Best places to be a desert rat?

[GeorgeHayduke]

First, I live an odd lifestyle with an odd work cycle, but I chose this life because I like it. I'm looking for the collective wisdom of DU to help me further my adventure in this mortal coil.

The sitch: no kids, wife, pets or home. Completely mobile. I work as an engineer three to five months solid (14 hours a day, seven days a week) and then have a couple months off. I have unlimited cash but bore easily and love carpentry, so odd-job opportunities are keen to keep my mind alive.

I historically just go relax and explore this time of year in the Arizona desert, but I've been doing that for a few years and am looking for something new. If I have summer months off, I head to north-central Washington to visit my elderly father, but he's getting feet of snow weekly.

Requirements: solitude, peace, adventure, exploration, growth, great sunrises, starry nights, comfy temps, good local economy, low crime, friendly people.

My next contract in Phoenix begins in May, so I'd like to linger in the Four Corners area. I'm about to depart the Monterey, CA area tomorrow morning.

Where are your favorite places to snowbird, dirtbag, be a desert rat?

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

1. Try northern New Mexico.

Much of it will fill your requirements.

[GeorgeHayduke]

3. That was actually

Where I was thinking I'd wander. Any particular points of interest of long-term-visit areas you can suggest? I'm completely self-sufficient and backcountry is usually the way I swing.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

10. Taos is amazing.

As is Santa Fe, where I live, but I think you'd find Santa Fe too urban and citified. There are national parks and forests.

Since I'm the sort of person who considers roughing it to be staying at a Motel 6 instead of Hilton, I can't be very helpful here. But I'm hoping there would be lots or places on line that would do the trick.

What we do have here are amazing skies, day and night time. Clean air and water. I'm aware that there are lots of hiking trails, but I'm not a hiker.

Good luck to you. Sounds like you have an amazing life.

[GeorgeHayduke]

14. Your hotel reference

Hits close to "home". I've lived at the Monterey Plaza Hotel off-and-on for the last year as this contract has come to completion. In betwixt I've been able to both work and live, variably, between Phoenix and Seattle, lots of nights in my truck out in the desert or in the Sierras or Cascades.

I've never been to Taos and Santa Fe popped-up on my maps yesterday. Moab is also an option.

I think those are three of my top five right there.

Thanks.

[Hamlette]

29. I like Moab. Been going there for many years

Tons of stuff to do, state and national parks lots of wilderness. You might also check at Torry and nearby towns. Park not as big but lots of great hikes.

[GeorgeHayduke]

41. I love Moab.

A ton of hiking and climbing. It's a great place to be a dirtbag. Little chilly at night right now though.

[denbot]

17. +1 to Taos

[TexasBushwhacker]

21. I love Santa Fe's museums n/t

[yellowdogintexas]

46. a fun day activity if you are in Santa Fe or Taos

Drive up to Antonito CO and take a trip on the Cumbres and Toltec Railroad. The train runs from Antonito CO to Chama, NM, weaving in and out of the two states while climbing out of high desert into low mountains. Lunch included. Spectacular views, and the fun of a narrow gauge steam locomotive.

You will return on a nice bus; the return trip takes an hour and a half. The train part is more like 6 hours

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

50. I've been wanting to do that and haven't yet gotten around to it.

Thanks for reminding about that trip.

[Willie Pep]

25. I was going to say the same thing.

My uncle's friend lives a lifestyle similar to the OP's concept. He seems to be pretty happy as far as I know and he has lived in New Mexico for 30 years.

[GeorgeHayduke]

37. What does your uncle's friend do?

We're few-and-far-between, but we're also an evolved motley crey of people who, in general, are exceedingly happy with how we live.

Some folks look at us a bit askance when we describe our lifestyle, others drop their jaw in envy.

Frankly, I spent 33 years in academia and one day, I simply said "I want to explore beyond the limits of a weekend".

So I retired. On a Wednesday.

The sky is the limit. Put the sun in your rear-view mirror and study-up on how to use that sextant.

