Free Room and Board?

I'm sure this post is not for everyone, but I thought it might be some food for thought. I'm a bit of an adventure oriented person, love camping and backpacking. So when I started looking at home much it was going to cost me for hotels for my shows this summer, I stated thinking about ways to save some money. Camping at State and National parks would certainly solve some of this, camping at other areas would do this as well, but then I thought, why not Boondock? What is Boondocking, it is basically nightly accomidations for FREE!

How? National Forests in the US offer what they term Dispersed Camping. In short, you can stay in a National Forest, on a nightly basis (no longer than 14 days in one location) at no charge. There are a few rules to follow, but they are simple to obey. You can find info on the Bureau of Land Management site regarding this idea. http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en.html 

It's not going to work for all shows, but the first show I looked at (St. James, and no I don't know if I am in yet) had a National Forest 48miles away. Louisville to Hoosier National Forest. I guess about a 45minute drive in total. I used to drive much more to get to work everyday when I worked full-time, so it's really not that far. 

You can drop your RV in your spot, or set up your tent and enjoy some peace and quiet when your not showing and sell your art.

Again, not for everyone, and likely only available for certain shows, but it might be a thought. If you have done this, I would love to hear your thoughts and maybe share where you stayed. 

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  • We've frequently stayed in State parks between shows and even during shows when on-site RV parking is not provided.  Some other good options we've found include county parks - often cheaper, smaller and quieter than State parks.  Another inexpensive option is the campgrounds operated by the Army Corps of Engineers.  We've also stayed in WalMart parking lots, Camping World parking lots.  We've also found some state parks that allow overnight parking if you're enroute, for example in CA they have a few parks listed on their website where you can park overnight in a fully self-contained RV between 6 PM and 9 AM for free.

  • You can also park an RV at most Walmarts, right in the parking lot.

    Many shows have RV parking, right at the show. You can sleep in your RV minutes from your booth.

    More complicated if you are tent camper. Most municipalities won't allow pitching a tent within the city limits. 

    Some artists sleep in their vans. Not real comfortable, but doable in a pinch.

    I've slept in the back of my truck, under the cap. I have a single mattress and a sleeping bag for emergencies, and when I don't feel like pitching a tent. It's actually quite comfortable. But at shows, I like to have a shower, and my wife is less keen on sleeping on a single mattress in the back of the truck than I am. She insists on indoor plumbing when she camps.

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