November 2003

On the last two days of October and the first two days of November, we practiced boon docking skills in preparation for our trip to Quartzsite, Arizona at the Assateague Island National Seashore. This Seashore is located in the country on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, approximately 15 miles South of Ocean City, Maryland. There are no hook-ups, but there are two dump stations and water. In addition to Park Rangers, there is Campground Host on both sides of the Seashore. This is an excellent camping area for the whole family; my sister paid us a visit.

 There are drive-in paved campsites and walk-in tent sites. Tent sites and a group site are located on the Oceanside only; where as drive in sites are on the Bayside and Oceanside. We stayed on the Bayside with large back-in and pull thru sites (nothing to back into!). Each campsite has a picnic table and fire ring and is out in a grassy open with “buffer” trees between most sites. There are 43 campsites in three East/ West oriented camping loops on the Bayside: A, B, and C. Generators are prohibited in the B loop. Forty back-in sites on the Oceanside are behind the dunes and are in the open; they are generally aligned North/ South. Talked to one couple on the Oceanside and their only complaint was that when the wind was blowing hard off the ocean it was like being sand blasted. There are outdoor showers (no hot water) and porta-potties. The porta- potties are larger and better that the ones that you would see at a carnival. They have hand sanitizer dispensers and soft toilet paper! The dump stations, one on the Oceanside and the other on the Bayside, are large with water for cleaning sewage spills and potable water.

 We used our portable Honda generators; quite hours are 9PM to 7AM. We also used gallon jugs to carry water from the fill station to add to our fresh water tank; added 20 gallons during our four day stay.

 Wild ponies and White Tail and Sika deer roam throughout the camp ground. Assateague wild pony heard is separated from their cousins to the South in Chincoteague by a wire fence at the Maryland/Virginia state line. There are hiking trails and canoes and bicycles available for rent. Naturally there is fishing and swimming on both the Oceanside and Bayside. A permit is required for ORV use on the designated beach area. We saw people trailering their horses in to ride on the beach and hooking their ponies up to little carts also; neat!

If you are looking for a campground with an ocean/ bay setting and beautiful sunsets  and you are on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, then Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland is for you. There is no camping in the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia.

Getting ready for boon docking in the Arizona desert, we added a basket to the RV to carry our portable Honda Generators. Also added was a 40 gallon auxiliary water tank which was placed in the forward cargo compartment. When necessary, we'll fill up this tank and then transfer the water with a 12 volt pump to the RV's water tank.

On December 1st we leave for the Southwest on our Snowbird 2004 Adventure

Home