NinerBikes mentioned that his DW "has trouble with anything less than 3 star hotels. If she can't get a 20 minute shower per day, she's miserable all day." Maybe this story might help -- here is how my motel-loving DW became a boondocker. It happened in stages, and we were not even aware that it was happening! But I think there is a lesson here:
First, we decided to give RVing a try because we had stayed in some allegedly nice hotels that were not too clean, and we were tired of hunting down decent and healthy food at the end of the day without waiting for a table and spending a fortune for overcooked fatty salty mediocre food, and paying four dollars a glass for tasteless wine. And we were tired of "commuting" to the trailhead or the national parks, losing a couple of hours a day driving to and from.
One day, we were walking through a campground on the way to a trailhead, and we saw this nicely dressed lady step out of her RV holding a bottle of really good Zinfandel and two wine glasses. Suddenly, a bell rang -- camping is not necessarily about suffering -- it is about creating your own comfort zone!
So we got a trailer as an experiment. And stayed in RV parks for the first year or so. Very nice, actually. A little crowded, but quiet. NIcer than a motel -- we could actually sit outside after dark.
But then we wanted a more rustic feel -- so we could see the stars, and hear a creek. Also the RV parks were still a little far from the hot spots of the national parks.
So we tried campgrounds. Very nice. More of an outdoorsy feel. But we still had all of our comforts -- our shower, our own clean bathroom, our own good food (precooked at home and brought in our little fridge), clean sheets, etc. Not rugged or rough at all, yet pleasantly non-urban.
But then I got bitten by the boondocking bug, largely because of the trip reports posted by folks on this very forum. I decided that I wanted to go to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, out on the Rainbow Rim in the Kaibab National Forest. DW was not excited by this idea. Bring our own water? Away from everyone?? In the middle of noplace? To humor me, she agreed to try it for a few days, on condition that we could bail out at any time if she found it to be too rough. I agreed. I brought along plenty of water, and of course our generator.
Once she tried it, she was hooked instantly (and so was I). The utter privacy, the silence, the freedom, and did I mention the privacy? It was as delightful as when our kids finally grew up and moved out -- an empty nest with wheels! We wake up and step outside to watch the sun come up over the canyon or the mountain. We enjoy drinks and snacks every afternoon, on our camping chairs (complete with footrests) while looking at the view. We take a walk after dinner to look at the stars. (Many people have never even seen the Milky Way in all of its splendor!)
So now, she is very happy to put up with the minor inconveniences of boondocking -- a shorter shower, being careful with electric power, and so forth. The tradeoff is more than worth it. We greatly prefer boondocking. It is not always available, but that (to me) is the highest form of camping. (Admittedly, we almost never boondock for more than a week at a time -- we need to get groceries, recharge the batteries, do laundry, dump the tanks, check email, etc. There are many folks who go for weeks at a time. That would be great, but that is more work than I am willing to do.)
So the lesson, I think, is to employ my accidental strategy, but do it deliberately -- take it slowly, one step at a time, giving her plenty of room to bail out if and when things get too difficult. Don't let her feel trapped, whatever you do.
Dave (Crosscheck) is in a whole different situation -- his spouse loves to backpack, which is too rugged for me by a long shot. He and his DW just biked across Europe for two months, tent camping the whole way -- you should see his trip report -- it is amazing, and they are both elite athletes.
But that is really roughing it. As I have often said, to me, boondocking is about "smoothing" it -- having an adventure without being uncomfortable. In fact, it's about having an adventure while being very comfortable!!
Sorry for the long-winded answer -- I'd be interested to hear how other people convince their spouses to boondock -- maybe that's another thread??
