Author: hitekhomeless

Greetings Friends,

Excellent news! The 2018 Ehrenberg Campsite Cleanup is in its final stages. If you are in the area or nearby, please join the effort. Many hands make light work.

A huge thank you goes to Suanne Carlson and Phyllis of the <a href=”http://homesonwheelsalliance.org/”>Homes On Wheels Alliance</a> and the RTR Caravan 1 for organizing this phase.

Suanne from the HOWA sent this message:

“The Arizona State Trust folks are going to have a large roll off dumpster placed there and will be using a bobcat tractor to move as much as possible into the roll off. We are looking for volunteers to come to the site on Wednesday, March 20 at 10 am to pick up the remaining scraps of trash and put them in the roll off. It is estimated to take about one hour to complete.

Phyllis will be there on the 19th when the bobcat is doing it’s work. We ask that volunteers arrive at the clean-up site the following day, March 20th, at 10am. Trash bags will be provided by the state.

Of course, volunteers can arrive earlier to the Ehrenberg area. In fact, Caravan 1 invites volunteers to camp with them. We’ll have a simple dinner for the volunteers the night before and also coffee the morning of the clean-up.

The coordinates for the caravan’s camp are 33.580420,-114.479260. This is BLM land, not State Trust land. Follow the Ehrenberg-Cibola (dirt) Rd about 2 miles, going past the trash site, take the “Y” to the right. Look for the white sign with a large blue ‘1’ on it to locate Caravan 1.”

A little background…
The land near Ehrenberg has been popular with boondockers and campers for many years. Over decades, trash from varies users had been building up and spread out in every direction. Some areas were large and obvious, like demolished trailers. Others took more searching to find.

This 2nd annual cleanup started in December. Its goal is to make the area more enjoyable, safe, and healthy for everyone. We also want to create better relations between campers and the managing agencies.

Hard working volunteers collected a massive amount of rubbish. Far more than we expected! Thanks to generous donations we were able to rent dumpsters and eight tons of trash were removed from the area, so far. It has truly been a tremendous community effort. So much can be accomplished if we all chip in.

Again, many thanks to Suanne and Phyllis of the Homes On Wheels Alliance and the RTR Caravan 1 for stepping up and making this next phase a reality. We hope that you can be a part of it.

Second Ehrenberg Cleanup Continues

Campers gather together to clean up public land near Ehernberg.

RVers, vanlifers, and other campers are meeting up near the Arizona/California border for camaraderie, to celebrate the holidays, and to clean up public lands. It is a proactive effort to keep public land in the area open and available to all. Public lands are utilized for a variety of recreational uses including hiking, camping, fishing, hunting, off-highway vehicles, target practice, and rockhounding. While most of those recreating do so responsibly, some may not. One of the most cited reasons that public land is closed to recreational activities is trash left behind by irresponsible users.

FreeCampsites.net and Nomad Everywhere have teamed up once again to put this event together. Last winter, they joined forces to host a successful clean up at another popular camping area nearby. This event will be longer than the previous. It will last two weeks starting on December 23rd, 2018. Attendees may come and go at anytime. They do not have to stay the full two weeks.

The focus of the event will be finding nearby public land in need and cleaning it up. There will also be other activities like a Christmas potluck and a Yankee Swap.

Most of the attendees do live a mobile lifestyle, but it is not a requirement to attend. Anyone who wants to help keep public land clean and open is welcome. The hosts encourage attendees to bring gloves, trash bags, buckets, and pickup tools (grabbers or magnets). Those who come will need to be self sufficient and self contained. Restroom facilities will not be provided. They will need to have their own food, water, and shelter. The desert can be cold at night so warm bedding is suggested. Wood for campfires is not available from the environment and must be brought in.

A paypal account has been created to accept donations and help with cleanup expenses, donate@publiclandsociety.org. The donation link is: https://paypal.me/publiclandsociety – Funds will go towards supplies and dumpster fees. All funds donated will be used for the cleanup effort. Any excess funds will be used to help fund the next clean up.

Those interested in attending can find out more information by visiting https://nomadeverywhere.com/cleanup2018/ or the at Ehrenberg Campsite Cleanup 2 & New Years Party facebook event

What: Campsite Cleanup & New Years Party

When: December 23, 2018 thru January 6, 2019

Where: 33.592929,-114.486405 – Ehrenberg-Cibola Road, Ehrenberg, Arizona -> Map and info about the location: https://freecampsites.net/#!28283&query=sitedetails

Who: Nomad Everywhere, FreeCampsites.net, Public Land Society and volunteers.

Why: To help keep public lands clean and accessible. To foster good relations with public lands management.

The clean up took place west of Quartzsite along the Colorado River. It is a popular camping area and most people who camp here keep their campsite clean.

Unfortunately, not everyone does and even little bits of litter add up over the years. We had a total 14 people attend this cleanup. We covered about 2 miles of roads and campsites. 40 bags of trash were collected. Nearly two truckloads of non-bagged items were also collected. Four pickup trucks hauled the trash off to the dump.

I plan on doing more clean ups in the future. I know that those who donated did so in good faith, and I want to be transparent as possible about the activities and funds. Please know that any surplus funds will only be used for future cleanups. Reusable and remaining supplies are also retained for future cleanups.

Organizers:

FreeCampsites.net and Nomad Everywhere

Volunteers:

Ausia, Bobbi Stice, Charlene Swankie, Debby Shockley, J & J, Jeremy Fotobeara, Kevin, Lance, Lauren Catherine, Puddin, Randy, Ross, and Seth Knight.

We raised $400.
We spent $265
$75 – people fuel = food and drink for two days
$60 – trucks to haul
$24 – trash bags
$50 – 9 pair of work gloves and a box of nitrile gloves
$40 – buckets, dust masks and grabbers
$16 – tax

I may have overbought food. I was not sure how many would attend and wanted to make sure that our volunteers had enough. Most of the gloves, buckets, and grabbers were returned and will be used at future cleanups.

A huge thanks to all who were involved for their help and support.