**Boondocking: What You Need to Know**

What is boondocking? Where can you do it? Is it safe? How long can you boondock? These were some of the many questions I had when we first started our RV journey. 

Boondocking is camping without hookups (electricity, water, or sewer). You can find many locations for boondocking, including state parks, rest areas, truck stops, welcome centers, and campgrounds. However, most people commonly associate boondocking with places like Walmart, Cracker Barrel, and Cabela's. **Always do your due diligence when considering a location; if you see a "No Overnight Parking" sign, move on.** If you’re uncertain, it’s best to go inside and ask the manager.

During our first RV trip while Reagan was a baby, we boondocked at several Walmart parking lots (note that some states, like Massachusetts, do not allow overnight parking at all). From various RV travel blogs, we learned to be cautious about parking at Walmart. Often, after parking, you'll go into the store to shop; which we did.  Be aware there are people who may follow you in and out, which can lead to a potential robbery.  Luckily this never happened to us. We experienced a scary incident at one Walmart however, where a car parked behind us and played loud music at 2 AM, intermittently leaving and returning, and running their headlights as well as the loud music.  We did not get much sleep that night. After that, we decided to stick to truck stops and campgrounds.

Cracker Barrel is an excellent option for RVers. They actually devote a portion of their parking lot to large vehicles to come and use their restaurant as well as sleep overnight.  The area is usually in the back of the restaurant and there are signs to direct you.  Now we had an interesting situation when we decided to boondock at a Cracker Barrel in Buckeye, Arizona. This was an unusual situation as this particular location was in a strip mall with other stores and restaurants. To be sure that is was okay to park there, I went inside and confirmed with the staff that boondocking was allowed. After we parked and ate, more RVs had parked there. However, the parking lot was tight and very challenging to maneuver due to our large size. I wouldn’t recommend that particular Cracker Barrel unless you have a smaller RV.  When you boondock at Cracker Barrel, it is customary to dine at their restaurant to show appreciation for the free and safe spot to sleep and since we love their food and it is kid-friendly, this isn’t a difficult requirement for us.

Regarding Cabela's, if you plan to boondock there, always double check that it is not a Bass Pro Shop. Although they are the same company, we’ve only found Cabela's locations allow for overnight parking. Cabela's website features an icon for RV parking. We enjoy visiting Cabela's. The kids love to look at the aquarium and the animal displays.

Truck stops like Love’s, Flying J, and Pilot often have limited parking for RVs, with priority given to truckers. If you can find a spot, take it. Love’s has recently started their Love’s RV Stop, which offers full hookups; however, this is not considered boondocking and does come at a cost, with only a limited number (6 or so slots) available. 

Several apps can help you navigate the boondocking world: Allstays, Campendium, Harvest Hosts, and Boondockers Welcome. I have used all these apps with great success, as they offer more than just boondocking locations. 

Harvest Hosts are businesses like distilleries, breweries, farms and golf courses that allow you to stay on their property, although you do not pay a camping fee, they do expect you to patronize the business so it could cost more than a campsite sometimes but the convenience of the area and supporting a mom and pop business helps offset the cost.  In contrast, Boondockers Welcome, of which we are a part of, allows you to park on private property. In our case, we offer water and electricity and ask for $5 per day to cover electricity costs, but that is not mandatory. Both Harvest Hosts and Boondockers Welcome could have hook ups but don't always count on it; it's a safe place for an overnight visit. 

Fortunately, we have only experienced that one uneasy incident while boondocking, otherwise we have always felt safe. However, it's essential to trust your instincts. If something doesn’t feel right, leave. Always conduct research before arriving at your next spot; it's better to be safe than sorry.

After Christmas in Tennessee, we hit the road towards Florida. Glenn is the planner of our trips, and he started using the app RV Life Trip Wizard. This app allows him to plan multiple trips by inputting fuel stops and where we will be staying each night. I love that I can check the app to see where we're stopping, whether it’s at Love’s, Pilot, Flying J, or TA. Truck stops are fantastic when we are hauling our RV since all the stalls have diesel, and most also have DEF. When traveling with our rig, our diesel and DEF levels deplete quickly.

I enjoy looking up our next campground to see what amenities are available. After leaving the last campground, I checked our next stop: Moody Air Force Base, Grassy Pond in Lake Park, GA. However, their website stated they were closed due to damage from Hurricanes Idalia and Helene. We quickly found an alternative at Casey Jones RV Park in Lake City, Florida. Although it was a longer drive, it took us into Florida. Thankfully, when I called the park, they had a site available. When we crossed into Florida, we saw the welcome center with the sign stating Free Citrus Juice.  Of course, we had to stop and give it a try.  The welcome center is huge!  We got to choose between Orange or Grapefruit juice.  The lady gave us 3 orange and 1 grapefruit (me) and it was delicious.  The area was massive and full of brochures for every town and activity possible and had fun statues that represent the state. 

We also stopped at another welcome center because this one said they had baby gators!

