What is boondocking?

[safari05-25]

Hi...new to this forum, what is boondocking?

[warbler5]

Originally Posted by safari2505

Hi...new to this forum, what is boondocking?

"Camping" without benefit of hook-ups....electrical, water, or blackwater disposal.

[azflycaster]

This is an example...

[LI Pets]

How did it get this name?

[clancy_boy]

Boondocks refers to a remote, usually brushy rural area. The expression was introduced to English by American military personnel serving in the Philippines during the early years of the 20th century. It derives from the Tagalog word bunduk (Bisayan Bukid) meaning "hinterland", that is, inland area. It also carries the implication that it is "backward" or "unsophisticated"; hence taga bunduk "people who live in the hinterland": i.e., people who are backward or unsophisticated.

You asked...... Internet provides......

BTW, I don't feel AS people are "backward or unsophisticated".......

[azflycaster]

From the wikipedia:

Boondocks refers to a remote, usually brushy rural area. The expression was introduced to English by American military personnel serving in the Philippines during the early years of the 20th century. It derives from the Tagalog word bunduk (Bisayan Bukid) meaning "hinterland", that is, inland area. It also carries the implication that it is "backward" or "unsophisticated"; hence taga bunduk "people who live in the hinterland": i.e., people who are backward or unsophisticated.
Boondocks or diminutively "the boonies" has since evolved into a more general American slang term for suburbs in general, regardless of topology or vegetation.
Equipment suitable for traveling in the boondocks has been jokingly referred to as "boondockers".
Boondock is considered by some to be an inherently funny word.

I guess my trailer is a Boondocker

[Waynon]

Hi. Boondocking is "camping out" with your Airstream as opposed to parking in a parking lot with hookups in your AS. It got its name because it is usually done out in the boondocks, that is, way out there away from things. It has come to mean parking anywhere without hookups, even at Wally World to some folks. Some people love it, and the AS is ideally set up for it if your batteries are strong and/or you have a generator or solar panel for back up. There's nothing like parking in the piney woods when the dogwoods are blooming with ALL those windows for a great view. You are in all that luxury completely out in the wild with the mockingbirds singing and the squirrels chattering, but safe from mosquitos and downpours, with the fridge full of good food and drinks. You can have whatever you want for supper, no reason to have to eat beanie-weenies and junk food. For me there is almost nothing like being the only human in ten miles in the national forests of Louisiana in the spring or fall. I don't have to listen to the neighbors choice of what he thinks is music, or smell his supper cooking on the grill, or put up with the mutt that to him is "man's best friend" but is just a barking machine to me, or keep all the curtains closed because there is an RV on all sides. It's great.

UNLESS it's not spring or summer, and it's 90 or better and the humidity is 90 or better and you REALLY CRAVE AC! Or you are not well prepared and your electrical needs exceed your supply and you wind up with dead batteries, or you just crave a little company, or if you are socialized to feeling more secure around people. Some people get lonely and bored.

I read where someone wrote on another thread that they didn't like boondocking because they had to give up the luxuries -- "isn't that why we bought an AS in the first place?" Well, what I like is that with my AS and a small generator I can go to an unspoiled place and stay as long as I want and take my luxuries with me, sleep in my own bed, have everything I want right in the drawer or closet. There's nothing like sitting up in the morning with all the drapes open and watching a herd of deer walking across the clearing ...

Waynon

[Airstream25]

Originally Posted by safari2505

Hi...new to this forum, what is boondocking?

Now that the first question has been answered, a better question might be "Why boondock?"

For me, the answers are;
More places to go
Frequently better scenery
Usually fewer people
No checkout time
Usually quieter
Cheaper

Again, for me, the answer is not;
Walmarts parking lot

[klattu]

Calling it 'real' camping is pushing it..especialy if you ever tented,
But dang it always pays you back with the best memories...
The sounds,
The smells,
The sights,
Now if I could just make her loosen her grip on the cell phone...

[Bob Thompson]

Since I've posted quite a few boondocking spots, I feel I should chime in. For me, boondocking is using your trailer as it is set up to be used. The Airstream has fresh water holding tanks with pump, grey and black water tanks to handle your water needs. It has propane tanks for heat, cooking, and keeping the fridge cold. It has batteries for lighting, fans, and running the furnace. These features aren't there for looks, they are there so you don't have to stay in commercial campgrounds and constantly be hooked up to water, sewer, and electricity.

