Yes, we went to Overland Expo East. No, we didn't camp or stay the whole week like we did two years ago. For people in the middle of a build, those tickets get expensive and the time is better spent plugging up leaks. Yet, for one day, we waded through shoe-engulfing mud, the likes of which I hadn't seen off the set of Deadwood to talk with fellow wanderers and vendors to inspire the next stages of our build.
This is not the first time we have visited Surfside Beach. It is the first time we have driven on the beach. Better yet, it's the first time that we have visited with a drone. Put it all together and what do you get? A mini movie!
White Sands National Monument has been high on my list of places to visit for quite a while. It was also high on another list: a tentative list of new World Heritage Sites. You know, like the Pyramids of Giza, Galápagos Islands, and other major cultural or natural sites in the world.
We don't have high expectations when we compromise on a campground. We are headed to White Sands National Monument, but there are no drive-in camp sites in the monument itself. So, we need a campground not too far outside of the monument to spend the night and are willing to sacrifice scenery for proximity. So, we expect the regular cramped campgrounds. We are not prepared for the remarkable views from Aguirre Spring Campground.
Our friends in Tuscon, Arizona are adamant: you should go camping in Coronado National Forest. To our surprise, the entry point for their particular camping area is the same we took nearly a year ago to the day when we visited Kentucky Camp.
We are not ones to spend the night in developed campgrounds. This is the closest we have parked to a fellow RVer in quite a while. Still, we have friends to visit in Tuscon so we decide to get in position to see them tomorrow by camping out in Picacho Peak State Park.⠀
Kofa National Wildlife Refuge sits between Quartzsite and Yuma, Arizona. From certain parts of the refuge, you can hear the explosion of ordinance from the neighboring military proving ground. This time, however, we intent to explore the heart of this 665,400 acres of Yuma desert and the refuge's namesake.
We pull into a deeply graveled parking lot and park next to a fellow truck camper. Only a vehicle with 4-wheel-drive could possibly navigate this lake of gravel. We watch several sedans and small trucks get dragged out while chatting with our fellow truck campers about campgrounds, storage, and cabover sleeping.
With plans to camp at Imperial Sand Dunes canceled, we find ourselves, late in the afternoon, wondering where we will spend the night. Fortunately, the ranger at Imperial Sand Dunes has some advice: check out Tumco Ghost Town in the Cargo Muchacho Mountains.
I had thought we would spend the night in Imperial Sand Dunes Recreational Area. What I hadn't anticipated was the park's extreme winds and camping permit prices.