Back in the day, people simply camped where night fell on them, choosing a location that had some shelter, perhaps near water. The ones who did this had to do it when traveling to farther distances, and when traveling through territory not built up with many towns or cities. Also, horses and bullocks could only go so far in a day, especially when carrying horse or bullock loads of stuff.
The influence of the American West and its now mythic way of life can also have some influence in a new trend that might be a throwback to those days. Boondocking is the term for this, and there are enough areas in America where this can be practiced. It is all about being able to camp as people did in yonder days, and have the skill to make a good place to rest at night.
The practice of just stopping at the most likely places by the highway when setting up something called a dry camp. People can simply pull over to the free space on their mobile homes, RVs, trucks or cars. However, the places may not be ideal for camping, because even this practice often comes with some public facilities for ease of living.
However, an unhealthy aspect of the current practice is that the wilderness can be urban or commercial in nature. For instance, there are those who will not think twice about dry camping on empty parking lots, truck stops and Wal Mart. Boondock was derived from a word that meant mountainous places with dense forest cover.
A lot of folks could still do dry camping on untenanted land and other free places, those with no fences or signs prohibiting the practice. For cities, however, the practice can be considered illegal in certain localities. There have been news items recording camp outs right by busy streets with RVs abandoned right where they stopped.
The nomadic life is all about the freedom to do your own thing at any place you might go to. Gypsies still abound in Europe, and this kind of life may be attractive to some people, and in the land of brave counterculture descendants, it has not gone out of fashion. Isolated farms may even go so far as offer travelers like these free water or electricity for providing a bit of security out by the front pasture.
The most interesting places to camp can be national forests or preserves, with their rolling acres of parkland and well tended forests. However, the law says that camping in these places can only be done on designated spots for a fee or that the campers should be legitimate bird or wildlife watchers. However, the boondockers need only strap on a pair of binoculars and use bird whistles to qualify.
Authorities tend not to be too strict on people who may know no other way of life. Some could be escaping from bad debts, and some may simply know no better. But boondockers can be professional and know a lot of ways to camp and not get into tangles with park rangers and mall security guards in their modern forays in camping life.
But this can be the milder picture, because there may be enough cases that make authorities do some more policing, especially in those areas where these travelers go to often. However, crimes related to these activities have not materialized. Government concern, too, is all about studying how to help these people, since there are attenuating circumstances or good reasons for their behavior.
The influence of the American West and its now mythic way of life can also have some influence in a new trend that might be a throwback to those days. Boondocking is the term for this, and there are enough areas in America where this can be practiced. It is all about being able to camp as people did in yonder days, and have the skill to make a good place to rest at night.
The practice of just stopping at the most likely places by the highway when setting up something called a dry camp. People can simply pull over to the free space on their mobile homes, RVs, trucks or cars. However, the places may not be ideal for camping, because even this practice often comes with some public facilities for ease of living.
However, an unhealthy aspect of the current practice is that the wilderness can be urban or commercial in nature. For instance, there are those who will not think twice about dry camping on empty parking lots, truck stops and Wal Mart. Boondock was derived from a word that meant mountainous places with dense forest cover.
A lot of folks could still do dry camping on untenanted land and other free places, those with no fences or signs prohibiting the practice. For cities, however, the practice can be considered illegal in certain localities. There have been news items recording camp outs right by busy streets with RVs abandoned right where they stopped.
The nomadic life is all about the freedom to do your own thing at any place you might go to. Gypsies still abound in Europe, and this kind of life may be attractive to some people, and in the land of brave counterculture descendants, it has not gone out of fashion. Isolated farms may even go so far as offer travelers like these free water or electricity for providing a bit of security out by the front pasture.
The most interesting places to camp can be national forests or preserves, with their rolling acres of parkland and well tended forests. However, the law says that camping in these places can only be done on designated spots for a fee or that the campers should be legitimate bird or wildlife watchers. However, the boondockers need only strap on a pair of binoculars and use bird whistles to qualify.
Authorities tend not to be too strict on people who may know no other way of life. Some could be escaping from bad debts, and some may simply know no better. But boondockers can be professional and know a lot of ways to camp and not get into tangles with park rangers and mall security guards in their modern forays in camping life.
But this can be the milder picture, because there may be enough cases that make authorities do some more policing, especially in those areas where these travelers go to often. However, crimes related to these activities have not materialized. Government concern, too, is all about studying how to help these people, since there are attenuating circumstances or good reasons for their behavior.
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