[Willie Pep]

38. He is a handy man/artist.

Specifically he makes glass blown figures. He supplements his income with handy man work.

[GeorgeHayduke]

39. I bet he's really

A happy guy.

[Willie Pep]

40. Yes he seems to be.

He is an old school hippie type. He counters the stereotype that all of the hippies became yuppies in the 1980s!

[WhiteTara]

2. Desert Hot Springs would be top on my list

the water there is wonderful. We used to stay at Miracle Hot Springs (the owner we knew is now dead) But it is/was on the outskirts of the town and it was a great area to explore the desert. I went for the quiet and the water. It might be too boring for you.

If you're going north...Pagosa Springs in southern CO was a very magical place. Once again...Great hot springs.

[GeorgeHayduke]

4. I spent the first 38 years of my life

In the snowy, gloomy, rainy, mossy, depressing north. So, Colorado is likely not on my list of places to drive to tomorrow, but hot springs, yes!

My life is one of extreme contrasts. While on contract I'm engaged 24 hours a day for months non-stop, so sometimes the interstitial boredom of having nothing to do but chase tarantulae and watch red-tails hunt the steppe are beyond a welcome repreve from the chaos.

Thanks for the rec! I'll indeed check it out and likely visit during my ramblings.

[WhiteTara]

5. Are you a hot spring devotee?

There's a book all about the hot springs in the western US. Some developed, others you hike in. If you're interested, I'll go dig it out of the bookcase and let you know about it.

One of the first hotels going into Desert Hot Springs is an older "hacienda type" structure. THey have an incredible pool and their hot pool sits in the middle of the regular pool. Very lovely location. I can't remember the name, and it's probably changed since last time I was there.

[GeorgeHayduke]

6. Not necessarily a devotee

But I do acknowledge their existance. I've dated several women who own the book you speak of and I've spent many hours bathing naked with strangers throughout the west in deep snowpack and at the end of long hikes in a steamy pool.

I'm always up to visit some place new. I basically take what is given to me and enjoy it rather than focus on a thing and seek it.

Life is good despite our current political charlie foxtrot.

[Thyla]

7. Explore the world.

Australia covers almost all options from desert, jungle to even snow at the right time.
South America or Europe, if cash isn't a problem then go for it.

[GeorgeHayduke]

8. I've done all that

Already, and at the moment, international travel is off-limits for me as I may have "time-off" but am still modestly expected to be professionally omnipresent.

But I have a few former students in NSW whom I'd love to visit this winter and one in the Cook Islands who keeps asking me to visit, so that's indeed in the cards for the future.

[Thyla]

11. Fair enough

Wherever you choose I'm sure you will have a great time anyway.

[GeorgeHayduke]

13. An Aussie living in Spain?

Seems like we're on similar paths.

[NotASurfer]

9. Unlimited cash?

Buy a small town, institute a homeowner's association, and put some covenants in there about friendly, interesting people who won't steal your stuff when you're not there, and leave you alone in peace and quiet when you are there?

Don't know how to steer you, but I married somebody who dreams about doing just that. We just lack the unlimited funds necessary to make that dream into a reality...but I can recommend somebody with experience searching for a Shangrai-la if it helps!

[GeorgeHayduke]

12. Nice!

But I retired five years ago to run from the HOA life like my hair was on fire.

And, I guess "unlimited cash" exists less because I'm somehow insanely wealthy (I'm not) and more because I loathe the thought of spending my money (but will for the right reasons).

Im just looking for a few prime wilderness spots.

[Doc_Technical]

15. Pinnacles National Park

Between highways 101 and 25.
I'd recommend the east entrance.

[GeorgeHayduke]

16. But...but...

That's a day trip.

(And I'm trying to get far away from this place)

[Blue_Tires]

18. If critters don't worry you I hear nothing beats Australia...

[GeorgeHayduke]

19. Critters dont bother me at all

But I have to limit my wanderings to the western U.S.

