RV DREAMS BOONDOCKING RALLY Feb 11-15, 2014

After our weekend at the Sarasota Elks and a one night stay at Lake Manatee State Park (pretty but not good for kayaking) we drove south to join the RV Dreams Boondocking Rally held at Ft. Ogden, just east of Port Charlotte, FL.  It turned out to be  perfect timing for us to spend the 4 days just 80 miles south of Sarasota on a big open field with about 30 other RVs. I have been following Howard and Linda Payne's RV Dreams blog for several years using so many of their ideas and locations for our full time life on the road. Since they were spending a week so close to us, we knew it would be fun to finally meet them and learn more about "dry camping" or boondocking; how to best use your resources when camping without any utilities. The rally began on Sunday and we joined in on Tuesday afternoon, got our house set up and met many of the others that night at a campfire. 

Wednesday morning we met under a huge oak tree for a couple hours of wonderful tips and information about camping without using hook ups. Howard and Linda are both so knowledgeable and full of suggestions relating their 9 years of experience traveling full time in their 5th wheel.  By the end of the morning Paul was feeling so much more comfortable with the idea of boondocking on BLM land or in forest service sites than he had been before.

 It was a great time to ask questions and learn as much as we could. We had campfires in the middle of the field each night and were up early each morning for breakfast at the Solo Cafe. The cafe is set up right outside one of the motorhomes of the five women traveling solo in their rigs who prepare fabulous breakfast dishes for the group each morning at 9:00. Fellow campers donate supplies, the gals do the cooking and bar tending.  A very fun way to get the day started!
 
 One important element of boondocking is the use of the generator on the RV.  Well, since we usually  have electric power at all the parks we stay, we hadn't turned on the generator other than starting it up when we first got the motorhome in October.  Needless to say, when we pushed the generator button, it wouldn't fire up.  So, with the help of 2 other great guys, Pk worked most of Wednesday afternoon to get it working once again.  Thank goodness it turned out to be an easy fix: the carburetors needed cleaning, it worked perfectly the rest of the time we were there.

While Paul had been getting us up and running Wednesday afternoon, Howard had a meeting at the Code Enforcement Office in town. He had been told that a permit was needed to hold a gathering this size, even if it was on someone's private property. We gathered in the field when he returned with the "not so good news" that we were told we needed to move off the field by noon on Thursday.  Since this was so unexpected, and moving all 30 of us to another camp site was a bit difficult, we looked at lots of different options.  After about an hour of talk it was decided we would each make our own plans for Thursday night and then meet up again together early Friday morning a the Babcock-Web Wildlife Management Area just a few miles south of where we were.  Pk and I were planning to find a local Elks Lodge to spend the night.  But, just as we were breaking up, someone from Code Enforcement drove out to the property to tell us they had changed their decision and we could stay through the weekend.  Such a huge relief!!!!! No packing up and moving, just time to relax the rest of the afternoon. That evening 13 of us went out for dinner at Peace River Seafood and Crab Shack. It was pouring rain when we arrived and we snuggled into a tiny room for dinner, but a little too pricey for the food we got.

Thursday morning we met under the oak tree once again and continued the talk about dry camping.  We were really interested in Howard's information about Internet use on the road…it was just what we needed to learn!!! He's found some wonderful services out there that we'll probably do later on to provide us with more access for less money.  That was worth the whole week here.

Friday morning started as usual with breakfast at the Solo Cafe then a group of us went off to see the property that Howard and Linda are thinking of purchasing and turning into a Co-op RV Park right along the Peace River.  Paul decided to stay and work on the MH, I joined the group for a fun outing. Once we  were back and had lunch we packed up the kayak and caravanned over to the other side of the river to launch at the Nav-A-Gator ramp. What a perfect afternoon! A few crocodile sightings and just a lovely paddle down the river.  Coming back we had the wind against us so a little more work for PK, but such fun. We both love this new kayak!!!

We did a quick run to Wal Mart to pick up more supplies for the dinner that night, and got totally lost returning to the camping area.  Neither of us had phones, and no map, so we ended up making a wrong turn onto the freeway and added about 45 min to our drive back.

We got back just as dinner was getting set out on the tables in the middle of the field. It was Valentine's Day so we had balloons and tables cloths to brighten it all up!

The owner of the property, Ed, had roasted a pig and smoked a ham for our dinner, fantastic!!!

The table was filled with wonderful dishes shared by everyone. One of our most memorable Valentine's Day parties ever.

To top off the evening a gorgeous full moon rose over the cow pasture.

We ended the evening with another warm and toasty campfire, Paul joined the group sitting outside watching the film Young Frankenstein with Gene Wilder, I visited with some of the women I'd met that week.

We didn't stay through the end of the weekend, but planned to leave Saturday. We enjoyed our breakfast outside once again and then had lots of fun for the next two hours with a "Show and Tell" session.  It was a chance to learn from others in the group on little gadgets they've found useful when traveling in an RV.  Paul brought a bucket full of things to share and we both walked away with knew ideas.  For me it was the "Wonderbag" a new slow cooker bag that doesn't use any electricity.  And, when you order one from Amazon, one is also sent to a family in Africa. Cant wait to order one!

By the time we said our good byes to all the new friends we'd made, and got us packed up we finally pulled out for the drive back to Clearwater about 2:30.  I drove ahead in the car to meet up with Emily at Olde Bayside Cafe in Dunedin while PK got us parked at Bay Bayou RV Park in wonderful site. We were spending the weekend with Emily and Steve before leaving Florida on Monday.