Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Archives

High Desert Freedom: Boondocking in Northern Nevada and in the Black Rock Playa

May 1, 2026

Nevada is often defined by its big cities and neon lights, but for those who prefer starlight and silence, the “Silver State” offers some of the premier boondocking opportunities in the American West. My latest [read more]

SEMA Urges BLM to Reopen OHV Trails in Moab

October 29, 2025

The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) is voicing strong support for a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) proposal to reopen nearly 150 miles of off-highway vehicle (OHV) trails throughout Labyrinth Rims/Gemini Bridges Travel Management Area [read more]

Trash and Burn: Being Better Stewards of our Public Lands

August 6, 2024

In the United States we have been blessed with 640 million acres of federal public land. As a matter of fact, federal land comprises 28 percent of the total land area in our country. This [read more]

Strange and Beautiful: Exploring California’s Otherworldly Trona Pinnacles

July 27, 2024

If you think the otherworldly spires of the Trona Pinnacles look like something right out of Star Trek—you’d be right, because this surreal landscape is where numerous science fiction movies have been filmed. Star Trek [read more]

New Merus Adventure Park in Texas is a Truck Camping Mecca

April 26, 2024

Tucked away in the Texas Panhandle is a new kind of destination for truck camper adventurers. Merus Adventure Park is a privately-owned, 5,500-acre eco-playground set at the edge of Palo Duro Canyon. With stunning sunsets, [read more]

2023 Truck Camper Adventure Rally Will Be Largest Ever

January 12, 2023

My, how time flies. It’s already mid-January and the 2023 Truck Camper Adventure Quartzsite Rally is less than a month away. At present, we have nearly 800 people and 410 truck campers enrolled in the [read more]

Truck Camper ‘Honey Hole’ – Steens Mountain Oregon

August 15, 2022

Dinner was over and the campfire was beginning. It was an old school evening. No propane or smartphone apps. Crackling flames, against a dark backdrop of Ponderosa soldiers, kept us warm on the outside. A [read more]

Exploring Arizona’s Magnificent White Pocket

July 23, 2021

Arizona’s White Pocket has long been on our list of places to visit due to its remote location and unique geological formations. It is a photographer’s mecca, and until the last two years, a relatively [read more]

Exploring Southern California’s Tumco Ghost Town

March 15, 2021

The Tumco Historic Townsite is an abandoned gold mining district located near Yuma, Arizona on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land. The Tumco Townsite is one of the earliest gold mining areas in California, beginning [read more]

Video: 2021 TCA Caravan on the Bradshaw Trail

March 5, 2021

The Marines I worked with back in the day had a saying that I will never forget: Sempre Gumby, which translated means Always Flexible. After our special group permit on the El Camino Del Diablo [read more]

Climb Up Chloride, Arizona’s Big Wash Road

February 8, 2021

One look at a map of Big Wash Road and you might just dismiss the drive as too rough for a truck camper. Located in the Cerbat Mountains of northwestern Arizona, the 4×4 drive features [read more]

Exploring Death Valley National Park

August 28, 2020

Death Valley is the largest national park in the contiguous United States encompassing 3,422,024 acres, and is the hottest, driest and lowest of all national parks in the United States. Approximately 93 percent of the [read more]

Great American Outdoors Act Signed Into Law

August 14, 2020

It was long overdue. After billions worth of undone maintenance across the national park system and federally managed public lands, on August 4, 2020, President Trump signed the Great American Outdoors Act into law. The [read more]

New Video: 2020 Quartzsite Truck Camper Adventure Rally

March 6, 2020

Truck Camper Adventure held its very first rally in Quartzsite, Arizona, on February 7-9, 2020. A total of 98 people from 21 states, the Netherlands, and Canada attended the big, three-day event, which consisted of [read more]

Truck Camper Trumps Other Types of RVs Including Vans

March 2, 2020

There’s no doubt about it, the truck camper is a great recreational vehicle. Not only is the truck camper easier to drive and can tow things like boats and Jeeps, but it also gets better [read more]

New Video: TCA Bradshaw Trail Overland Rally

February 28, 2020

Truck Camper Adventure (TCA) hosted its very first overland rally on California’s Bradshaw Trail earlier this month. This free trip, scheduled immediately after our truck camper rally in Quartzsite, Arizona, consisted of 14 truck campers. [read more]

TCA Inaugural Boondocking in the Desert Rally Announced

October 2, 2019

Truck Camper Adventure will be holding it’s first ever truck camper rally near Quartzsite, Arizona, February 7-9, 2020. The event will be held at the Roadrunner Wash BLM area (signs identifying the specific location will [read more]

7 RV Tips and Tricks to Stay Cool Without Running the AC

August 5, 2019

Most of the us look forward to the summer when we can get out and camp in our RVs, but summertime invariably brings higher temperatures. Depending on the location, this can sometime bring temperatures in [read more]

Get Off-Grid: Top 9 Boondocking Tips and Tricks for Truck Campers

March 20, 2018

Ah, boondocking. Just the thought of it evokes images of camping atop a remote, desert mesa or in a cool, heavily wooded mountain forest. If you enjoy beautiful vistas, peaceful solitude, and clean air when [read more]

Exploring the Roads in the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

March 16, 2017

Arizona’s Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument has a checkered history. After its creation in 1937 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the national monument was known as one of the prettiest parks with some of the [read more]

5-Star Boondocking: Utah’s Valley of the Gods

August 25, 2016

Southeastern Utah’s Valley of the Gods is a great place to boondock. It’s one of my all-time favorite places to relax with the truck camper and take photographs. It’s very accessible for small RVs, like [read more]

Quartzsite BLM Boondocking Tips and Tricks

October 31, 2014

Quartzsite, Arizona is probably unlike any other place on earth. During the summer months, the sleepy, little desert town looks like hundreds of others you may encounter in the desert Southwest. However, a complete transformation [read more]

North Kanab Boondocking, BLM 106

April 7, 2014

Kanab, Utah is one of my favorite towns in the American Southwest. Located just a few miles north of the Arizona state line, the population numbers only 4,000, which gives Kanab a small-town, “Mayberry RFD,” [read more]

Quartzsite, Arizona

January 26, 2012

Nestled near the California border, Quartzsite, AZ is known as the boondocking capital of the world for Recreational Vehicle (RV) owners, but the small desert town is also renowned for its winter shopping, gemstones, and [read more]

Exploring Utah’s Valley of the Gods

October 15, 2011

Mysterious and hauntingly beautiful, Utah’s Valley of the Gods is a must-see gem in the American Southwest. Managed by the Bureau of Land Management and located within the Bears Ears National Monument, the Valley of [read more]

Boondocking 101

September 7, 2011

Today’s RV is a wonderful thing, the truck camper even better. It combines the mobility of an automobile with the comforts of home in one small, convenient package. Where you take your home on wheels [read more]