Officially a Boondocker!

Saturday, January 6, 2018

Caught the sun just peeking over Black Mountain to my east this morning.

After nine days on the road, I’m actually in a boondocking site off Darby Well Road south of Ajo, Arizona.  It is a warm, partially sunny day with highs in the mid seventies.

Here we are doing what we like to do best!

Black Mountain from my camp.

This morning after a breakfast of eggs and bacon, I pulled out my suitcase solar panel for the first time this journey.  Opened up and hooked it to my two 105 ah house batteries I use solely for my phone, jetpack, camera and laptop.  I have a 500 watt pure sine inverter hooked up to provide power to charge those things.  The 120 watt solar panel is providing plenty of power to charge all of them at one time.

For the RV, I have five 105 ah batteries.  They are hooked to a 2000 watt inverter providing all the needs of the MH and I also use it to watch TV.  A little over kill, but when I set this up, I had never been boondocking before. 

I thought I was going to have a solar panel installer put three or four solar panels on the roof.  But for the past five years, the little solar panel I have provides all the electricity I need.  When I start the engine to move somewhere, the big batteries get their charging fix.  Rarely, I will start the generator to charge them, but not often.

For my internet needs when out in the boondocks, I have a Wilson phone booster hooked to a 30 foot cable and a trucker’s booster antenna sitting high up in the air behind the MH.  If there is any Verizon signal out there, it will boost it by a bar or two.  I have rarely been to a place with no Verizon signal at all.

There, you have it all and I do too.  A little different, but I love my setup.

In the afternoon, it clouded up so I decided to take the scenic drive around to Ajo and back.  But I got side-tracked and never made it to Ajo.

Yuma is home in his element.

While we were walking around I saw a road that looked easy, so we took off.  It wasn’t long before I realized it was a little rougher than I thought, but I wouldn’t turn around.  Not yet anyway.   Had to go into four wheel drive getting up and out some of the washes. 

Still looked doable.

Beautiful scenery, but after about four miles, the road dead-ended into a fence saying this was the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge.  Only authorized vehicles permitted.  That was a bummer.  Had to turn around and go all the way back through washes and very bumpy road all over again.

Made it back home and then just walked around camp, as I had originally planned.  You can see the mining tailings behind the camp to the east.  These are from the Ajo open mine pit just north of me. 

Off in the distance a pick-up truck went by on the main road.  It sure is dusty on those roads and he’s kicking up dust.

Time to call it an evening and fix a little dinner.

See you later.