This blog entry is in response to e-mailers requesting details of my vagabonding style. So here in fair sequence are photos of my sleeping spots for the last 30 days.
May 30/31 I slept on the north bank of the Rogue River just outside Gold Beach, Or. Quiet and lovely--spent the day walking and blogging.
5/29/09 Brooksville, Or (out of sequence) Here is a perfect example of "seaming"--camping exactly between two entities so neither knows to which you belong. The house is unoccupied and the freight company has not marked its territory
I'm skipping Coos Bay Casino because I've shown it elsewhere. (stayed a total of 9 days there) This is where I parked for the night on a dead end street in Bandon, Or 6/7/09. The nearby car wash and adjacent motel camouflage me.
Spent three days and nights here during the chainsaw carving contest--a lot that no one seemed to use--only a block from the action.
One of the five places I slept in Reedsport---across the street from the festival.
Across from the Port Authority and near the Moose Lodge. (I was invited to stay in their lot for free but chose to move around)
6/21-22-23/09 I stayed in the Florence, Or. Indian Casino lot alongside 10 of my WIN friends.(took this shot of my neighbors rig)
6/24/09 I slept in this quiet pocket of a the quiet little town of Mapleton. Decided to go there and wander around town as a mysterious stranger. Did so much of the next day engaging all sorts of interesting people. Was invited up into a super tree house---but that's another blog.
Stayed here the night of 6/25/09 about 5 miles south of Noti, Or alongside this abandoned railroad. Super spot--walked the tracks like a real hobo--Oregon is so unbelievably beautiful---lingered 24 hrs here.
6/26/09 Slept in an industrial district near Target store in Eugene, Or.
6/27-28/09 The back lot of Valley River Mall. Photo does no justice to this the finest free parking spot in America. Not shown is the passing Willamette river, bicycle paths, arched pedestrian bridge, nearby rose garden and of course the amenities of a big mall and theatre. Security personnel make you welcome---for two days.
5/29/09 Here's where I am tonight---don't know exactly where--Somewhere in West Eugene, Or. I pulled in to watch the news and take a nap--decided to stay. You can see if you look closely that my satellite dish is in stealth mode tonight--covered with a black plastic bag. (doesn't block reception)
6/24/09 I slept in this quiet pocket of a the quiet little town of Mapleton. Decided to go there and wander around town as a mysterious stranger. Did so much of the next day engaging all sorts of interesting people. Was invited up into a super tree house---but that's another blog.
Stayed here the night of 6/25/09 about 5 miles south of Noti, Or alongside this abandoned railroad. Super spot--walked the tracks like a real hobo--Oregon is so unbelievably beautiful---lingered 24 hrs here.
6/26/09 Slept in an industrial district near Target store in Eugene, Or.
6/27-28/09 The back lot of Valley River Mall. Photo does no justice to this the finest free parking spot in America. Not shown is the passing Willamette river, bicycle paths, arched pedestrian bridge, nearby rose garden and of course the amenities of a big mall and theatre. Security personnel make you welcome---for two days.
5/29/09 Here's where I am tonight---don't know exactly where--Somewhere in West Eugene, Or. I pulled in to watch the news and take a nap--decided to stay. You can see if you look closely that my satellite dish is in stealth mode tonight--covered with a black plastic bag. (doesn't block reception)RANDY COMMENTS: I pass my days in the loveliest places imaginable but nightime, after 10 or so requires that I find a sleeping spot. Being "invisible" as I am makes this really easy--rarely even thinking ahead where I will sleep. When the time comes, I merely cast my eyes about or take a short walk---inevitably discovering at least two suitable places to sleep. I've developed a keen intuition for locating quiet, inoffensive nooks perfect for passing the night.
Even if some benefactor paid for me to stay in an official campground, I would prefer my system because it's more interesting. To camp as I do is to nightly push the "surprise" button, ordering up from mother destiny something unexpected. Peering out of my darkened trailer I see wonderful, awful, sometimes incredible sights---surreptitous lovers embrace between storage containers----twice I've seen brutal fights---often I see curious cats slinking about in the shadows---several have made the daring 4 foot leap from my camper shell to the top of my rig--then stare at me through my clear vents; In Idaho once, I swear, I saw a man give a wild raven a drink of his beer from his hand.
And I hardly need mention that each night I sleep in the adventure zone means $10 or more in my pocket not spent on campground fees. Every three months I'm at least a thousand dollars ahead---4 thousand a year and 40 thousand this past decade. I can afford campgrounds--I just enjoy this game and prefer to slink about with the cats.
6 comments:
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Was your entry door already set-up so you can open and close from the inside? Without making it too easy for someone to lock you IN? Or did you have to modify the hardware?
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sail4free
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Thanks for sharing a bit of your privacy. There is a difference between walking around interviewing and showing us where you tuck in and surrender up to the dark.
And you have Thoreau's style: simplify, simplify...
Thanks bushman, and I agree that personal stuff is more interesting and really more useful because differences are revealed and occasionally I like something I see and incorporate it into my style.
Jim: only one hole had to be drilled at just the right spot to allow the insertion of a very long eye bolt.
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Randy said . . . "only one hole had to be drilled at just the right spot to allow the insertion of a very long eye bolt."
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Is this used in combination with one of those circular locks to give the impression it has been locked from the outside? Like the picture in your blog? So there is no way some clown can slip another lock in the factory hardware and lock you IN? This was my biggest fear with living in a storage unit . . . I would hate the feeling of being trapped inside . . . though I'm pretty sure I'd be getting out of there -- one way or another.
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sail4free
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Jim: I understand the relevance of your question for the storage shed situation.(not particularly relevant here but I appreciate your interest)---answering directly: I cannot be locked in because I simply unscrew the eyebolt nut on the inside (only finger tight) and push the shaft forward enough to let the door open.
I wish a tutorial like this had been available when I was a newbee looking for places to camp for free. You have illustrated all the main categories of places. That is so much better than trying to assemble a soon out-of-date list of free campsites, as RV groups usually try to do.
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