RV Travel: Camping In A "Ghostly" Cemetery

Above, campers (background) next to Hi Jolly Cemetery in Quartzsite, Arizona. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Boondocking or dry camping in the desert can be and often is an interesting experience.  There's plenty of open land, with quite a lot of it managed by the BLM (Bureau of Land Management).

For the past three years, the Lost Dutchman Chapter of E Clampus Vitus has held camping clampouts at cemeteries. One was in Kingman, Arizona and the other was in Quartzsite, Arizona. Why did we camp at cemeteries? We had plaques to dedicate at each.

It just so happens that RV Travel has an article on camping in a "ghostly" cemetery. 

Here's how it begins:

Would you stay the night in a ghostly cemetery, especially around Halloween?

I have and will continue to do so when it meets my needs. Read on…

Those of you that follow our travels know that my wife and I like to explore abandoned ghost towns and mining camps across the West. Since there typically is not a campground or RV park anywhere close to these places, we most often boondock nearby.

You may also recall an article I wrote earlier this year regarding a spontaneous road trip we took detailing the places we camped. One of our campsites was adjacent to the ghostly cemetery in the 1860’s town of Candelaria, Nevada. As the article mentioned, the interred appreciated the visit and I promised a future article. This is the promised article. I waited until October, as it seemed like an appropriate time for a ghost story with Halloween just around the corner.

Many of you are probably asking, why would anyone choose to camp near an old ghostly cemetery in a ghost town?

Note: When I say “ghostly” I am not referring to spiritual ghosts lingering around their earthly remains*. I’m referring to a shadow of what once was in the form of tangible remains of the lives lived and lost, and their stories.

 To read more, go here.