5 State Park Campgrounds in the Pacific Northwest Worthy of a Detour
Hiking and camping among the old-growth cedar trees in the Pacific Northwest is a peaceful and me...
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Van-Tramp
Portneuf Lower Dispersed Camping
Lava Hot Springs, ID
1908 days ago
Van-Tramp 198 reviews
"Didn't stay but it looked good"
A good option for free camping near the town. Nice big sites and VZ signal too. Road in is a bit rutted though. Train passes by pretty close. Used by the locals a lot it seems
South Leigh Canyon
Alta, WY
1919 days ago
Van-Tramp 198 reviews
"Quiet and out of the way"
Another great spot not as used as others near Alta. Large enough for even a few big rigs and the gravel road is in great shape. The sound of the nearby creek was soothing.
VZ signal was weak but loaded a page after a small wait. A booster...
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West Magnolia Designated Dispersed Campsites
Nederland, CO
"Getting better thanks to local law enforcement"
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McKinney Campground – Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
Immediately following my last blog post, two things happened; First, my back decided to play 90-year-old again and nearly freeze up. I caught it quickly and instead of fighting the initial f...
Natchez Trace Parkway – part 1 – Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
I have been looking forward to this part of the country for a long time. And the timing was perfect, after a tough final week in Louisiana for me. A slight back-track and a hop to the North...
Natchez Trace Parkway – part 2 – Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
With the Rocky Springs Campground being only a single night stay, we had nearly 200 miles of driving before we made it to our destination to spend the work week. The Jeff Busby Campground si...
Kayaking Palmetto Island State Park – Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
Prior to our yak-packing trip in Grand Teton back in Sept of last year, we had gone almost one full year since putting the kayaks in the water. Since that time, the kayaks have been used no...
Kayaking Bayou La Rose, Barbara tries to kill again – Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
We pulled in too, and camped at, Bayou La Rose for our first full work-week in Louisiana. Kerri found this small campground and decided to stay out here, as opposed to closer to Lafayette-pr...
Big Bend National Park – East – Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
Our final weekend in the area, I made sure to score one of the few back-country camping sites in Big Bend National Park (park #79 for me) that would fit the trailer. The NPS doesn’t make it eas...
Big Bend National Park – West – Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
Our time in the Western part of Big Bend National Park was spent camping at the Cottonwood Campground. It is a no-frills campground, but the only established campground nearby the Saint Elena C...
Terlingua Texas – Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
Texas…. The last time I was here it was not all that to me. It has been a while (just over 4 years) and I’ve changed a lot since then, but I still wasn’t looking forward to Texas again. Maybe i...
Las Cienegas National Conservation Area – Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
After leaving our New Years get together we moved onward, towards our ultimate winter destination of New Orleans. There are a large number of places in Arizona to stay for the work week, but we...
A New Year in the desert – Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
After leaving Southern California, we made our way all the way to the Phoenix area where we originally planned to stay the work week at Buckeye Regional Park. Instead, we continued on, turning...
Between a beach and a train – Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
Over the past two years, Kerri has always spoke so highly of camping at Rincon Parkway in Ventura. I’ve driven past the place a few times and always wondered why anyone would pay to camp there....
Changing our 2017 beginnings – Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
Our original plan to start our 2017 year has been to jump over the Sierras and bring Kerri down into Death Valley for her first time. Unfortunately, the recent cold snap steered us to lower ele...
A final coastal drive – Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
The Airstream went in for a few weeks of repairs – minor repairs, nothing to be worried about – so we piled into the ‘vacation home’ that is Big Blue (yes, he will still be known as Big Blue) a...
Locked out of Crater Lake – Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
We left Bend with the purpose of visiting Crater Lake National Park, which Kerri had not yet been too. Originally, the plan was to migrate all the way to Klamath Falls and day-trip into the par...
Boondocking near Klamath Lake – Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
I happily went along with the idea of extending our stay in Oregon. Kerri discussed it with me back in Idaho, and she knows damn well how I feel about California. I am forced to return to my mo...
Craters of the Moon – Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
Ah… Craters of the Moon. I’ve had you on my to-do list every single year I’ve been traveling yet I never really made it into Idaho to drop in for a visit. This time around we get to meet. Every...
Dropping in on more of Idaho – Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
On the drive from the Grand Teton area to Craters of the Moon, we dropped in on Hell’s half acre. Although not a national park (or even a State park) Hell’s half acre is a lava field of more th...
Indian Creek boondocking – Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
So, yea, I’m a little behind in my blogging… Back at the end of August we rolled into Alpine, Wyoming to stay near enough to the Grand Teton National Park – as it was our destination the follo...
