..............but could be anywhere.
I think you will find that to be the exception , not the rule.
Don't let it keep you from going where you want.

Now the low clearance and not so great roads ,,,,you should pay attention to.

Most road service co's are shy about going away from pavement with their trucks!!?? Go figure. Wimpy Woosies ! (Glad you got the tire fixed anyway despite that.)

Thanks for the encouraging words, rvpopeye.  I actually needed 2 new tires for over $400, and all 4 of mine only had 15,000 miles on them.  I wonder if the rough roads and rocks had something to do with this.  One of them had a separating sidewall.  Then a few days later a third tire was going flat.  That was a leaking valve stem, which got fixed.

 

[blars]

I think coach-net's rule is 100 feet of a maintained road, so a groomed county dirt road is fine. They rarely ask, and most tow-truck drivers won't enforce unless they want to charge extra. AAA RV gets bad reviews.

 

[pamerica]

Are you on facebook?

there's a couple of great,  very supportive, solo  women's groups on facebook and a good number of solo women hanging in the NM state park system. A NM state annual state park pass is $225. That's free camping no hook ups and some cheap fee for hook ups.

You'll find a list of women's groups here: https://vanlivingforum.com/Thread-GIRLS-ROOM-Nomadic-Women-s-Groups-on-the-internet

As for the bumps in the night... Are you on open range? Maybe some cattle passing through, or wild burros. BTDT

Thank you, cyndi, for the link to the groups.  I will check them out. And for the NM state parks info.  I thought about it but didn't want to be alone.  I just joined facebook and don't know what to do with it yet, but will look for those groups.  
As far as the bumps,  I think it is doubtful it was critters.  All of us shined lights outside and looked around.  Nothing there.  Thrown rocks would be a way to do that without being seen.

 

[pamerica]

I think coach-net's rule is 100 feet of a maintained road, so a groomed county dirt road is fine.  They rarely ask, and most tow-truck drivers won't enforce unless they want to charge extra.  AAA RV gets bad reviews.

Yes, I will look into coach-net.  I have heard good things about them.  Thank you.  I must say that AAA RV did tow me about 100 miles when an RV shop caused a problem that day.

 

[pamerica]

We got a 4x4 stuck on a trail a few years back, cost $1300 to get some help up there. Well worth it since they guided us the rest of the way down 8 miles of trails I would have never intentionally gone down. We had to spend the night in one of the Expeditions and I woke in pitch darkness, hearing something go through the boxes we had taken out of the truck to sleep in it. Took a while to get back to sleep after that.

Ouch.  I would much rather spend that on something else.  Now that I know about all this, I don't think I will be going much off the road.

 

[pamerica]

i don't have any suggestions about parking places.  but i want you to think about what you wrote and be very proud! you are accomplishing so much.  you are meetlng new people, learning about the good and the bad of your set up and you did not run screaming lnto the night when frightened.  i vote for cattle bumping in to your rig.   i've had it happen several times and it's a soft bump it's like the don't want to wake you up lol good luck finding a good place to park

Thanks dancemama for such a kind and sweet response.

 

[rvpopeye]

Rocks would likely sound like being pounded with a hammer...

 

[highdesertranger]

I hope you got LT load range E tires. I would guess the tires you chewed up and wore out were P rated tires. highdesertranger

 

[DannyB1954]

The bump in the night could be black bears or raccoons if any are in the area. When I used to go 4 wheel camping we put the coolers under the jeeps and tied them in. The critters would still try to get them.

 

[anewbiewannabe]

I vote for critters. Rocks on metal are distinctive. Also, if they'd been partying then the likelihood of em being able to be quiet is pretty slim. Noise would have given em away just from dropping down to not be seen in the light. Can't imagine any human being able to stealth away in the pitch black. If there were trees overhead then some kind of critter could have landed on the vans and not been visible even if still there if a light was shined up there. I had vultures run across my 2nd floor deck in the middle of the night. Sounded like a person was out there so I called the sheriff and one came out and walked around the house and shined his light and didn't find anything. Only reason I know it was vultures is because I saw them in daylight the next day. I also have a squirrel that likes to freak me out by running across the roof sometimes.

So I freaked out. You freaked out. It's good to regroup and take care of yourself. It takes awhile to get used to the noises and bumps in the night out in the boonies---I live in the boonies by myself and sometimes will still have something freak me out after around 20 years here. One thing that we can do that the guys can't pull of as well is hollering to our guy whether he exists or not. "HEY JESSIE (Howard, John, whatever) I HEARD A NOISE AND I'M SCARED GET YER GUN AND GO CHECK IT OUT!" Then listen to hear em running away if they ain't critters.

I second dancemama on you have every right to be proud of your accomplishment so far. I think you can work your way through and it's great you are near others for support while you need it.

Take care!

 

[Yogidog]

Hi! I am with the other poster, who said good for u at two months. I am very brave in someways but not real comfortable sitting alone in the wilderness unless it is totally remote, no traffic. I don't know how far u can travel but I just left California 395 blm camsites and they were perfect for me . Not crowded 5 a nite and I said I would feel comfortable having my daughter's there alone!