Camping out West

Maybe you should explain what you feel is "out west". From the perspective of someone living where we do, most of those pictures are "back east"! We're about 50 miles south of the border with Canada, and maybe 30 miles east of the east shore of Vancouver Island.

This is what I had in mind when I got a camper but the kids (and wife) get a little impatient with driving around looking for a good spot and we inevitably end up in campgrounds which I'm not a huge fan of.

I'm going to work again this year to try to find some good spots to boondock in Colorado and show the family that it is worth the extra time and work.

Do a Google Maps view of the USA and then use the satellite view and zoom down onto individual states. Lots of open space and also lots of mountains, true mountain ranges with a height of more than a mile.

I only recently learned that 38% of Idaho is forested, more than any other state by a wide margin. With forests you get cleaner running streams and more wildlife.

You can do a first trip and fly to Arizona or San Francisco or elsewhere in the west and rent an RV for a couple weeks. Not at all difficult way to get some experience and widen your friend's perspective.

pnichols wrote:
Sometimes springtime camping in California can be both uncrowded and challenging to get to:

Is that the Santa Inez river? I remember going up there and having to ford the river 7 times on the way to the last campground in the group.

Arizona north to Montana, the view from the windshield is about 40 miles out. Big scenery. East of the Mississippi, the view from the windshield is to the trees at the edge of the highway. Totally different , to each his own.

pops

Sometimes springtime camping in California can be both uncrowded and challenging to get to:

Spring time camping in the Sierra Nevada foothills in California is seldom crowded.

View of campsite


View from campsite

Boulder Camp Ground Lake Mead, by Boulder City, Nevada


Walker Lake on 95 in Nevada


Custer Gulch in South Dakota

Cloud Dancer wrote:
Thanks everyone. I love the "West". These photos bring back memories of our camping days. We're older now, and we call our trips RVing.

After a few decades and many different ways of doing it, it's still camping to us. I tried to tell someone we were going RVing and got the deer in the headlights look in return. :)

OH MAN these pics are sweet.

we just haven't gotten out to the West yet, but now I can't wait. still got some years here before I have the freedom to head that way and really enjoy it and spend alot of time soaking it up!!

great pics!!