Boondocking

Friday, June 15, 2007

Use Your GPS to Find Boondocking Spots

More and more RVers are embracing GPS (global positioning satellite) technology, and it's getting easier for us to find our way around. While "map and compass" ability is something all of us should be able to fall back on, this high-tech navigation system has opened boondocking vistas in a way never before possible.

Witness Andrew Koransky's boondocking.org website. Andrew has built a clever, on-line database of great places to boondock. For example, want to know where you can boondock tonight? Enter your present GPS coordinates and a "look inside this distance" figure, click a button, and the database will spit back listings of locations where you can hunker down.

Descriptions of what you'll find are included, like this one "Water Canyon, in between Magdalena, NM and Socorro, NM on US 60. Very Large Array (VLA) Radio Telescope is an hour away or so. There is a free campground with easier access for small RVs and short trailers on the way to this 4wd site. Although named water canyon, there was no water to be found."

In addition to descriptions, there are handy, immediate links to "MapQuest" which can show you detailed maps of the location, or satellite views to give you an idea of what the location looks like, the topography, and views you might enjoy.

Got some of your own favorites? Andrew's database allows you to enter coordinates and descriptions. It's a great database, and we can all pitch in and make it even better. Visit the site at http://www.boondocking.org/

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