Winter Boondocking at Assateague NS

[Martsing]

Well, I managed to get away for four days and three nights at the Assateague National Seashore. It was just me and my 12yo Black Lab Rosie. My wife is not fan of winter camper unless it is in Florida! I stayed on the Oceanside Loop site#25. For those who don't know, Assateague has a State Park and a National Seashore. The National side is $30/night and no hook-ups. There is water and a dump station along with vault toilets if you are so inclined.

The weather was in the 50's and 60's on Thursday/Friday and the 30's at night. Saturday was blustery with snow, rain and sleet. It stopped at about 5pm and calmed and cooled to upper 20's by Sunday Morning. N freezing issues at all.

I have a Ryobi 2200 to recharge my two deep cycle batteries. It would usually take about 2 hours to charge the batteries. I would start the gen at about 7pm and let it run to 10pm. I would set the thermostat to 60 and put the Little Buddy on low. The Little Buddy propane would run and the furnace would NOT come on until the Buddy would run out at about 1am. The furnace would maintain 60 until I got up at 7 or so. I'd set the temp back up to 68. The batteries would be at about 12.4 which I thought was outstanding so I didn't run right out and start the gen.

I have a 43 gallon fresh tank and 36 gallon black and grey. Two showers, coffee, cleaning, and regular daily activity and I still had about 1/3 tank left on Sunday.

Condensation was a problem. It would dissipate quickly once the furnace was on.

On Thursday there was ONE other camper. On Friday and Saturday there were THREE!! Assateague is amazing at anytime but in the winter things slow WAAAAAY down. Relaxation is inevitable.

Marty

[17 Oaks]

Oh boy, brings back memories. Not sure why but going over in Jan/Feb is a very relaxing time. GF and I would drive down onto the beach and watch a Blue Northerner come blowing in as we sat there drinking wine, eating cheese and sausage, feeling the wind rock the Jeep. Wind chill in the teens. Yes, ANSs is about as relaxing as you can get.