I was camped beside a power plant, not far from the Colorado River with Needles being opposite of the river there. I was low in the valley, so that helps with the temperatures being warmer too. My hope was to avoid the shooting that goes on all around the area. I did get less shooting, but replaced that with some unexpected 911 action in the area. Read on to find out what happened.
The ground was firm at the big tree, not so firm just 30m away where I was
I was starting out on a week with a version of the Schrödinger’s Cat problem. In parking my rig, I had started to dig in with my rear wheels. Rather than seeing if I could get out of that, I just parked right there, resolving to deal with this as “next week’s problem”. So was I stuck, or wasn’t I? I had not tried to get out of the spot yet, so I technically wasn’t stuck. But I had not tried to get out yet, so I didn’t know if I was stuck. I might get out just fine, so I was not stuck. I certainly was not going to rely on quantum mechanics to get me out, rather I was stacking the odds of not being stuck in my favor by using my time to build some rock ramps out of my little ruts. Having walked around the area a bit, I could see evidence nearby of someone else who had definitely been stuck, as well as some sinkholes and soft spots scattered about. My rock ramps became more elaborate over time as I noted how soft it was around my camp.
View looking south
The area I was in is more challenging to find good boondocking spots. You can find free spots on the camping apps, but there are few in the Colorado valley proper. There is a good reason for that: many areas are too rugged or too soft to drive in with an RV. Additionally, target shooting seems to be as popular as offroading here. Good spots also are often shooting areas, so you may have people shooting really close to your rig. You also need to consult your land maps carefully, as there is a mix of private, state, and park lands. The only thing you can camp on free is BLM land, which is patchy in the valley. I’d consider the Colorado river valley between Laughlin and Needles to be more of an advanced boondockers area; you can find spots here, but you are much more likely to get stuck or down some impassable road in these parts. If you are new here, stick with the marked spots and read the descriptions carefully unless you are willing to do a lot more exploring and take some risks to check out spots. Now, if you get away from the valley you have much more boondocking, at a price of being farther from supplies and higher up.
Big Mesquite’s inside space
My explorations around the area confirmed my suspicions that as soon as you are out of the valley proper the ground is firmer. I didn’t find much for camping spots, but then again I wasn’t exploring access points in terra firma that might lead to boondocking. My walks were mostly climbing up a 4×4 road out of the valley and exploring the high country to the east. Finding a road getting out of the valley that wasn’t 4×4 is the tricky part. I’d probably just start looking further east around Oatman and find spots off of the highway there. In my previous visit to the area, I confirmed pretty much the same thing, just further north east of Bullhead City. There is one good spot listed on the apps east of Mohave Airport. You’ll just be camping with other people, but at least there is no shooting in that immediate area.
Gas pipeline below
Exploring around my immediate environs, I did find some other spots. Had I stayed close to the big Mesquite, I’d have been fine. There was another spot I marked close by down a little cart path that was firm as the cart path petered out. You would not want to wander off the path. There was another spot closer to the power plant, but according to the map you technically would be on Native lands. I doubt they police this little sliver between BLM and the power plant. I also found a nice spot up the road that turned out to be the local shooting area. I can’t say I was surprised, but at least this spot was a half klick away from the shooting.
Sure enough, the shooting spot did get some use, not everyday, but most days. One night a group came up and camped there. It definitely felt like locals as only cars and pickups went up there. Of course they did some shooting, and I could see their huge fire from my rig. At least they didn’t get too noisy, and I didn’t even wake up from them leaving sometime after my 11pm sleepy time. The next morning was lovely, so I sat outside enjoying my coffee, looking out in the direction of the shooting spot. At first I’m not sure, but looking at it for a while I confirmed smoke was coming from the area. Now, things are pretty barren, but there is enough brush there that a fire could take off a ways. So, off I went with my coffee in hand to check out the fire.
Smoldering garden waste
It turns out that the morons had set fire to one of the few bigger local trees, as well as a pile of garden waste. The tree wasn’t burning, but the garden waste pile was smoldering nicely. We are talking a good pickup truck load worth of palm fronds and woody bits. There was no way I was going to get this out by myself. On top of it, the wind was forecast to pickup soon, potentially blowing burning bits across the road and into the dry brush. So, 911 it is then. There was a bit of confusion as to where I was as this was yet another spot where I managed to connect to a California cell tower, despite being several kilometers from the Arizona-California border. I seem to stay at a lot of spots bordering States and/or time zones. We establish where I am and they connect me to the Mohave Fire department.
Small equipment for a small fire
I tell them I’ll meet them back at the pavement, as it’s not obvious where the fire is if you just go to the power plant. My Grom motorcycle comes in really handy, as I just scoot back to the road, waiting a while for them to show up. A team of three vehicles arrives, two of them essentially large work trucks. After a quick group consultation, they leave one of the little trucks there to deal with the fire. It’s not much of a fire, but it still, I expected something bigger than a large garden hose.
There are a few flames just starting inside the piles
Bigger truck, making sure it’s all out
They make short work of the fire, kicking apart the burning pile to make sure they got every bit burning underneath. I return to my camp, thinking I have a good story for my next friendly campfire. But the story isn’t over! I’ve just finished lunch and am contemplating where I might walk with the increasing winds. Looking back up to the shooting area, I see smoke, again. I hustle up there, as the wind is picking up so this could be more serious. Sure enough, things are smoldering really good, just getting to the point of flames with the wind. A second 911 call ensues. This time, I see a bigger fire truck in the mix of three vehicles coming my way, a lot quicker too than the first time. A much more thorough dousing begins, kicking everything apart leaving only scattered wet garden waste.
Definitely out now
I have a little discussion with the Chief of the crew, who requests that if I see someone else having a fire up there to just call 911, as they would like to have a little ‘talk’ with these people who are having fires where none are allowed out there. It doesn’t seem like a 911 situation to me, but I’ll assume he knows his dispatch better than I do. I’m sure there was a firehouse discussion after that second response to the same fire about making sure you got under every last bit of burning pile. The way the wind picked up, it totally could have started carrying bits of burning debris into the brush, which would have been a much bigger fire to deal with. All of that action meant I actually spent more time videoing rather than photographing, so I put together a little 911 story for my Youtube channel.
After all that excitement, it was time for me to head into Bullhead City to resupply. But would I get out without issues? I’m pretty confident I’ve built enough of a ramp to get out, then I just have to keep backing up all in one go to the firm ground by the big tree. I rehearse my driving in my head to make sure I get it right, I don’t want to be stopping until I’m back on firm ground. I’ve been stuck before, but never to the point of needing a tow truck. I just make sure I put everything in my favor that I can before I try to get out.
I drive out like it’s nothing. Now I can go resupply and find a more relaxing camp – this one is just too stressful. Not that I wouldn’t return, now that I know the area I know a better area to park, and I assume I’m not going to get fire bugs near me again. The shooting was definitely not as bad as my previous year’s camp to the north, so this spot could work, at least as a backup to the better spot I had found while exploring around with the Grom.
Yes, I had found a much nicer spot and was hoping it would still be available after my resupply. Join me next time as I try to camp by the Colorado River!
