Boondocking for Private Camping Ownership

[Ray Eklund]

Search: www.landwatch.com

There you have it. I have used this to cover a lot of 'ground' over the years, browsing at this site.

My brother uses it to locate Farm Land with old home sites and works with the local farmer to hunt for artifacts. He is good at this.

State / County

588,390 Land Properties
24,787 Farm and Ranch Properties
15,497 Hunting Properites

I am always looking for a location in specific areas that provide Geological access to owning acreage for fossil, mineral or gemstone access with the seller(s) not knowing or knowing, that there is a possible optional use for their property than mowing and rowing hay.

I like the satellite overview. I have yet to find a property that even interests me due to many specific requirement needs. Water to Land Use...

These properties are of the entire USA and really is a site to 'prospect'.

An acquaintance purchased a property because of a late 19th and early 20th Century Jurassic dinosaur quarry was on the property. All of the specific lots were the same price. The seller subdivided the property, a Ranch, at flat rates. He purchased the lot with the Quarry...

The formation was at a steep angle/dip, so you have limited options to quarry, this became a deep hole. The last time I visited, he found one 15 inch bone... I have not lived in the area for a long time, but he moved somewhere out of State and left.

You must have a purpose for the Property. His was a good idea, but I was familiar with this dinosaur 'quarry'. Even the original paleontologists decided it was not worth the time or effort. But... there is always a 'second opinion'.

Consider: Water first. Access. Septic tested? Boundaries to other properties and what these may be used for currently and into the future. Lots of others, as well.

I need a ...purpose before considering a property. Some I have been to in the past and also can find property for sale that is still, undeveloped.

Property comes up when you least expect it. Keep in touch with that local agent, he knows what is happening.

My fear is finding that location. Spend several years to develop it into something that I can use as a Base Camp to extend further into an area or part of the country. Then... boredom settles into the routine. The property becomes... no longer interesting as everything is finished.

I sell it to... another person, but one who pays more for a 'developed camp site'.

Try this site. It is great in mid Winter to browse. By County and State and go to work. Agents. Properties of all sizes and conditions. I find time to look and browse. Some day... that special spot will be located. But there is a list of questions to be answered. That is what makes it an adventure.

Often you can camp out for a bit to get the feel of the area. Check it out.

[Ray Eklund]

Does the property give you have Water Rights? How many acre feet or partial.

Is there Ground Water?

Has a well been drilled? Dry Hole? Water at what depth?

Does the Seller have any information of either?

If no Water... buy the property CHEAP.

Water hauled is very expensive. The locals know what you do not. Will it cost more to remove the junk on the property than it is worth?

P. T. Barnum rules apply when buying vacant land. Just saying.... Geologists hear about Gold and Precious Gemstone properties all of the time. If they were that good, the seller would not be... motivated to sell it to YOU.

[Thalweg]

Originally Posted by Ray Eklund

Does the property give you have Water Rights? How many acre feet or partial.

Is there Ground Water?

Has a well been drilled? Dry Hole? Water at what depth?

Does the Seller have any information of either?

If no Water... buy the property CHEAP.

Water hauled is very expensive. The locals know what you do not. Will it cost more to remove the junk on the property than it is worth?

P. T. Barnum rules apply when buying vacant land. Just saying.... Geologists hear about Gold and Precious Gemstone properties all of the time. If they were that good, the seller would not be... motivated to sell it to YOU.

You forgot "what is the water quality?" Just because there is water there, doesn't mean it's usable.

[Ray Eklund]

Originally Posted by Thalweg

You forgot "what is the water quality?" Just because there is water there, doesn't mean it's usable.

******
Sweet Springs, Missouri on I-70, western Missouri. Sweet as in high in Sulfur and Minerals and yeeeeeeech... Ice Cubes were tastier and safer.

Gillette, Wyoming west of the Black Hills and Newcastle, Wyoming. The water was so HARD with Minerals, when I was inspecting Oil Field operations (Wyoming OSHA 'Safety Representative'), after a day of inspecting working conditions at Drilling and Servicing Rigs... a shower in Gillette made made clean.... worse. I was 23 years old and later a Geologist that discovered inspecting a 120 foot Drilling Rig at 2AM in the morning... was not my idea of a lavish life style to attract women my age.

Thalweg is the 'Water Man' on this Forum. Ground water in the Cretaceous tastes different that the Ground water north of Cheyenne, Wyoming coming out of the Tertiary Aquifers. Yummmmmmy I say.

Well water 484 feet below our home in Castle Rock, Colorado was cold and worth bottling. Although a lot of people thought watering their five acres of lawn was a good thing to do with this limited underground aquifer. Take a pipe and add 484 feet of water inside... now that is heavy water.

