We are really boondocking this time! Our site had a firepit and a picnic table–but no electric, no potable water, and no bathroom. We used Hipcamp to find a spot on the Yellow River at the edge of DragSmith Farms, an organic farm near Barron, WI. It was a great place to check out our new “potty tent” and portable toilet, along with our power station to power the camper lights, a small space heater, and phone chargers.
We really enjoyed the campsite and even entertained our son and daughter-in-law around the campfire in the evening. Grandson stayed overnight to our delight. He waded in the river with his dad and grandpa, and did some exploring, finding a nice big toad and some beautiful mushrooms.
But, we did run into a couple of kinks. First, we didn’t really have tarp poles. We had previously camped where we could tie them to trees. So, we managed to find a couple of poles, tied one corner to the camper, and used a curtain rod for the fourth. That mostly worked, but we really need another official tarp pole.
Second, the potty tent we selected seemed really nice. But, the potty itself was a miserable failure. Without going into too much detail…it was ridiculously short and flimsy and it rapidly found its way into the garbage. We’re keeping the tent, but have purchased an alternative throne that should have a much longer life-span. It’s really important to get the potty thing right since our goal is to be able to boondock comfortably, leaving no trace when we leave.
Third, while it did not rain at night, we found our camper damp and drippy in the morning. It was super foggy and we hadn’t left the fan on overnight. Most of the blog posts I’ve read or watched say that having the fan on will drastically reduce the moisture level inside the camper. Luckily, the sun came out by midmorning and everything was dry by midafternoon.
We enjoyed the site. While there wasn’t much shade outside of the tarp, it was really nice to be by the river and very secluded. We could see the farmhouse from our site, but it was very private. We would be happy to camp there again, and maybe try some fishing in the Yellow River.