21 Years in a 1973 Dodge Van

So can i ask (havn't read all posts) where you get money to live off?

 

Thanks dude.

I didn't spend much time prospecting this winter 'cause of the gas prices. I went out to one of my favorite claims once and there were so many people out there trashing out the place that I just left. I just stayed out for an average of three weeks at a time in non-gold country. Every day I'd walk off in a different direction with the dogs. The vistas and animals I found were just about as good as gold.

If you make it out to AZ., give me a shout.

Thanks Kenny. I find myself quite entertaining most of the time. My audiences, at times, don't seem to agree. Can't please everyone I guess.

Good luck and great adventures to you dude.

Thanks. I'm glad to hear a positive progress report. My thoughts and prayers are with you both.

You heard Sedona's call but are in Jerome? How well I understand that. I first came upon Sedona in 1979 and basically, it's the reason I'm still in the area. I sang the funeral dirge for Sedona in the mid '80s when places like "Shamans-R-Us" started popping up. I can't even stand to drive through anymore because of the perversion that greed, money and "spiritual" conmen have wreaked upon what was once a beautiful and friendly artist colony. When I walked away, I also wound up in Jerome. Funny coinkydink.

Anyhoo...I'll get off my soapbox and tell you that you are more than welcome to a guided tour of some of the cooler (and, non-pay) sites in the area. I'll PM you my phone # also. I will probably be driving through Jerome Tuesday morning.

Sorry dude. Never been to Bosnia, clean shaven or short-haired. Hey...as I've said in this thread many, many times...it doesn't take courage, just an inordinate amount of laziness.

This might sound rude, but...if you figure it's not worth your time to read the thread before you ask questions that are already answered there, then I figure it's not worth my time to repeat myself.

Here are some shots from the past couple of weeks:

 

Beautiful~ we are so looking forward to the wildlife ..... in many ways :O)

 

AZ. may haunt you after you leave it. It haunted me and wouldn't let go until I came back and stayed.

Australian Boulder Opals Ipicked up at the swapmeet yesterday:

 

Those opals are beatiful, TwoDogs, now you are a wealthy man- greetings from germany

 

Wow! They look like a mirror of a unkown planet- yes it did I was there in April 2002 swore oneday I would go back, you better be careful we may attach a trailer to your van and haunt you for a few years heheehe! :O)

 

Yea sorry man im making my way through it just dont have internet. No disrespect.

 

wow those are really cool 2dogs

 

The screen door's pimp. Good stuff.

 

Hey, TwoDogs!

Cant remember how I stumbled upon this thread in a google search, but anyway I've been following it for the past few weeks now, reading a little every now and then. Living the way you do has been a dream of mine for a while (Im 24 now). As time goes by it seems as if I'm living my life the way I am now to please other people in my life, while I feel like I'm letting my life slip past me... I'm really starting to seriously consider buying a van of some sort and building a setup like yours, to try out the lifestyle, for a little while at the very least. Anyways, just wanted to say you're really an inspiration!

 

Australia has so many dangerous animals that it would seem an extremely hazardous place to inhabit, yet the people are highly amused if this is suggested. Those pictures of the Boulder Opals aren't much.

 

Hey dude...long time no post. I think they're beautiful also. Each has it's own distinct personality. I've worked with Idaho opal, and while they're much flashier and have more fire than the boulder opals, they all start to look the same after a while. The fun here is going to be in the cutting. Sorta like cropping a picture to try and give the piece it's own depth and perspective.

Funny...I thought the same thing when I saw them. While AZ. might haunt you...I'd just drive you crazy. You're dealing with a cranky old man after all.

Hey Kenny. I think so too. Cooler than I can accurately portray with a camera.

Thanks dude. I'm loving it right now. I should have done it years ago.

Thanks for the kind words. I hope that things work out for you.

I imagine they would be amused seeing since 90% or so live along the coast. A large percent of those people live in towns and cities and go from birth to death without seeing one of those "dangerous" critters outside of a zoo. Man is the most dangerous animal in the world and is everywhere. Ask someone from Juarez or any of the many Mexican border towns if they'd find Australia hazardous.

I'm a bit unclear on whether you were trying to knock my pictures or the boulder opals themselves. It's a moot point, however, since your opinion affects neither my enjoyment, nor that of the people that will certainly buy them when I cut, polish, set them and put them in my cases.

First set stone:

 

Those are beautiful, twodogs. i am glad you are ok after these fires in arizona- did you see them?

 

Poppycock!

 

Cranky old men I can live without .... I can deal with for so long before they have to cheer up as we can only be grumpy for so long before it gets boring

 

hiiii my name is kitty ! im 18 and just graduated highschool. i am kidnda a hippy and wants to live the free spirited gypsy life lol i want to live in a travel trailer. i just bought my frst vehicle which is a v8 1993 chevy 1500, i heard that will be okay to pull a trailer. i actually want a fifth wheel to be a lil more specific. and ive been searching online for tips and advice for this life i will have. i have a job so i want to stay near my area now, and i have to go to college so i needa stay around here anyways. so i wanted to know how do i find out where i can put my trailer ? i mean, besides rv parks kuz there arent to many closeeee, to me, and they are really exspensive ! so where can i "boondock" legally??

 

You can boondock legally for free for 14 days at a single location on any Forest Service or BLM land, unless camping is specifically prohibited at that location. You didn't say where you live, but if you're in a Western state, there is FS/BLM land everywhere. This is exactly what I do. I have a 20-ft travel trailer and I wander around the Western states wherever the whim takes me.

At the end of the 14 days, you're supposed to move somewhere at least 25 miles from your original location, but I've never heard of anyone getting checked out for that. I've stayed as long as six weeks at one location, but I move on because I get antsy after a while.

You should know that boondocking can save you a lot of money, but it doesn't mean living "for free". You'll need extra propane to run your fridge/freezer, extra gas to run your generator (which you'll need even if you have solar, which you definitely should). There's usually a cost to fill/dump your tanks. Sometimes you can find a free dump station, but most of them charge ... up to $10, and you'll need to fill/dump once a week or so.

It adds up. I figure these things cost me around $200/month at an absolute minimum. That's not counting the extra gas it requires to pull the trailer around (it cuts your mileage in half). I understand you're not planning on wandering like I do, so this most likely isn't relevant to you, but if you factor in the extra gas plus the other things I've mentioned, the total monthly expense works out to about the same as staying in an RV park.

The difference, in my case, is that if I'm staying in a park, I'm not wandering.

Let me know if you'd like more info. I keep a detailed "boondocking log", so I know exactly how much I spend, how long I can go on a tank of propane, or on my fresh water tank, etc.

 

Those rings look pretty sweet. I need to learn to make things like that.

 

Dude, you are living my dream!!! I'm jealous

I've wanted to do this since I was young. Cept my idea was to build a self-sufficient, off the grid cabin deep in the woods as a (home base) and use the van I had (sold it, now regret it) as my tool to seeing America and hitting up all the music fest.

When I get out of the Army, I'm soooo going for it. You inspire me brother!

 

hey two dogs, just giving you a shout out while im in town and on teh internet. Cool rings man, very cool. I have been on the road now for almost a month, been hanging out here in colo seeing the sights and what not. The camping is great and the prospecting is kinda slim but if I wanted to get rich I would have found another job lol Really enjoying the life of rambling where I want to. Really hope to catch up with you in az, I'm sure that I could use a few pointers in being more frugal. Keep safe Milt