Dispersed Camping
We left Salida and our spot by the Arkansas River a day early and headed out into the great unknown. For the next 2 nights, we weren’t sure exactly where we were going to spend the night.
Our spot on the river was reserved for another night, but we were itching to keep moving, despite the beauty of our location.
For most of the trip, Justin reserved spots in campgrounds with full hookups and lots of people around. But there were some days where we weren’t sure how far we were going to be able to get, so we didn’t want to reserve a spot and not get as far as we could have, like on the drive across Kansas.
But what do you do when you get to where you want to stop and there isn’t a campground around?
Well, fortunately in an RV, you can stop almost anywhere! We’ve done Cracker Barrels, Walmarts, Bass Pro Shops, truck stops, and now a little thing called dispersed camping.
This is a totally different way to travel than I have ever done and another experience that pushes me out of my comfort zone, but in such a good way.
We pulled out of Salida and headed towards Grand Junction on our way to Telluride. We figured there would be a place to park for the night since it’s a pretty decent size town.
But man, the wind had other plans.
Just a few hours down the road and we decided it wasn’t a good idea to keep going.
Justin has a cool app where campers share local dispersed camping sites– spots that are free and ma a mile ofybe a little more off the beaten path, many of which are on Burea of Land Management property.
It sounded a little sketchy to me, but why not?
The app let us know if an RV could make it, what to expect there, and any other pertinent details we might need to know.
I was starting to reconsider this grand idea after we unknowingly took a wrong turn and went down a narrow dirt road for a mile or so only to discover it went nowhere and was used mainly by kayakers and rafters.
After unhooking the car and managing to turn the camper around, I was about to call it and say keep driving, but I’m glad I didn’t.
Just up the main road was the turnoff we were looking for and the campsites weren’t a mile down a dirt road, just a shorter dirt loop.
And honestly, this coming from a girl who likes to be on the beaten path, this camp spot was probably my most favorite camping site by far.
The hard part about dispersed camping is it us first come, first serve. You never know if there will be room for you.
Fortunately for us, there was one last spot that would fit our camper and it was perfect!
We got out and found ourselves in what felt like a forest at the base of a cliff still along the Arkansas River.
Stunning.
The kids got out and instantly began exploring, and as they did, two eagles flew overhead. (and unbeknownst to me, Justin caught it on camera!!!)
Seriously God!?
Thank you!
This is probably as close as the Collett Crew is going to get to back country camping, but I loved it. We all did.
It felt like we were really experiencing the true Colorado, not the shined up one with its best face on.
This was the intimate Colorado, bare and exposed and comfortable to just sit quietly with.
Once we were all set up, we did what we love to do – walked to the river and sat on its banks.
Being unplugged is not something that is easy nowadays and not something any of us do naturally. So being in a place where you have no other choice is so refreshing and necessary.
My kids love it, but turns out me and Justin love it too and need it just as much as the kiddos do.
We turned in early since we didn’t have electricity and made a game plan for tomorrow.
To Grand Junction we go!
