We spent the first eight days of 2016 camping at RV resorts in El Centro and Yuma. It was time for a dose of nature and space. American Girl Mine seemed like a perfect spot to camp for two nights before we made our way north to Blythe (where we had reservations).

Here’s the breakdown:

Location: Winterhaven, California

GPS: 32.834369, -114.810504

Price: Free!

Date / Temp: We camped there on January 9th & 10th. The highs were in the mid 60s, and the lows were in the mid 40s.

Noise: You can choose your noise level. There’s tons of space! We parked about 200 yards away from our neighbors and the noise level was moderate. There are off-road enthusiasts in the area which created some noise. If you scout out the area well enough, you can camp in silence.

Wifi / Cell: Our AT&T service was fast and furious – full bars all the way around! Our T-Mobile hotspot was disappointing, receiving full bars of 2G. It was enough to stream music, but everything else was frustratingly slow.

Grocery / Errands: Yuma is the nearest town with all the amenities. It’s about 20 miles from the campsite. We drove into Yuma on Sunday to check out the Arizona Market and the Yuma Park & Swap. It was an enjoyable trip, but too far to do it everyday.

Entertainment: We had plenty of friends to socialize with here. The night we arrived we took part in a pot luck, a game of Cards Against Humanity, and some quality conversation. Aside from the trip into Yuma, we laid low on Sunday – building a campfire while listening to a spacey Spotify mix.

Our Overall Experience: We enjoyed our time boondocking here. If we hadn’t had reservations in Blythe, we would’ve stayed another day or two. We met some fellow, working-age fulltimers and hung out with friends.

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