RTR thoughts

[tripper]

:idea: I stayed at camp hobotech and spent a lot of time at nearby partr this rtr season. Both camps had good things going on. Hobotech camp mainly quiet canpfire with lots of conversation and some good pots of stew and partr for some nice games (farkle, jenga and puctionary), great mellow and dance music, kareoke, plus some fun events. I really had a great time. There were a few other small camps located nearby in scaddon wash, breadvan, digerdoo, and acoustic that I know of. I directed as many lost newbie rtr peeps as I could find to this area and most of them had a great time. I was a bit sad tho to not have the larger gatherings of old.
My personal suggestion for next year would be to simply have Bob announce next year that he will be camped in Scaddon Wash and all are welcome to come by his fire and say hi. That's it, no "organized" event, just say he is camping at scaddon for a week. This will give all the assorted  camps a reason to be camping around scaddon, rather than randomly scattered throughout Quartzsite, which really was the failure of this years rtr (no blame, just fact).

The blm can't stop people individually camping and just visiting nearby friends.

Your thoughts on this?

 

[rvwandering]

That's how the original RTRs were but it would never work now because Bob is so well-known. The main things that he wants to accomplish at the RTRs are teaching new nomads how to live comfortably on the road and bringing people together to form a sense of community. As soon as seminars are announced it becomes an organized event and it would be shut down by the BLM and Bob would probably be fined.

I think all of us are a bit sad that the RTR was so different this year but as a volunteer, I saw lots of newbies at the seminars and it seemed like most of them were finding community at the caravan locations or at other areas like Scaddon Wash

 

[tripper]

Seminars do not need to happen; they were always a minor part of the rtr (maybe 10% attendance) if everyone is hanging out at scaddon the old timers can give advice around the campfires. All the info is already on video via youtube nowadays.
The main draw and focus of the rtr's has always been the community and a common meeting place for nomads who are scattered about throughout the year, by informally getting everyone to just show up at scaddon wash at the same timeframe every year we can still have the same community as before, without the blm hassles.

The problem is conveying which area and timeframe without making it an organized event, which is why I say Bob could just say he will be camping at scaddon wash mid January, come by and say hi, but no organized event.

 

[Zork]

Everyone can do what they want, but less resentment toward Bob would be refreshing. I saw some HoboTech streams where they were mocking Bob/RTR. Not sure why or maybe I didn't get the joke.

 

[maki2]

My personal suggestion for next year would be to simply have Bob announce next year that he will be camped in Scaddon Wash and all are welcome to come by his fire and say hi. That's it, no "organized" event, just say he is camping at scaddon for a week. This will give all the assorted  camps a reason to be camping around scaddon, rather than randomly scattered throughout Quartzsite, which really was the failure of this years rtr (no blame, just fact).

The blm can't stop people individually camping and just visiting nearby friends.

Your thoughts on this?

The main point of the RTR. It is not all about socializing which in the situation you are describing for a concept is all that could possibly happen.

The educational aspects of the presentations of how it is possible to live the nomadic life and do so affordably is the primary focus. Those can not possibly happen without organizing a specific time and place to meet.

The RTR is for helping people who are new to the nomadic life be successful at it my giving them the basic information they need to know. It is about teaching living skills. Building community is part of the life, but that too can happen at the organized events. For instance seminars on the manners of to initiate contact with other campers including the etiquette of approaching a strangers camp is also included in the discussions as is information about joining the HOWA caravans. Of course things such as how to stay on the BLM and other publicly owned lands understand the regulations so that those lands continue to be open for camping are also part of the discussions.

There is no going back to how the RTR used to be in the early days. Some of the BLM rangers are signed up as members of this forum and are following conversations about what is going on at the various BLM camping areas.

 

[crofter]

I liked the decentralized camping groups, but I would have also liked visiting other camping groups. I made it to Scadden wash but did not find the party. 

Also, it was a long drive from La Paz valley road to the fairgrounds. I liked all the seminars that I attended, but there were a few I missed. If there is more boondocking around Parker that would be closer to the fairgrounds than south of Q for camping. I liked the fairgrounds venue for the seminars, easy to find and a nice facility.   -crofter

 

[Cammalu]

If there is anything I’ve learned about Bob he’s going to do exactly what he wants to do and no amount of talking is going to change that.

He was put between a rock and a hard place this year. Perhaps by next year he will have some land bought for a large gathering - or perhaps not.