Fresh from our quick rest stop at the Welcome Centers, we approached Casey Jones, just off the main road.  Upon checking in, the owners of the property were friendly and welcoming; they escorted us to our site.  All the sites are very close to each other, open space, and no protective areas.  All sites are pull-thru (my favorite) and full hook-ups (another favorite). After getting set up, I did not want to cook and we noticed a Wendy's and Little Caesars pizza nearby.  We decided on Little Caesars.  We walked over and ate inside the restaurant: friendly staff, full menu, but very sparse inside with only a few tables and chairs, but it was hot and hit the spot.

We had a nice, easy night. The next day, we packed up, hooked up, and headed out to TTO!

On our way to Florida, we made several stops along the journey. Traveling for multiple days can be tiring, but our visit to Pennsylvania for a few days worked out perfectly. We had the chance to reconnect with friends from a former homeschool co-op.

We stayed at Thousand Trails Timothy Lake South in East Stroudsburg, PA; the only year-round campground in the area. It can get quite chilly, and we witnessed two RVs having water issues due to freezing temperatures; including a frozen waterfall coming out of their campers. The campsites are fairly close together but are open and sunny. It’s a lovely medium-sized campground that features a pool (which was not open), a playground for kids, and an indoor area with games, books, tables and chairs, and a TV. That indoor room was a lifesaver; the kids would play on the playground for a while, and then we would head inside to warm up and play games.
                            

During our visit, we experienced a bit of rain, which, with two young kids, meant lots of puddles for them to jump in and enjoy.  

While staying at Timothy Lake South, we met our friends in Easton, PA at the Crayola Experience.  It was so much fun! You learn a lot about Crayola while the kids have plenty of opportunities to make crayons, create art, and enjoy melting crayons into spin art or shaping them into fun forms like cars or seahorses. There are also plenty of coloring stations available.

Each ticket includes two tokens and one voucher for a Scrubbie character. With the tokens, you can name your crayon (you get a label with a picture and any text you choose), receive a bag of magic clay, or make your own marker. The cost of the ticket and the option to turn it into an annual pass was a no-brainer! We've made good use of those passes, visiting the Crayola Experience in Orlando three times!

How did we get here as a full time family on the road?  Let's rewind our story.

It all started with Glenn and I wanting to leave California, where we could buy a house with land, and have the opportunity to enjoy our lives without the hustle and bustle of city life. 

After a serious search, we decided to move to New Hampshire. For that move, we had to travel all the way across the country.  For that cross country trip, we bought a 2019 Grand Design Reflection travel trailer. We needed to live in it while we looked for a house. Before we made it to NH, we stopped in South Dakota where we registered as residents due to South Dakota allowing us to be residents while living in our RV.  America's Mailbox in Box Elder, South Dakota set us up with an overnight campsite, DMV appointment for our Driver's license, and assisted us in transferring all of our vehicles from California to South Dakota.

Once we arrived in NH, we found the most marvelous campground in Ossipee called Beaver Hollow Campground.  The staff were incredibly welcoming and helpful as we transitioned from California to New Hampshire. We knew we wanted to settle somewhere with enough space to raise chickens, and we were fortunate to find our home in Tamworth, which sits on 2.5 acres and includes the house and three outbuildings. The neighborhood was perfect for our child, Reagan, and we soon met our friends Sam and Jen, along with their son Sammy and Jen's son Dominic. Before long, we became close friends, and to this day, they feel like family.

Glenn got to work building a chicken coop, and soon we had many egg-laying hens. As we embraced the homesteading lifestyle, we also started butchering meat birds. Before we knew it, we were discussing the idea of bringing pigs onto the property. However, we realized that our current space wasn't big enough, so we decided it was time to start searching for a bigger piece of property and a larger house.  We were now full-fledged homesteaders!

In the winter of 2022, we discovered a property in Grafton. It consists of 103 acres, a farmhouse from the 1700s, multiple outbuildings, and even a stream with a waterfall. We moved in August and soon found out we were expecting another baby. By Halloween, we had settled in and were able to attend a trunk-or-treat event, where we met our next set of friends/family: Heather, Aurora, and Selena. In January 2023, Benjamin joined our family.

During our time in Tamworth, we decided to start renting out our trailer during the summer months. This turned out to be very successful, and we were able to meet many lovely people and even had some repeat customers. While in Grafton, we continued to rent out our trailer until Sam and Jen wanted to move closer to his parents and their property. We offered our trailer for them to live in while they figured out their next steps.

Since we still had rentals happening, we couldn’t just contact them and cancel those reservations. So, what did we do? We bought a brand new 2024 Grand Design Influence fifth wheel! Yes, we are that adventurous. The summer went off without a hitch, but we decided to take advantage of the RV we were paying for and blocked off a weekend in September to test it out ourselves. 

Before the camping shake-down, Glenn and I had several conversations about taking our family full-time on the road. I was excited at the prospect—dreaming of a life without snow. As we worked out the logistics of what to do with our property, our friends Sam and Jen generously offered to move into our house and take care of it while we were away.

We moved out of the house and into the trailer a week before Thanksgiving; just as Sam and Jen were settling into our home. We initially planned to leave on December 15th, but after several inches of snow fell, we decided to leave a week earlier.

On December 8th, we departed from Grafton and spent the night in our church parking lot. The following morning, we set off on our adventure—Florida or bust!