Any referral links provided may provide a small compensation to me. This helps me keep this blog site operating, allowing me to continue to share our experiences and knowledge as we learn so I can pass it on to you. I appreciate you!
Camping Doesn’t always mean campground
We have camped at some really nice campgrounds, at a discounted rate to boot. But our favorite places have been in a yard at someone’s house and locally owned places of business. I call this boondocking but others would argue boondocking is out in the middle of nowhere with no one else around for miles and miles and this is just dry camping. Either way, it’s camping with no hook-ups. No electric, no water and no sewer. This doesn’t mean we don’t have those things, it just means we don’t HOOK UP to those things. We have what is called a self-contained unit meaning we can use water, electric and sewer without outside hook ups.
So that we can do things like laundry and take longer showers, we like to alternate between campgrounds and boondock sites. Thank the good Lord for your shower. 🚿 It really IS a luxury. 😊
Boondocking type of camping takes a little more planning because we have to be sure our fresh water tank is full, we have gas for and in the generator, and the holding tanks that collect the sink, shower and sewage waste (I know, gross subject, but it’s part of life, right?) must be empty. Along with that, we are frugal when it comes to water and electric usage (more on that in another post) so we can boondock longer.
Awesome Views and Amazing experiences while boondocking
Lavender essentials
The picture at the top of this post is a view we got to wake up to a few mornings in Vermont in a tiny little town called Derby Line. We passed a library in Derby Line and saw tape across a road and there were people sitting on both sides a few feet from the tape. After asking around, we found out that is the Canadian/USA border and people, that I’m sure have become friends, sit and chat. Who knew there was such a place?!? My friend asked if we could just stick our foot over the line 🦶 to say we stepped into Canada but there was a border patrol officer sitting near by and we were advised it wouldn’t be a good idea. 🤣😂
We stayed in at an incredible business called Lavender Essentials. (It’s the first scenic view you see above. Notice the sunflower field.) Talk about an entrepreneurial owner! This place has tons of experiences for you! They have date nights in the gazebo with a farm to table meal cooked for you, massages, you pick sunflower area, and all things lavender. Their outdoor toilet is even over the top lavender-ish!
Our site was free for the first nights stay and I was able to work off our remaining two nights by helping cut lavender. This wasn’t even work for me. Seriously. I learned something new, the view was unbelievable and the smell was sweet. Besides that, gardening is my happy place, you know, the place where your brain can rest. Look them up and go there. You won’t be sorry.
Otter Creek fun center
Another great place to visit is the Otter Creek Fun Center. It has miniature golf, a driving range, a bounce house and an arcade. But the thing we liked the most, especially the handsome driver, was the homemade ice cream! We had some every night we were there. The owner also had a snack bar and made everything from scratch. The food was delicious!
This was another spot we got to camp for free, boondocking, but we like to repay the generosity shown to us. Yes, we did purchase food and hit some golf balls on the driving range, but the thing about staying at places like this is we get to meet and spend time chatting with the owners. In this case, we learned he, like so many other businesses right now, was short handed and was having to work so much on the summer income producing activities he had very little time to work on his winter income producing activities – cutting and splitting wood. You guessed it! When we found out he was struggling to get that done, we (my handsome driver, his cousin and his cousin’s wife a.k.a. our very fun close friends) volunteered to help. If y’all know me – I LOVE the whole cutting and splitting wood thing. Let’s face it – I love outdoor work. We’ve always had a wood stove and I miss gathering wood to burn so this was just perfect!
Camping in the yard
I have to say, I never thought I would be camping in a strangers yard, family yes, (otherwise known as moochdocking 😂) but strangers, no. When we got to their place it was raining and the host took time to help us get set up and then we stood outside, (We being my handsome driver and I, our fun family friends and our hosts) some of us in raincoats and the rest of us under umbrellas, for at least an hour chatting. We could have talked for several hours that night! We no longer consider them strangers, but friends.
This stay set the precedence for other stays like this. We not only met the hosts but we met their family as well as another camper who was staying the same nights – the Aussie. I love them all! Our new friend, Aussie B, suggested we have a cookout as gratitude for our stay, so that’s exactly what we did. What a great idea! We plan to carry this on to other people that let us stay on their property.
Other options
So far, my favorite way to camp is to boondock simply because it costs less money but we also stay at campgrounds at a discounted rate. We have a Passport America membership which allows us to camp a few nights at certain campgrounds for half price. There are other memberships that allow for free or reduced price camping but I haven’t really done extensive research on too many at this point. I like Passport America so far but there are stipulations sometimes and they vary by campground so you have to call ahead to find out what they are. Some only allow half price nights Monday thru Wednesday, some only allow 2 nights discounted, etc. So by planning ahead we can take advantage of the half price nights no matter what the stipulations are.
If you are planning to full-time camp, just plan ahead. Look at the camping discount options to see what will work best for you. Weigh the price of membership with the benefits it will provide for your budget with camping fees. I have listed my favorites below.
HARVEST HOST Get a 15% discount with this link http://harvesthosts.refr.cc/kimberlybaker
BOONDOCKERS WELCOME You can look this up on your own or send me your email to simplysuffiientlife@gmail.com and I can send you a reply with a link.
PASSPORT AMERICA
I will add more as I research them and try them out.
Until next time, love and blessings,
Kim