Drilling permits for Water Rigs is also an issue. Septic Fields, an issue. I would not be surprised that if you reside on a lot for a specific period of time, TAX ISSUES may become an issue.

Before signing the Real Estate Agreement and you want WATER... contact the local Water Driller. They know the territory of well drilling experiences and if they begin to laugh... that will tell you a lot. Ask about Septic Rules and Regulations. Porosity, Permeability, Mineral Content (good and bad), Bacteria from Feed Lot or the local Moose... on and on.

Clogging Water filters, every month, with Sand and Clay... is not a good choice, either.

Hire Thalweg. You be the Taster, like the Kings use to have to Test the Drink... Thalweg will explain why you are still sitting on the Toilet.

Myself... the worse water of the City is better than a Creek running foul with green algae and parasites.

There are stacks of books about water. The United States Geological Survey published Water Supply Bulletins for a hundred years. Your ideal property may be among one of these. Check on the Internet.

My eyes do not get 'Dreamy and Glossy' about having a private space on the Planet to lay back and get... bored in my case, as I need variety and adventure. The view gets old after several weeks. Try four years... hang me, please.

Maybe Thalweg will toss some real Science on Water. Before I would purchase a home with a Well, or a vacant property... I want to TASTE THE WATER. If I swish it around and spit it out... the property needs to be... cheap, cheap and tested for bad nasty chemicals from the neighboring Feed Lot or a Horse Property next door. Not saying all are to be avoided, but common sense says a Squirrel is less likely to add much to your ground water 50 feet underground... idea.

[Ray Eklund]

The best Boondocking property to own is your own 35 acres and a House built upon it. A RV Garage for your Airstream and workshop space. (I always wanted to know Why 35 acres and not 36? I will have to check on that later...)

Owning a trailer and purchasing property, just to park the trailer when you have time, is not a perfect plan. It could be temporary. Even our OTG Boondocking Sites in many Rocky Mountain States get stale from being there frequently over the years. We can love them to the point of being time to move on to other interesting places.

Buying with the intent of Building your 'Dream Home' upon the property, when financially ready, is a smart option. Discovering you are not happy after spending several seasons Boondocking on the property with your Trailer? Sell it to someone who finds this a GEM and work for... Them. Life can change current options in a year or two later.

Any improvements may enhance the resale and there may be potential for a quick sale.

If you found a decent property, used if for awhile, it will find other buyers similar to yourselves and appreciation for the location.

Nancy and I are always looking for THAT Special Place when towing. Almost... but found issues with grading, topography, water, flooding possibilities, etc... Each location has Good and Bad points. Eliminate most of the BAD and see what is remaining to be considered... good piece of real estate. (I am a Geologist. I do not eat Dirt, but tempted at times.)

One property we enjoyed and had been perfect for years. The area became so crowded, going to buy groceries at Costco... became a Death Wish, at best. Just considering the traffic.

After Two Years looking... we have been in areas we would enjoy, but those living in the area are not moving. It is timing. Good locations sell quickly in today's real estate market. Real Estate Agents know the market is hot... today. Five years from today... the property may not be selling quickly, or not at all.

Get out maps to find locations that are interesting to you. Zillow areas you like to visit. There are many Internet services and Agents are easy to find. Great locations sell quickly and if you are not living in the area... too... late... Sold is a common statement.

We leave shortly to 'stumble' upon the possibility of finding a Special Place. It is all timing and chance. Much like Fly Fishing. If you keep hitting the water... something is bound to happen.

Colorado & Arizona also has 35 acre parcels: (A Colorado reference below.) There are 5,590,000 results... good luck.

"The courts agreed, essentially ruling that under Colorado law, land subdivided into 35-acre lots or above cannot be legally deemed a "subdivision" under county authority. "The reliance (of the subdivision consent rule) of the Montezuma County Land Use Code is misplaced," wrote Judge Hansen in the April 23 court opinion."

[Ray Eklund]

Western Colorado heading north to Grand Junction has an Airstream that had some catastrophic event to modify the external aluminum.

Things happen quickly paying attention, or not. This was on the East Side of Highway 50, north of Montrose and south of Delta. From the appearance of the trailer... maybe the 550 Silverton to Ouray accident.

I stopped to inquire, twice over 12 months, to inquire if they were going to part out hardware, or not. No one is ever home.

The drive from Durango to Montrose for Newbie Airstream owners can become treacherous. Tough enough for experienced drivers. Be careful on Colorado High Country roads... if your tow vehicle is 'just enough'.

Just Enough does not count in the Rocky Mountains. Maybe in Kansas and Texas... but just be aware that the mountains look wonderful at a distance. But when towing through the mountains... the view and towing becomes more of a risk... than pleasure.

