How Covid and the wildfires changed everything.

This time last year, we were searching classifieds looking for an RV to buy. Maybe an older Airstream, a vintage Class A motorhome, or maybe a basic teardrop camper that could be hauled anywhere behind our trusty RAM. We were going to put everything in storage and travel the country….again, but this time staying longer in the areas that we loved on our first journey. Boy….am I ever glad that we waited!

We began reading about problems in the campgrounds in March and April. Suddenly, it seems, anyone and everyone who could “work from home” hit the road….with the kids and two dogs in tow. I mean, if you can log on and work from Yosemite…why the hell not? By June, the capacity of the nation’s campgrounds, never great on any given day, was maxed out. The RV industry has reported record sales every month and there’s no end in sight. Add to that the Covid restrictions (care to hang around the campground bath house anyone?) and you pretty much have a recipe for disaster for campers and RV’ers. It isn’t hard to do the math….take a finite number of campsites in the country and add to that record sales of RV’s each month and, well, chaos is the end result.

For those of us who don’t really like the typical Mom and Pop campgrounds anyway, this isn’t a game-changer. But, when the only alternative is using BLM camping areas, it means changing your whole outlook on what you’re going to buy and where you’re going to camp. True, there are literally thousands of acres of BLM areas to camp in, but much of it is very remote, with either no roads leading in or out, or roads that are passable only in dry conditions. If you’ve ever hauled a camper down a muddy, rutted road with puddles of unknown depth looming ahead, then you know what I mean. It’s not for the faint of heart. And good luck taking your 35’ Class A motorhome off the paved road.

And now….we have the wildfires. As I write this, there are around 87 fires burning actively in California, Oregon, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and New Mexico. And guess where a lot of the BLM camping areas are located? Bingo!

So, at least for the time being, we’re putting the next over-the-road journey on hold and we’re really, really glad we didn’t buy an RV that we would now be paying storage rent on each month. Sometimes, procrastination pays off! As one of my favorite bumper stickers says….”Never put off today what you put off tomorrow”.

Cheers and stay safe!