• About
  • Camping sites
  • Camping Site Map
  • Contact Me

searching for the middle of nowhere

~ loving the wonders of the world

searching for the middle of nowhere

Category Archives: camping site

Nevada and Going Home

21 Sunday Mar 2021

Posted by searching in camping site, Winter 2021

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Cathedral Gorge, Central Nevada Museum, Chickahominy Reservoir, Historic Mining Museum, Nevada, Pahranagat Wildlife Refuge, Tonopah

I had originally thought that the latter part of March would be a nice time to visit Nevada. I was wrong. I ended up spending too much time reading the weather forecasts and planning my trip around the forecasts. There were two snow storms that came through Nevada when I was at the Valley of Fire. After that I thought spring had sprung and I headed north. But snow, rain, and cold weather (low twenties) kept happening.

Pahranagat Wildlife Refuge. View from my camp site.
Continue reading →

Valley of Fire

13 Saturday Mar 2021

Posted by searching in camping site, Winter 2021

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Nevada, Petroglyphs, Valley of Fire

After staring at maps and checking weather forecasts, I decided my next location would be the Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada.  High wind warnings, potential rain for the next couple days, and rather chilly temperatures all were in the forecast.  I wanted to be nestled into the rocks of the Valley of Fire campground protected from the high winds, with power to run my electric heater since my trailer propane heater was on the fritz, and be on paved roads if it rained. The park would be a good place to hang out for a few days with the poor weather.  

Atlatl Campground
Continue reading →

Doing Something Really Dumb

02 Tuesday Mar 2021

Posted by searching in camping site, Winter 2021

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

California, Death Valley

Searching for the perfect camping spot, I drove on a road with my trailer that I shouldn’t have been on.  As I usually do before my travels, I research where I can potentially camp before I leave.  I had found a good camping spot that looked like it fit into the middle of nowhere category.  I wouldn’t have to stay in the Death Valley National Park’s parking lot campground at Stovepipe Wells.  But somehow in my research I missed the information that it was not a good road to travel with a trailer.  I’m puzzled how I missed that critical information because I am typically very cautious.  But I missed it.

What I was searching for.  The view from the campsite I sought.
Continue reading →

Life Happens

24 Wednesday Feb 2021

Posted by searching in camping site, Winter 2021

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

California

I learned long ago that life doesn’t stop happening while traveling.  Things break, dogs need to go to vets, and…  tires need to be fixed.  It is all part of the adventure.  I try to laugh and go with the flow.

Trailer tire shredded and rim bent. Not good.
Continue reading →

It Is a GO

21 Sunday Feb 2021

Posted by searching in camping site, Winter 2021

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

California, Oregon

Back in the fall of 2020 I hatched a plan to head south the first of February in 2021.  The plan was to get away from the Pacific Northwest cold and wet weather.  I would drive south on I-5 to Bakersfield and then head eastward towards Death Valley and explore. Then covid hit California hard.  Driving through California didn’t seem responsible with the ICUs full and I didn’t want to drive down the east side of the sierras pulling a trailer with the potential of icy roads. Surprisingly, California started recovering from covid in February.  I made the decision to go south.  

I started driving from Seattle and it took me five days to get to what I thought of as the beginning of the trip – Red Rock Canyon, California. This included an extra day waiting on the north side of the Siskiyous for the road conditions to improve.  When I read the Oregon DOT site at 1:00 pm; it was 30 degrees at the pass, snowing hard, bumper to bumper traffic with a 60 minute delay. It was not a hard decision to check into the Valley of the Rogue Campground to wait the weather out.  The next day was much better.  

It was a long slog south, but I made it to Red Rock Canyon.  

Red Rock Canyon State Park, California
Continue reading →

Our Past

10 Saturday Oct 2020

Posted by searching in 2020 fall, camping site

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Georgetown Lake, Montana, Philipsburg, Southern Cross mine

In addition to my interest in geology, I love human history.  I remember as a kid going on family camping trips looking out the car window following the hillside scars of old roads twisting with the topography of the land. I always wanted to walk those abandoned roads and look for treasures from the past.  In 6th grade I decided I wanted to be an archeologist when I grew up. But then I changed my mind when I thought I would have to memorize dates and I wasn’t good at memorization.  The strange logic of a child.  In western Montana there is lots of history to explore.

An old truck I found during my wanders
Continue reading →

A “Why I Go Camping” Moment

06 Tuesday Oct 2020

Posted by searching in 2020 fall, camping site

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Montana, Sun River Canyon, Willow Creek Reservoir

After seeing a bit of Glacier NP it was time to move on.  I was heading east then south.  Driving south on Hwy 89/287 from East Glacier to my new home located at the Willow Creek Reservoir by Augusta, I was driving through wildfire smoke.  Everywhere I looked I just saw smokey haze. I could only see a vague outline of the Rocky Mountains to the west.  I set up my campsite at the reservoir and hoped for more.  The next morning the skies were clear and I absorbed an expansive view. I was reminded why I go camping.  The scenery was gorgeous.

Early morning view from my campsite. A friend titled it Purple Mountain Majesty.
Continue reading →

Outside My Normal

04 Sunday Oct 2020

Posted by searching in 2020 fall, camping site

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Flathead County Fairgrounds, Glacier National Park, Montana

Visit Glacier National Park?  I had no plans to visit Glacier with the thought of lots of people and it being a not dog friendly place.  But I realized I was close and it was the end of the season.  So I called the Park to find out how crowded it might be and was told: ”It is better than it was this summer.”  The man on the phone sounded tired.  Not the most positive comment, but not negative.  So I decided to go drive the Going To The Sun Road.

Lake McDonald, early morning
Continue reading →

The Belt Rocks

30 Wednesday Sep 2020

Posted by searching in 2020 fall, camping site

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Belt rocks, Dunn Creek Campground, Kootenai, Libby Dam, Montana

To see and touch the Belt rocks made me happy.

View from my camp site on the Kootenai River looking at the Belt rocks.
Continue reading →

Fishtrap

27 Sunday Sep 2020

Posted by searching in 2020 fall, camping site

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Fishtrap, Folsom Farm, Washington

I’m off on a fall camping trip after too much thinking, analyzing, and twisting in circles about the pros and cons of going on a fall trip with covid19, wild fire smoke, leaving late in the year with shorter days and colder nights, and an old dog.  My final approach was: “Just go,” if it doesn’t work out I can just drive home.

Early morning. Fishtrap, Folsom Farm
Continue reading →
← Older posts

Recent Posts

  • Fall Trip November 1, 2022
  • Stopping in Oregon May 1, 2022
  • Grimes Point Area April 26, 2022
  • Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest April 24, 2022
  • Mina, Nevada April 21, 2022

Archives

  • November 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • October 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • October 2017
  • October 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • October 2015
  • May 2014
  • September 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013

category

Blog at WordPress.com.

  • Follow Following
    • searching for the middle of nowhere
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • searching for the middle of nowhere
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...