Three Month Home Base in Southwest

[buckland]

Being from all the way east our travel time to Wander the West is considerable. We had originally planned on heading to Mexico for January -March but this "Vid" crap seems to keep circling the drain. So onto plan B ... we thought we would find a little town out in the quiet and rent a place for a few months... a cabin or little house from which we could do 2 and 3 week travels out with the camper. A Home Base. We are not looking for fancy. Seems like the online search are huge houses with pools and neighbors all scrunched up together. We are hoping somebody might know a town that is not a destination that might just have a casita with front porch. Having a taco truck in town is also a major plus. We want to roam around. We do have a small dog who is a "road scholar". The savings on the fuel bill for not heating our home in New England for three months above 45 will fund our travel! (beer not included).

Any and all advice would be much obliged.
Rob

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Rob, check out Borrego Springs, Ca

 

[buckland]

Thanks...that was quick! Nice sze e town. Now I'll search for the real estate as not interested in Air B&B or such but these days I might have to go "non-local". Prefer an in town personal rental rather than investor owned. an "in-law" cabin we call them... 3 rooms: Bedroom , kitchenette, and bathroom. In the boonies they still have those in the northeast.

 

[AWG_Pics]

Rob

A partial list to check out (not destinations, maybe a rental for a while):
- Caliente NV
- Panaca NV
- Wickenburg, AZ
- Benson, AZ
- Superior AZ
- Searchlight, AZ
- Enterprise UT
- Bluff UT
- Blanding UT
- Monticello UT
- Cortez CO
- Sierra Vista AZ
- Nogales AZ
- Douglas AZ
- Tecopa, CA
- Shoshone, CA

Most have mild winters, some milder than others.
Hope this helps.
Tony

 

[buckland]

Jumping !!! That is a list to keep me busy too! Wow this is gonna be fun ... Like Frank told me before I started the Alaska planning and it was true... The fun is in the trip planning as well ... lots of exploring possible routes and getting all psyched up even while it's snowing outside thinking about where you'll go. Thanks for the start Steve and Tony!

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Your idea sounds great.Find a nice home base and venture out from there on
small trips.

Is this a winter time trip? That would be a double treat for you.
Getting away from a fidget Maine winter and enjoying some warm tripping weather.

Yes part of the trip fun is the planning.

Frank

 

[Cottonww]

Try Dan and Krysta they have a casita they rent out in Catalina, AZ 520 975 2925

 

[DavidGraves]

PM Sent

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

<snip>Like Frank told me before I started the Alaska planning and it was true... The fun is in the trip planning as well ... lots of exploring possible routes and getting all psyched up…<snip>

Come, shape your plans where the fire is bright,
And the shimmering glasses are—
When the woods are white in the winter’s night,
Under the northern star.

The Tent Dwellers
Albert B Paine - 1908

 

[RONR]

I’m going out on a limb here with what I hope is not a stupid question: what is “Vid” crap?

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

I’m going out on a limb here with what I hope is not a stupid question: what is “Vid” crap?

Me thinks it’s coVID…

 

[buckland]

Come, shape your plans where the fire is bright,
And the shimmering glasses are—
When the woods are white in the winter’s night,
Under the northern star.

The Tent Dwellers
Albert B Paine - 1908

That is a great quote Steve!

 

[buckland]

Indeed ...locally here it's just known as the vid.... as in 'got the vid yet?' Mother Earth is not happy with us and I think she is trying to control the 'problem'... us. or as my dad used to say " squeeze a tube too hard it'll just shoot out the sides".

 

[buckland]

Thanks all for the leads I will look into them all. And if anyone else has more ideas keep them coming!

 

[RONR]

Me thinks it’s coVID…

of course. Thank you!

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

That is a great quote Steve!

Rob, if you can find a copy, it’s a hilarious non-fiction read about two dandies on a guided canoe trip in Nova Scotia.

 

[buckland]

Thanks Steve ...my go to for old books id Abe's Books... real cheap I'll check that out.

Just check Abe's and they have the original..... but (gwad forbid). amazon had a reprint for $7!

 

[smlobx]

Very interesting topic Rob as we also live on the East Coast. We have talked about this concept but other than something like VRBO ( which isn’t what we really want) I don’t have a clue as to how to go about finding a place. Please share your processes with us and good luck!

 

[buckland]

I certainly will. I do not think for us the pet sitting can work as we will have our dog and I would like to roam for a couple weeks at a time. So a house sitting job might not make the owner happy with me gone for that time either. So I am on "a mission from gawd" (blues brothers) ... gotta find a rental that is locally advertised in a very small town off the beaten tourist scene. Presently I am starting a small town newspaper search, Looking at ads. It is tedious so possibly might get lucky.
I am staying away from Craigs list as I have had weird people experiences (selling stuff) ... I just do not understand someone getting their jollies by jerking people around. I am naive I guess.

 

[Wallowa]

Just an option...perhaps already in the mix...but we find a secluded [beauty and lack of people] location and park our Tundra/Hawk for extended periods and do day hikes....kind of like "sitting on the porch", in lieu of renting house by using our house on wheels...our favorites have been Utah/Idaho and Wyoming backcountry [we live in extreme NE Oregon]....now that Canada is locked down for us [no vac]....but then again there are plenty of places in West to 'get lost' in....