2gypsies wrote:
magnusfide wrote:
dbbls wrote:
Arizona has lots of public ground where you can camp free. I suggest south of Phoenix and west toward California.
Also New Mexico and West Texas.
New Mexico and West Texas are definitely not warm in winter. We tried it and got out fast!
Temperature is somewhat relative. I'd imagine that for someone from Minnesota the first winter in New Mexico or West Texas would seem quite warm, probably warm enough for shorts. :-) But after acclimating a bit it might seem a tad on the cool side.
I know it took me a while to acclimate to the summers here in Texas after growing up in Alaska, but now the triple digit temps don't bother me. Just takes a couple more beers to get thru the backyard mowing. Also the temps in the teens at night when I'm camping at Big Bend NP over Christmas aren't bad - just enough to remind me of my childhood.
The OP mentioned fossil hunting and just a reminder, but you can't take things like fossils from National Parks and most State Parks. However if you'e into shells there a lots of places with really cheap camping on the beach like Padre Island where you can beach comb. For rocks, like Geodes, one favorite private park is the Woodward Rock Ranch just south of Alpine, Tx.
