Grand Adventure Rig | Nevada Boondocking

Our new flatbed camper DIY rig, Maximus, goes on a grand adventure camping trip. Finding smaller roads and boondocking along the way. It’s the first time we’ve scoped out a natural hot springs in the desert and climbed up out of heat and into the mountains, also in the desert!

This is Part II of our road trip from Idaho, through Nevada and back to our shop in Southern California. We are now back on the pavement, traversing small highways and still finding out of the way, boondocking camp areas. Join us as we continue to meander our way south another 600+ miles.

At the end of Part 1 of the trip, we landed near Wild Horse, NV. These next two nights were equally scenic finds. One was in Spencer Hot Springs (BLM) and the other was Spring Mountain Recreation Area (USFS) about 40 miles NE of Las Vegas. Although Part 1 of the trip had nearly complete solitude for 2 days, this half of our road trip was not quite the same. Although the camping finds were in pretty cool areas, you saw people and/or impact by people (not the good kind).

Driving Day 3 – Spencer Hot Springs in Nevada

Continuing on the theme of finding new areas, while mapping our routes I saw this area called Spencer Hot Springs.  It was definitely in the direction we needed to head and I was able to plot my route to include this as our 3rd overnight stop.  Unlike the previous two nights, there are details and even reviews about this area online so I had an idea of what to expect including plenty of space in this BLM area.

 

The area is open desert crusted with mineral rock giving off a white shimmer.  Maps identified several springs and upon closer inspection we found two “pools’ with actual water.  One was more natural with a small platform around it.  It was warm and inviting with a layer of pond scum.  However the main one which we finally located was a large plastic tube being filled from the spring.  Not a bad setup.  Warm and inviting without the scum.  

Our normal tactic when getting to public land area is to unhitch the jeep and scout for a camping site.  That’s how we finally found the pools.  With a basic lay of the land and the several campers and vans we returned to the rig and headed into the main area.  Found a site to camp that was away from the primary set of campers giving us privacy and a completely unadulterated view of the desert.  

A beautiful breeze was cooling down the mid 70s afternoon temperatures.  Once we had the rig settled in, cooper watered, we both retreated to a chair outside (me) and the bunk (Steve) to relax and read until dinner time.

Desert sunsets never seem to disappoint and tonights delivered a golden glow.  

a

Driving Day 4 – Lee Canyon Dispersed Camping in Spring Mountain Recreation Area 

Our longest drive day also turned out to the be most barren.  Open Desert, colorful mountains, interesting mining operations and a sprinkle of human life here and there.  Throw in some side swiping wind and it wasn’t boring for the driver (Steve).

Our end destination for the night was 15 miles off of Highway 95, near Las Vegas. What I didn’t realize, is that the 15 miles was a constant upward climb. The truck engine was working hard with the climb and pulling the jeep. Steve spied an earlier turn off, away from the road and overlooking a canyon. Being a doable camp spot, he pulled the plug on climbing the remainder of the way; the site would do for one night.

The site would’ve been really cool but it was a huge disappointment to me. Nothing worse than visiting our public lands, finding a spectacular area and finding bagged up trash bags, a poop bucket, and quite a few human waste spots and toilet paper scattered in the nearby sage brush.

That just ruined the atmosphere for me. We ended up hauling out the bagged up trash with us and was able to dispose of it at a gas station later in the day. At least the trash was bagged up! Sometimes it’s just all over.

Enjoyed more colorful light over the valley below and on the rig as we finished up dinner. It’s our last night on the road and the following day we end up on the I-15 south and keep going.

Video | ep:5 | Nevada Travels, Hot Springs & Mountains

What’s Next?

A long list of camper projects awaits us. Our next video or two will be Maximus and shop work.