 

[tripper]

The main point of the RTR. It is not all about socializing which in the situation you are describing for a concept is all that could possibly happen.

The educational aspects of the presentations of how it is possible to live the nomadic life and do so affordably is the primary focus. Those can not possibly happen without organizing a specific time and place to meet.

The RTR is for helping people who are new to the nomadic life be successful at it my giving them the basic information they need to know. It is about teaching living skills. Building community is part of the life, but that too can happen at the organized events. For instance seminars on the manners of to initiate contact with other campers including the etiquette of approaching a strangers camp is also included in the discussions as is information about joining the HOWA caravans.  Of course things such as how to stay on the BLM and other publicly owned lands understand the regulations so that those lands continue to be open for camping are also part of the discussions.

There is no going back to how the RTR used to be in the early days. Some of the BLM rangers are signed up as members of this forum and are following conversations about what is going on at the various BLM camping areas.

From older description of rtr that used to be on this website "[font=Arial, Georgia, sans-serif]vandwellers are just like the Mountain Men of old: we need to be alone and on the move, but we equally need to occasionally gather together and make connections with like-minded people who understand us."
This is exactly describes most of the nomads I know. The rtr had been a great place to visit and hang out with others on the road, the seminars are important and informational, but they were not the main reason most people attended. Any newbie to the lifestyle can get useful advice and know how just hanging around the campfires and chatting with the nomads at the rtr. All the basics of beginning nomads are already thoroughly documented on youtube by cheaprvliving and others. Given the choice most nomads would choose keep the annual centralized camping community over keeping the seminars.

 [/font]

 

[tripper]

Just trying to keep the rtr spirit alive
~RTR 2012 or so cool advertisement quote
"a need to gather together with like-minded people to share secrets, enjoyment, to trade, and encourage each other.Essentially, to briefly belong to a family and a tribe."

 

[maki2]

If the main point of the RTR was a social gathering then there would have been no RTR at the fairground this year. It certainly was not a party atmosphere from the videos I saw of it.

 

[B and C]

The RTR was great until the party crowd showed up Remember the PARTR (Jamies crowd) right across the street from the RTR? If this RTR format continues, which I hope it does, I will camp with my peeps as far from the PARTR as I can. I really wish the PARTR would have their own venue at a long ways away from the RTR.

 

[Cammalu]

What’s wrong with the PARtr ? Seemed like people having fun to me


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[B and C]

I am glad they were having fun but when their fun intrudes on my peace and quiet, not so much. I am not opposed to having a good time, it just doesn't have to be loud. I am generally in bed by 9 or 10 at the latest and up before sunrise in the desert. A little hard to sleep with the thump thump of drums and loud yelling and amplified bad singers. Noise carries a long ways in the desert. It always made me want to walk through their camp at sunrise and bang pots and pans.

 

[owl]

It is interesting to see how folks put their own spin on what the rtr is or is supposed to be. It has always been an evolution and as long as it continues it will be. The folks who want to listen to music and have fun are very considerate in letting new visitors know what to expect. If that's not your bag, camp away from it. The desert is a very big place, plenty of room to live and let live.

 

[GypsyJan]

The noisy groups should post ahead of time where they will be camping and the same goes for the quiet groups.That way there will be no surprises after one has set up camp.

 

[B and C]

Bob seems to be the one that drives the RTR date and location. He has always asked that the noisy crowd party away from the RTR camp where everyone (him included) expects it to be quiet(er). The ones coming to party should just have a camp on the north side of town. Why they have to be close to the RTR and disrupt everyone there is beyond me.

 

[Cammalu]

I camped right with them and slept like a baby [emoji16]


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[Spicoli]

The RTR (to me) means socializing and partying (cooking, and eating with friends). I drove 2,000 miles each way to camp at the old RTR location because there wasn't anything on Bob's calendar I wanted to see/hear. I camped about 200 yards from the PartyR in Scadden Wash and I was in bed by 8/9 PM every night and have never slept better in my life! There was zero noise at that distance. There were about 10,000 RVs in Quartzite this year. Driving 60 miles round trip to attend a lecture was a "no-go" for me.

 

[outermostsoul]

It is evolving for sure. I still hope to make it one year but the drive and leaving my camp to hopefully find it still empty after being gone all day was too much to worry about for me. PS the 1970 monster truck gets 10 or so mpg, so there was that too.

 

[Cammalu]

I believe there was a lot of carpooling going on so it might not have been an issue.


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