Prices are up, and the joy of boondocking is down.
It seemed that things were going along pretty smoothly in my boondocking world. The cost of boondocking was fair or free, and I was perfectly happy with how things were, which is a sure sign that things will change. But right after the bat flu pandemic, rules and prices seemed to be changing when it came to camping, and for some reason, they always changed upward, never down.
Now, I realize that prices seldom, if ever, go down, but when it came to camping and boondocking, it seemed like instead of sneaking slight increases into the mix that you would barely notice, the powers that be drastically raised prices on virtually everything related to camping.
We've all seen prices go up before, and usually, we wail and moan about it for a little while, and then it's quickly forgotten as we get used to forking over a little extra cash, but this is different, especially when it comes to various forms of government-run camping!
Reasonably priced boondocking has almost doubled in price, and free boondocking is well on its way to becoming a distant memory. I have just about given up on camping in Colorado at the state parks; they priced me out of the market several years ago. And I think New Mexico is also heading in that direction. No one knows the new price structure of New Mexico state parks, but everything I've read indicates it will be a disaster for low-income people and people living on a budget. And I'm reading scattered reports that this is happening all over.
What is the reason for this? Does it have something to do with the pandemic? Do state and federal governments need money that bad? Do these government agencies realize or even care that this is all public land?
These and many other questions won't be answered tomorrow, but since I have nothing else to write about, I'll give it a shot.
Theboondork
Crawling out of the camper as the sun rises in the morning and the temperature is in the 30s is not easy. If it weren't for taking a picture, I wouldn't even bother. But that's what it takes to get a picture of a skiff of snow that fell on the mountains above timberline last night.
boondocking at the reservoir.
boondocking at the reservoir.