[DFW]

20. Not sure if the natives are friendly or not

But a few decades ago, we meandered through southern Utah (Zion, Bryce, Coral Sand Dunes) and loved it.

[GeorgeHayduke]

22. Bryce is awesome

I've been almost everywhere in the southwest and I was looking for alternate gems like Plomosa Plains, La Posa, Cherry creek.

I needed to post on a different platform.

[DFW]

23. Not my usual stomping grounds, I'm afraid

I grew up as a kid mostly in Virginia, where the desert is cultural, not physical. I did live for a time in Spain, too, where there is some desert, but that won't help you if you need to be on call in North America.

[GeorgeHayduke]

24. Meh, it's all good.

I have my fave stand-by's and was hoping other desert-rat snowbirds could chime-in. In all, I'm completely happy, but was looking to compound that nomadic hapiness by virtue of the experiences of others.

Frankly, y'all need to go on a long road trip.

But thats just me.

[DFW]

30. I've done my long road trip. Did it back in the good old USA, in fact.

Boston to San Francisco, northern route on the way there, southern route on the way back. Did it in about a month, stopping in places along the way. Hot springs (small "s" ) in Wyoming, desert towns in Nevada, Highway 101, Hot Springs (the town) in Arkansas, Natural Bridge, Virginia. We missed only about 5,000 neat things along the way, but got in what we could.

Here in Europe, traffic is so thick, it's torture doing it by car. I'm in a different country every day for work anyway. Mostly train if it's a neighboring country (Holland, Belgium, Lux, France), plane if it's too far (I can get down to Madrid in about 2 hours, but it's a 24 hour train trip). These days, a road trip is the last thing I need!

[GeorgeHayduke]

31. I'll apologetically agree.

My life keeps me moving non-stop and then suddenly stops altogether. Think Wiley Coyote in the moment after he runs off the cliff, right before he falls.

For the last week I've developed a routine of birdwatching, lunch at the brewery and a hike. This morning the snow is piling-up.

I was thinking of expatting to Europe. Greece? Spain? What's your opinion?

[DFW]

34. I don't know much about Greece

I only visited Crete once, and never the mainland. I don't speak the language, so I wouldn't move there anyway before learning it, and it's not one of the easier ones.

I HAVE lived in Spain, although in a part where Spanish is not the local language (Barcelona). But Catalan is very close to old Medieval French, and so I picked it up pretty quickly. Not because I was born in France in the Middle Ages (though I sometimes look it), but I have studied Medieval Spanish and spoke French already when I got there. I haven't lived anywhere else in Spain, but saw quite a bit of it way back when. Lots of great towns, amazing architecture (everyone should visit Grenada before departing this world), and quite a diversity of geography. Semi-desert in the high central plains and the south, almost Vermont in the Basque Country, Pacific Northwest in Galicia, Alpine scenery in the Pyrenees and Mediterranean coastline from the French border down past Valencia. Mallorca is pretty diverse, too, and Málaga is practically a gateway to Morocco and the rest of Africa if you're really feeling adventurous. Spanish is easy to learn, so that's a plus, and in Spain, they don't garble their words like in Latin America. In Barcelona, the Spanish is even clearer, as it is not their native language, so they speak it very precisely. Cost of living is reasonable, but work is not easy to find, and a work permit and/or residence visa for a non-EU citizen will be an uphill battle unless you marry one of the friendly natives (you could do worse).

Depending on your financial means, you might consider Portugal, too. Cheaper than Spain, language more of a challenge, and lousy work environment. Bring money. Italy has great food, but the place is a mess otherwise. Total social meltdown unless you're a rich industrialist, an aristocrat with inherited money, or a student living off government funds they must be creating out of thin air, as they have none. I avoid it, even though the art and history are incomparable. Bureaucracy is a horror EVERYWHERE in Europe, but some countries just ignore it altogether (Estonia, I've heard, is especially anything-goes, but is tiny with awful weather and the Russians on their border who could re-take the place for themselves in about half an hour if they wanted to).