Black Canyon of the Gunnison – Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
A planned stop – or at least one added to the plan once we realized we were coming back into Colorado – and another National Park that Kerri had not visited but I had; Black Canyon of the Gunn...
Twin Lakes boondocking – Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
I didn’t do a very good job conveying just how much I have enjoyed camping up here above Twin Lakes, Colorado. We were lucky to have scored the boondocking spot we have. The place is beyond be...
Badlands National Park – Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
We nearly had to pass by Badlands National Park in central South Dakota, but as luck would have it (what does that saying even mean?) we had made the trip out no matter the hell-on-earth-heat...
Treasure hunting at Pole Mountain – Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
A rendezvous of sorts. My son and I planned to meet up in Wyoming one last time before we moved on out of the area. It was a two-hour drive for him, coming from the Boulder area, and his first...
Camping and hiking in Vedauwoo – Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
The Vedauwoo is an area of large granite rock formations just off Interstate 80 near Laramie, WY. The granite is said to be 1.4 billion years old, and some of the oldest (and most fun, in my o...
Following the rabbit – Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
As luck would have it, I knew a place to spend the week before making the leap over the Rocky Mountains. Rabbit Valley BLM is a large area of land straddling the Utah and Colorado state line....
Following the rabbit – Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
As luck would have it, I knew a place to spend the week before making the leap over the Rocky Mountains. Rabbit Valley BLM is a large area of land straddling the Utah and Colorado state line....
Boondocking in Buena Vista, CO – Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
It feels good to be out of the city and back into some mountains. At just under 8,000 foot elevation, Buena Vista – or just outside BV – has been our home for the past week. I’ve passed throu...
Boondocking at a Stagecoach Stop – Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
Sometimes you just have to take them as they come, and Saturday was one of those days. After a long-haul from Crested Butte we were nearing our destination of Hot Sulphur Springs. With the sun...
Grand Lake boondocking – Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
So, yea… our plans changed [again] since we were last at Crested Butte. With a heat wave rolling through the state, we decided against going to Black Canyon of the Gunnison and then off to Din...
Finding Chimney Rock – Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
On our way up to Steamboat Springs we passed by a brown-sign beckoning us to follow a gravel road to something called “Chimney Rock”. A quick search netted Chimney Rock National Monument, but...
Going higher – Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
We left Buena Vista’s 8000 foot elevations to burrow deeper, and higher, into the Rocky Mountains. Deeper and deeper… deeper and deeper (see Office Space reference) to Crested Butte, Colorado,...
Weston Pass – National Historic Auto Tour | Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
Kerri and I took a drive last Sunday, not only to spot a couple boondocking spots for Campendium.com, but to take the Weston Pass between Fairplay and Leadville. Weston Pass Road w...
Weston Pass – National Historic Auto Tour | Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
Kerri and I took a drive last Sunday, not only to spot a couple boondocking spots for Campendium.com, but to take the Weston Pass between Fairplay and Leadville. Weston Pass Road w...
Plowing through Utah | Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
The original plan was to stay two weeks in the Zion National Park area, but family issues in Colorado have somewhat expedited our arrival. Although not super urgent, that need may arise at any momen...
Final ocean camping | Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
Yea, we are back in Northern California, specifically to drop Big Blue off in storage for the rest of the year. A quick visit to my family, then off we went to Bodega Bay to get in one final w...
Hot days in Todos Santos | Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
Now that we are in (or near) the tropics, the heat laid it on thick and Kerri’s ability to do anything came to a staggering halt. Eventually she just laying in the van until the sun began to s...
The push North | Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
The time has come for us to start heading North, and I must admit that I am happy about it. Surely, Baja has been great (at least parts of it), but I can only take so much desert-camping and b...
Who needs a shower anyway | Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
When we arrived at Cabo Pulmo, we arrived freshly showered. Or, at least we got to shower within the past 24 hours of that day, which is pretty freshly showered by our definition. We spent a week in...
The kite surfing side of the family | Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
In a flurry of discussion the decision was made. We would skip La Paz on our Southern route and instead visit it when we head North. I mean, we have to pass through it again no matter what, so...
Skinny dipping, blisters, and food poisoning | Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
“Wait, did I only shave one armpit?” – Kerri An unknown amount of miles on a dirt road, once again rewards the risk with a gem of a beach and town. The tiny town of Cabo Pulmo rests within a Natio...
Mulege part 2 | Tales from a Van-Tramp couple
After leaving the zombies and oranges, we moved to the only campground within walking distance of the town for a single night of exploring Historic Mulege. Huerta Don Chano Campground...
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