Many of my blog entries are about where to boondock and the adventures that come with it. If you are new to RVing you may be asking, “what is boondocking?” Surfing the web you will find many varying definitions of boondocking, running the gamut from dry camping in campgrounds to overnight parking lot stays in places like WalMart. Some would agree that these are valid definitions of boondocking, but I don’t.
Let’s see what the experts of the English language have to say about boondocking by studying the root word boondocks:
Webster http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boondocks defines it as:
Main Entry: boon·docks ?
Pronunciation: ?bün-?däks Function: noun plural Etymology: Tagalog bundok mountain Date: 1930 1 : rough country filled with dense brush
2 : a rural area : sticks
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boondocks
The term boondocks refers to a remote, usually brushy rural area; or to a remote city or town that is considered unsophisticated. The expression was introduced to English by American military personnel serving in the Philippines during the early years of the 20th century. It derives from the Tagalog word “bundok”, meaning “mountain”. The term has evolved into American slang used to refer to the countryside or any implicitly isolated rural/wilderness area, regardless of topography or vegetation. (Emphasis added)
Finally, the thesaurus in my computer gives the following alternatives for the word boondocks; wilds, rough country, backwoods, wasteland.
Then by definition boondocks / boondocking does not include developed campgrounds, pavement or WalMart and it certainly does not involve little comic strip characters http://boondockseries.com/ which most online search engines bring up when you type in the word boondocks!
Over the next several weeks we will look at the basics of boondocking including:
– Why boondock
– How to find a boondocking area ahead of time
– How to conserve water in the boondocks
– How to conserve and recharge your batteries in the boondocks
– How to maximize the use of your holding tanks in the boondocks
– How to stay safe in the boondocks
If you would like to see other items related to boondocking covered during this series that are not listed above, please reply via the comment box below and they will be added to the list.
Camping in the boondocks, one of the best adventures in RVing!
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Follow Dave’s RV adventures as he travels the West in search of forgotten and unique places. For Dave, home is where you park it, the more remote the better!
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