There is an old joke here that there are 4 types of legal systems in Europe:

The German system, where everything not permitted is forbidden
The French system, where everything not forbidden is permitted
The Russian system, where everything is forbidden, including that which is permitted
and....
The Italian system, where everything is permitted, including that which is forbidden

Take yer pick.

[GeorgeHayduke]

36. You're a venerable font of

Information and decidedly well-travelled. I work for a company that allows (requires) me to speak Hebrew, Hungarian, Spanish and English. I have studied Dutch and Latin (why, dear God?). Some of my previous partners have lived in, studied in or were shipped from Holland, Germany and Slovenia; and they seem to love to challenge my lexical musings. I speak a few languages fluently and butcher even more. But I'm constantly learning.

I had originally idealized the Mediterranean coast of Spain, but I'm reading a lot lately that the ecomonic status of Greece (I'm half Greek, never visited) is prime for retirees. Im certain that comes with commensurate consequences and always am skeptical of "buy this" articles.

To be sure, at the point that I expatriate, I'll never have to work an 80-hour work-week again and can devote my life to fishing, gardening and being drooled on by a dog. And lots of cooking.

Wonderful to get the perspective of a local.

Thanks!

[DFW]

45. As luck would have it

I had to be in Madrid this morning, and am on the super-fast train up to Barcelona now. There is a LOT of arid semi-desert in between the two. Sometimes hilly, sometimes odd rock formations, sometimes some oddball new settlement pops up out of the ground. To give you an idea, when I lived in Spain (1968-69), the train between Madrid and Barcelona took 8 hours. I'll be there in two and a half. This thing races and it does not stop along the way. But someone with a lot of time, could probably have a fun time coming this landscape for a few seasons, especially if your Spanish is decent. The olive oil here (if you know where to get it) is on the order of "oh, is THAT what it's supposed to taste like?"

[GeorgeHayduke]

49. Sounds beyond lovely.

I lived in Mexico off-and-on about the time I was in college and most of my subcontractors now prefer their native language at work. I would say I'm close to fluent, but not with the proper formality commensurate with what would be expected of me in Spain.

But languages keep my mind alive so I'm beyond willing to practice.



And olive oil you say? *swoon*

[DFW]

51. Regional differences always take some getting used to.

A Spaniard who learned English at Oxford would need months of adjusting if he suddenly found himself in South Carolina, no matter how fluent he might have been to the ears of his British professors.

Same goes for someone who is fluent in Mexican Spanish suddenly finding himself in Castilla la Nueva. But you'll get used to it if your path leads you there. Besides, Mexican Spanish is downright elegant when compared to the ear-twisting dialects of Cuba, Nicaragua, or Venezuela. They have government-enforced embargoes on consonants down there.

Olive oil indeed. But you gotta know someone who knows someone. A friend of mine in Sprout City knows someone out in the Catalan countryside who owns an olive oil producing business. He regularly brings me 5 liter containers of it that cost five times what the same brand costs on the supermarket shelf. That's because he gets the pure stuff, and the public gets the mixture of 20% original plus lesser grade fillers from Tunisia, Italy, Greece, and who knows where else. Look at the labels of the "extra virgin" brands in the States. "Pure Italian Olive Oil" with supplemental parts from North Africa and points around the Mediterranean. Their dilutions are 100% pure!

[MLAA]

26. Have you tried Tucson?

You mentioned Az, but not which part of the state.

[GeorgeHayduke]

32. Yes.

Tucson is okay, but I wasn't able to spend the necessary time there to really learn it. I lived in Tempe, Chandler, north Scottsdale and Ahwatukee (PHX); and Wickenburg, Quartzsite, Yuma, Prescott and LHC.

I like AZ, but I'm an adventurous nomad, so once things start looking familliar I tend to ramble into new places.

I spent about two months in Cherry Creek, AZ in the ponderosa which was lovely.

[Sedona]

27. Sedona!

[GeorgeHayduke]

33. Dude!

Sedona is great!

