Lesson Learned

Slept well and woke up to a peaceful morning with rain pitter-pattering on the roof of the Cruiser. A drab morning ... but there is good news on the horizon as far as the weather is concerned, so that makes conditions like this morning palatable.

Learned a lesson from our two camping experiences boondocking on gravel bars ... don’t expect any peace and quiet ... on weekends ... and probably anytime once summer is in full swing. Although, maybe I’m wrong about the latter as I can’t imagine anglers would tolerate ATVs buzzing about while they are trying to fish.

Last night’s boondocking stop turned out to be worse than the Knik River Flats noise-wise as the locals showed up with their ATVs late into the night. Luckily, we were here early enough yesterday that we had about six hours of solitude to enjoy before rigs started arriving after work ... people were still coming in at 10:00p.

Most of the RVers — several camping in large groups — were quiet, having a good time without disturbing others. But several families definitely had no respect for the rest of us ... with the adults in those families seemingly caring little for what the kids were up to.

I know ... this is their state and we’re visitors here. I know ... it stays light until late into the night. I know ... summers are short and they want to make the most of it. I know ... boondocking is free and there are no stated rules. But buzzing about on ATVs well past 11:00p. Well, that just shows a lack of respect for fellow-campers. Thank goodness for good ear plugs!

Lesson learned ... don’t camp on big gravel bars during the summer ... especially on weekends when people seem to want to play hard and long. At least we’re learning this lesson at the start of our trip and can attempt to apply it to the rest of the trip.

Now for the silver lining ... it’s very quiet on the gravel bar this morning. Those who played hard last night are still a-bed. Despite the large number of rigs on the gravel bar, no one is parked where we can see them unless we get up and look out the windshield. Our view of the river remains unimpeded and peaceful. At the moment, we feel like we’re all alone here.

We’ll be moving on as planned. Where we will end the day is still TBD ... but hopefully it will be a quieter spot.もっと詳しく