No Air Conditioning... so most likely a Colorado owner.

[Gearheart]

Your talk about water got me thinking. In '02 i went on a can oe trip in Algonquin Park. Back country. Water access only. The lakes we were on were as clear as gin. One could see bottom clearly in 30 foot water. We carried and used a MSR water purifying filter for drinking. 3 days in a Scout was filling the water bottles and the pump on the filter was starting to squeak and squawk. He came back to the campfire and said this is not working right I barely have a half bottle and it's really hard.
I decided to strip and check the device and the ceramic filter was covered in a strong quarter inch of greenish fuzz. I called the group over to see it before cleaning it up. Basically I said, "Look at the stuff we have not been drinking out of this pristine clear water thanks to this machine." Looking at the journal of the Lewis and Clark expedition it is amazing to note how often they were unable to travel due to dysentery. The water got 'em.

[Ray Eklund]

Responding to Gearheart... Fish drink water, too.

***** Quora: How did Native American Indians source their drinking water?

(Many interesting and helpful statements. I picked one as an example. There are many responses on this to be found on this Search.)

West of Colorado Springs, Colorado at Manitou Springs with 'fresh Lithium Water' coming out of a pipe along the sidewalk to... drink. Or put into a water jug.

There is an area along the highway 6, just East of Arapahoe Basin ski area (North Side of Road on pullout) where people fill jugs of fresh water pouring out of a pipe and area just for people wanting any.

Lithium dissolved in the water has interesting benefits. The water had a sweet taste and I am still walking the streets...

Find a name of a Town with... Springs... is also a big clue as to 'great water'.

*********

Kevin Dolgin, Associate Professor at Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (2006-present)
Answered 3 years ago · Author has 1.2K answers and 5.9M answer views.

How did early humans drink water safely, especially before harnessing fire and boiling were discovered? There is an interesting answer behind a slightly different question. Allow me to explain…

Fire was harnessed before our ancestors had evolved into homo sapiens. Even after that, until about ten thousand years ago we lived in small bands, much like our primate cousins, chimpanzees. Chimps have few problems with clean water because nomadic primate bands of fifty individuals generally have access to sources clean water, and this was undoubtedly the case for our ancestors as well.

The problems occurred much later, when we began to create sedentary civilizations, in other words, after the agricultural revolution. At that point, eight to ten thousand years ago, we began building towns and cities and living near our own waste, which accumulated and poisoned the water supply. That’s when it gets interesting.

There are a number of very interesting ideas around this idea of water purification and early civilization, many of which are highly debatable, but I am intellectually intrigued by the idea that there are basically two historical solutions to this problem: alcohol and tea.

This theory postulates that some cultures discovered fermentation and began drinking wine and beer, often diluting the former with water to arrive at roughly the same alcohol level of around five to seven percent. Other cultures around the same time started drinking tea, which of course requires boiling the water. These were two different solutions to the problem of water sanitation[1]. This would explain why about one third of Asians have a genetic issue with alcohol, and “suffer” from Alcohol Flush Reaction[2]. In reality, this may be simply because this inability to assimilate what is essentially a poison was simply selected against in the West, as people who couldn’t drink alcohol tended more to die off of things like cholera.

If this theory is true, then echos of it can be seen in both Eastern tea-drinking cultures and Western beer and wine cultures. To whit: in France, until not too long ago, it was customary to put a little (low quality) wine in all drinking water, even for children. In China today if you go into a local restaurant they will always give you hot water to drink… with some tea leaves on the side for a few RMB more. They generally won’t give you cold water. Both of these cultural habits might well be the relicts of ancient prejudices that were born, unknowingly, from habits that actually helped promote

[Ray Eklund]

I have not found any place that I wanted to file a Mining Claim. They cannot be that difficult as I find many have been made... and the site later abandoned.

No mineral to make the Claim... pay? This Federal Mining Claim is one in New Mexico, posted on several trees. It was a claim for 'Agate Deposits'. The corners were Marked and no real activity done, but it may be a beginning.

As a Geologist... I did look around to understand WHAT was the Claim based upon? Well, that I will leave for the person who made the claim and will have use of this property and each year pay a small fee to maintain the Claim.

Small Fee... I had looked it up and maybe, under $300. There are requirements you need to do to maintain the claim, or lose it. This can be found on an Internet Search and will leave True Facts for you than my... memory from a year ago checking out making a Claim.

Hmmmm.... Opens up a 'can of worms', doesn't it?

This is another option TO Owning. Be a prospector or miner, use the property to 'evaluate the mineral potential' for a year or so. If not viable... which most will not be profitable... you let the Claim Expire.