[Xolodno]

28. Sedona for the trendy...or Salton Sea for the former trendy and now nearly desolate.

[GeorgeHayduke]

35. How awesome!

I was stuck in Mojave, CA for a few days last week and legit thought to myself "well, I could be stuck in Calexico".

Salton City is like Ridgefield or Victorville; a good place to gas-up. But you're right about the climate and cheap livin'.

P.S. Barstow and Needles are two of my favorite places on the 40. No idea why. Love Bishop, Lee Vining, Bridgeport and Lakeview on 395 in the fall. But, bears.

But, thanks, Salton Sea is on the list for next winter! I never looked for a place to hunker there for a while, just drove through.

[A HERETIC I AM]

42. You want solitude?

Somewhere along US 50 in Nevada. "The Loneliest Road in America"

Although a good portion of it is above 5000', so it might be a wee chilly still.

If you were into off-roading/sand driving, check out Sand Mountain Recreation Area, East of Reno.

Since you have done Arizona, you might not be interested in Quartzite. I go through there around once a month and this time of year that tiny town 18 miles from the Colorado river grows dramatically in population, but there are thousands of acres where you can camp for free and not be in ear shot of a neighbor. Quartzite, like Tucson, also hosts a Gem Show this time of year, though it appears to have already taken place;

https://www.desertusa.com/cities/az/quartzsite.html#anchor832166

[GeorgeHayduke]

43. I do like the way you think.

I've stayed many months at the LTVA in Quarzsite over the last few years. I miss Taco Tuesday at themexican joint on 95 (its been shut the last few years). Imperial Dam LTVA in Yuma isn't quite the same, but there are quite a few 28-day areas that are keen there. Exploring that part of the desert is fun, especially as you approach the highlands towards Flag.

Alas, I ended-up in Central WA (it was 14° this morning) to visit my dad, get new glasses, etc. Enjoyed the trip north on 395 (all-time favorite drive in the US no phone service for 2.5 days). Bummed a bit in Bishop, Lee Vining, June Lake, Bridgeport, Lakeview, Susanville, Burns, John Day, Pendleton, visited my birthsite and generally had a good time making silly jokes to myself alone in a truck while being heckled by cows and osprey.

But you're on the right track!

[A HERETIC I AM]

44. I've driven US 395 only from the Victorville area to Carson City...

But it is indeed a beautiful, if not lonely drive.

It's been 6 years or so since I have been in the Pacific Northwest. Always enjoyed that part of the country.

Stay safe and have fun!

[GeorgeHayduke]

48. Ha!

Carson City to Reno is the only part of that drive where I consider exceeding the speed limit. Everything else is just a blissful cruise from joshua trees to cattle to winter wheat on the Palouse.

[callous taoboy]

47. Steens Mountain, Oregon.

[Nac Mac Feegle]

52. Some more Arizona suggestions:

Williams or Valle - Close to The Canyon
Quartzite - Lots of snowbirds
Salome - West of Wickenburg
Superior - Hayden - Mammoth - Scenic Copper highway
Yuma - Gila Bend area - Still warm
Payson - Pine - Strawberry - Pinetop/Lakeside - Showlow - Cooler, but not really severe winters
Shongopovi - A motel that tags itself as a View with a Room, On the Hopi Reservation.
Cameron - Page - Northeast Arizona
Safford - Douglas - Wilcox - Bisbee - Southeast Arizona
Kingman - Bagdad - Northwest Arizona, but there are some weird people out there.


These are some places that I've been to, some extensively. I do a lot of travel around the state for work. It depends on what you want to do, or not do. How far you want to be from major cities.

If you want to P.M. me, I can provide some details.

[TheMightyFavog]

53. Tobruk?

Oh... Not that kind of Desert Rat....

I'll see myself out.

[diva77]

54. Julian, CA (maybe a bit far from Four Corners) but worth it!

https://www.desertusa.com/cities/ca/julian.html

Julian, California
Historic Gold Mining Town and Apple Festival