In recessionary times, finding free camping spots helps stretch your RVing budget. Free camp spots are even better when they are private, out-of-the-way and in a scenic location. The very best free campsites of all are the ones that pay you for camping there! Yes, that’s right pay you and in GOLD! Join a local or national gold prospecting club and you will soon find out what I am talking about. Prospecting clubs maintain gold claims all across the western states. The majority are on public land which typically allow up to a two week stay. While camping on public land is available to everyone, membership in a prospecting club gives you access to gold claims behind locked gates. Federal mining laws guarantee access to valid mining claims. Club members, being part owners of the claim, have access to the gate keys held by the department of natural resources, forest service or BLM. Now that is a private camp spot! Thousands of acres of public land and you literally hold the key that grants you access with your RV. Once settled at your private camp site, break out your gold pan or other gold recovery equipment and see what golden treasures await you. At over $1,100 per ounce it doesn’t take too many specks of gold to make your free campsite that much more valuable. If “free is good”, “better than free“ is great! Who knows you may even find enough to pay your fuel costs for the weekend? Even if you don’t find any gold, the real treasure is the time spent out in God’s Creation, getting some exercise and spending some quality time RVing in a quiet, out of the way place. To find the prospecting clubs in your state, Google “your state” and “Prospecting clubs”. In Washington, your state wide club is Washington Prospectors. You can visit them at: http://washingtonprospectors.org/
Dave Helgeson’s many roles in the RV industry started before he even had a driver’s license. His grandparents and father owned an RV dealership before the term “RV” had been coined, and Dave played a pivotal role in nearly every position of an RV dealership. He and his wife Cheri launched their own RV dealership in the Pacific Northwest. The duo also spent 29 years overseeing regional RV shows. Dave has also served as President of a local chapter of the Recreational Vehicle Dealers Association (RVDA), worked on the board of advisors for the RV Technician Program of a local technical college, and served as a board member of the Manufactured Home and RV Association. Dave’s reputation earned him the title of “The foremost expert on boondocking,” bestowed by RV industry icon, the late Gary Bunzer (The RV Doctor). When he’s not out boondocking, you’ll find Dave in the spotlight at RV shows across the country, giving seminars about all things RVing. He and Cheri currently roam in their fifth travel trailer, with Dave doing all the service, repair and modifications to his own unit.
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