These features allow you to explore new areas, camping along rivers, or open National Forest lands. Once you start boondocking, you discover there is an immense array of fantastic camping which is either free or very low cost. Sometimes, it is a community park where the locals are glad to have good rv'ers come to their community, eat in their restaurants, buy gas, and be an unofficial security guard at their parks. Sometimes, there are just no commercial rv parks in the area as you might find in many areas of west Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, or Nevada. Sometimes, it might be a casino parking lot with an area set aside for RV's as was the case in Laughlin, Nv. until recently. Sometimes it's a parking lot at a marina or fishin' hole, or a small park at the town lake.

One of my absolute favorite places for boondocking is the town lake in Junction, Texas. If you travel I-10 east or west across Texas, you eventually go past Junction, Texas. On the south edge of town (about 1.5 miles south of I-10) is the "town" lake, with park areas on each side of the lake. You can park along the lake for up to three days. There is no dump, but you can top off your fresh water supply at one of the park's hose bibbs. We like to camp just downstream from the dam, and then go swimming with the locals in the lake from the top of the dam. In spring and summer the weather is great, the water is warm, and the swimming hole is one of the best ones I've ever been lucky enough to enjoy. TV reception is poor, but the DVD player works great and the flat screen TV barely draws any electricity. Now that's boondocking!

[Goin camping]

I live out West on the Western edge of the Mojave desert. There a millions of acres to camp in in Ca,Az,Nev. No one else around and so quiet you can hear your blood pump. So Clear and dark at night you can watch satelites. If you sit qiuetly in a lawn chair for 30 min. all the wildlife starts popping up and running around. I've had a rabbit sit two feet from me and stare at the trailer. Old mines and towns to explore. Sometimes you want to visit with folks at a campground and other times you want total peace and serenity.

[FreshAir]

Originally Posted by clancy_boy

Boondocks refers to a remote, usually brushy rural area. The expression was introduced to English by American military personnel serving in the Philippines during the early years of the 20th century. It derives from the Tagalog word bunduk (Bisayan Bukid) meaning "hinterland", that is, inland area. It also carries the implication that it is "backward" or "unsophisticated"; hence taga bunduk "people who live in the hinterland": i.e., people who are backward or unsophisticated.

You asked...... Internet provides......

BTW, I don't feel AS people are "backward or unsophisticated".......

YUP, that describes my family when we boondock.
Neil.

[Waynon]

The kids love to go boondocking. They never knew there were so many stars! We are miles from town and security lights, we turn off all the lights and sit outside and just contemplate the vastness! It's nice to take a little flashlight to act as a pointer (works great) to show the kids the constellations. A good pair of binoculars is just the thing for looking at the moon, this is best when the moon is NoT full, since they can see the craters better. Almost anytime you can see shooting stars in just a few minutes. How long since you saw one?

I have started sort of making a tradition of making homemade ice cream with a hand turned White Mountain freezer. (Ebay) It always gives me an opportunity to pass along a little of the family history and "introduce" the little ones to my long-gone parents and grandparents in telling them about when it was my turn to sit on the freezer while they turned the crank. A good life lesson there somewhere. We have eaten ice cream in weather so cold that we almost froze around a camp fire eating it. A five gallon bucket with a lid is perfect for responsible disposal of the salt water (kills plants, not good to leave in the wild).

When I am going somewhere the AS is better than any motel hooked up to all the connections. When I get there I like a PLACE, not a parking place.

Let's just say that miles of National Forest is better than a few feet of anybody's luxury park. AS are perfect for getting away to "See more, do more, live more!"

Waynon

[Waynon]

Someone emailed me a picture from this site and a note that says "enjoying campfire with grandson."

This is boondocking.

Doesn't really have to be a Natl Forest.

Reckon that grandson will remember this more, or the time the AS went to a park where he watched TV and played video games just like he could do at home.

(Wish I knew who posted this wonderful picture so I could give them credit, maybe someone recognizes it. It's priceless!

Waynon
again