Scrapper's Tale a Parable for Boondockers

April Hull spent a lot of time in her Class-C motorhome. April and her friend, Mario Norman, supplemented April's meager public assistance checks by "scrapping"--picking up metal scrap, salvaging it, and selling it for what they could. But last spring, it all went up in smoke--literally. Scrapping in the California desert near Barstow, April located a small white cylinder that had a couple of wires coming out of it. Thinking it might contain an electric motor--a real cache of copper wire--April took a screwdriver to it. There was a flash and a bang--and April doesn't remember much after that.

But neighbors surely remember the woman who ran to them, clothes blown off, covered with burns, begging to be shot. Quick thinking on their part probably saved April Hull's life. April had stumbled onto an old piece of military ordnance, a tank gunfire simulator device. Her friend Mario found another one just a few days later while April was still in the hospital recuperating from her close call.

Every parable has a moral. For us boondockers this one should be clear: Much of the government land that's "free to camp on" at one time was used by the military for training purposes. That's certainly true for some of the more favorite Arizona RV haunts. In your wanderings, be careful. If it doesn't look like it belongs to the natural landscape, it probably doesn't. Don't touch it. Call for help. It could mean your life. To read more about April Hull's experience, check out the Barstow, California Desert Dispatch.

Boondocking Military Reservations

Uncle Sam has a neat offer for its active duty personnel and retirees: Most of you already know that there's plenty of land--and a lot of it beautiful--tied up in military reservations. Some pretty nice campgrounds have been set aside for military folks, and that's a whole 'nother story.

But in some places, even civilians can take advantage of some of Sam's bounty. Take, for example, Eglin Air Force Base on the Florida panhandle. About 4o miles out of Pensacola, this huge (over 700 square mile) military reservation welcomes civilian RVers. For a $7 permit fee, you'll get a map showing you where you can--and can't--park your rig and recreate. Recreatin' includes fishing and seasonal hunting. Check out a story geared principally to military types, but that touches on civilian access to the base.

Is it safe to camp on a military reservation? You can be assured Uncle Sam doesn't want bad guys getting into things they shouldn't, so don't be surprised to see more security forces than you would when haunting BLM land. In the case of Eglin, the concern is more for you accidentally bumping into unexploded ordinance--read that very much oversized firecrackers. At Eglin you'll be required to watch a 10-minute video on identifying (and staying away from) those unexploded fireworks.

While civilians can't partake of military reservation "developed" campgrounds, in some locales they can take to the boonies. Tracking these opportunities down can be a bit frustrating. You might try giving a call to the base information line and making inquiries. It could pay off with a spot you'd never thought existed. Now all you need is the right rig . . .

Photo: Hadeez Razers RV--concept only