DRY CAMPING

We used to do a lot of dry camping, or boondocking in our motor home, particularly when we traveled all over the country with the drag race circuit. During those 2 years (2002/2003), it was rare that we had any kind of hook ups at a race track, and we typically would be at any given track for about a week.

Flash forward to the present, and except for an occasional overnight at a WalMart, about the only time we dry camp (no utility hookups) these days, is during January at Quartzsite, and for the Tucson Rodeo. We're parked here at the rodeo grounds for 2 weeks, which is pushing the limit regarding the maximum amount of time we can be self sustaining. If we boondocked for much longer than 2 weeks, we would have to replenish our fresh water, and dump the holding tanks.

Yes, we still shower every day, but like most experienced RV'ers, we've learned a few tricks over the years. We have a low flow, oxygenics shower head that increases pressure, and still provides a good spray. With an adjustable water shut off valve, we use very little water during showers. When we're waiting for the hot water to start flowing, we catch the cold water in a small bucket, and use that water to flush the toilet. Washing dishes can use a lot of water, so we minimize that by using paper products. Patty usually cooks a couple of casseroles at home, and freezes them, so that we don't have any large cooking projects, requiring a lot of clean up.

We don't have to run the generator very much, because our solar panels recharge the batteries during the day, and about the only time we turn on the generator is when we want to use the microwave, or the toaster. There are a few other tricks to extending the amount of time we're away from the water and electrical umbilical cords, but if given a choice, I've gotten to the point where full hookups are my preference.

Yesterday, we made a big dent in getting our trailer set up, and we took a lunch break at our Granddaughters school. It was the first time we had been there since she started Kindergarten this year, and we were both impressed. The school is K through 6th, and is a private Christian School where the average class size is 15 kids. Chandra volunteers at the school on Thursdays, so we had a chance to visit a little during the lunch hour. We briefly visited Laila's classroom, before heading back to the rodeo grounds. We both feel very fortunate and thankful that Chandra is such a good mom, and is able to be involved in Laila's life at so many levels. Raising a child is a full time job, and if all of the children in this country had parents like Marc, and Chandra, I truly believe that half of our societal problems would disappear.

After lunch, we were back at the trailer for a few hours, then we met Marc, Chandra, and Laila at Chic-fil-A for dinner. On Thursday evenings, this restaurant donates 20% of their proceeds to Laila's school, and while we were there, quite a large group of folks turned out in support of the school. We sat with one of Laila's buddies, Ema T and her mom, and enjoyed being involved with an effort that benefits Laila's school.

Back at the motor home, we watched a little TV and called it a day. Today, we'll finish setting up the trailer, and be ready for the rodeo opening tomorrow.