I have a friend who made a Jade Mine Claim in Wyoming. Out in nowhere is the best way to describe the Claim. He made just enough to cover costs but it never was a money maker after three or four years. He was a Geologist as well and quarried Fossil Fish in western Wyoming for several decades.

He never gained any weight. You work your buttocks off and need heavy equipment and an eye for fossil fish, bird, reptile or whatever is exposed. This was a lease on Private Property. Different situation than State, School Section or Federal land open for Claims.

I scanned a Lode Claim for Wyoming form, that was used as a book marker in a book I bought at an Estate Sale.

It would not be a bad idea to carry a Federal Mining Claim form and signs in your Airstream... just in case.

If you live in the Western USA... this is an option, but you must have public property that is open to making a Claim and... something of value. Each area has specifics. Do some research.

If I were to discover something of Value while Off the Grid Boondocking on Federal Land open for Claims... I would sit down and figure out if Nancy is willing to get the pick and shovel out of the F350 and check it out.

*****
On EBay there are individuals who are SELLING Gold Placer Claims. Claims, not Patent Property. The Claim will expire if someone does not renew and refile each year. Why, I ask myself, if the Gold Placer has the value they are asking? Are they getting RICH off of it? So... be careful if BUYING a Claim. Maybe that is how some make a living... if you think not... Gold Placering in the Desert may be your next home. Bring water and an umbrella... avoid rattlesnakes, as well.

[Ray Eklund]

Just A FYI for those having ambition and researching areas that you are familiar that had Mining, currently in their area or in the past.

If I were to discover something 'interesting', before telling anyone... contact the BLM for what is required to file a claim. Today 'claim jumpers' are way ahead of everyone else. The tobacco can with the Claim inserted into it was popular at one time. Today there is a bit of survey work and reporting WHAT may, might or is of valuable on a property. It would be nice if it could be a location you like, having potential to develop some kind of mineral/gemstone/ore that is of commercial value and go from there.

There is a possibility of an Airforum Member to put an 'educated' spin on this. Next time I speak with my friend who has staked claims, I will get reliable information.

Mark Twain had it right. "A Gold Mine is a hole in the ground with a Liar at the bottom". Other versions exist, but this is the one I remember as the best.

********

www.blm.gov/services/land-records/mlrs


"The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is developing the Mineral & Land Records System (MLRS) to replace the Legacy Rehost 2000 (LR2000) case management system, Alaska Land Information System (ALIS), and land status records (e.g., Master Title Plats, Historical Indices, Tract Books).

MLRS is a customer-centric, geospatially enabled land information system that employs nationally standardized business processes, ensuring the quality and accuracy of land and mineral records and data while securely delivering land records information to relevant BLM staff, customers, and the public.

The MLRS mining claims module was released on January 25, 2021. Over the next two years, additional MLRS modules will be released in support of land and mineral use authorizations for oil, gas, and geothermal leasing; rights-of-way; coal and other mineral development; land and mineral title; and withdrawals, classifications, and other actions on Federal lands and mineral estate."

[Ray Eklund]

There is a rush to purchase pads with RV / Trailer accommodations AS a more likely option to homestead. Most RVT's are actually looking for Paradise with great views and room for a folding chair, or two and a chicken coop.

Maybe a bit too... optimistic. People leave for a reason. Check that first. Let them take the loss... and not you. Smart I say. But, then again, not popular.

Prices are UP on small plats and options are Down for any size plats for new mobile populations.

Wait... it will be changing sooner than later. Some of the more remote 'camps' we have seen in our travels are a bit of... Wild West feel. Maybe even more wild than most can tolerate.

These 'parks' are popular as Snow Bird 'camps' for seasonal parking and annual full timers. You own the location, with hookups and access to swimming pool and other incentives like laundry and trash services tossed into the mix.

Quartzite, Arizona BLM OTG comes to mind... but I have been there among thousands of like minded Neanderthals and City Slickers.

The lots are small for many 'Resorts' but no doubt vary by... price. The prices are high and HOA Fees. If that is what you desire, go to the RV Resort searches. Many lots have sold that have not for a period of time. The Rush is ON!

You may already be too late, but give it a year or two. Much like a Rally Atmosphere, which many prefer. Familiar neighbors over the years.

MY idea is not even close for OTG Boondock sites.

A Neanderthal chipping tools from flint and grinding stones for axes and... well skinning and cooling freshly hunted meat in the yard, drying jerky... are not popular, with those hunting with the Albertson and WalMart hunters browsing for deals at the red and white meat department. (Whew, hold your breath on reading that sentence.)

Everyone has an idea of what they would like. Reality and Dreaming are distant relatives. Get a 'feel' of both RV Lots, Parking Lots and OTG acreage. They are totally different. So are those residing next to you. Surprise? Maybe. Not a surprise to me.