It is very difficult to find an empty dispersed spot during a holiday. I tried to camp in a spot near to the claim, but it was jammed packed with big rigs. There was not a spot within 30 miles. Aggh. It was the start of the muzzle loader and bow hunting season. It was a few days before Labor Day weekend. So I headed up the West Dolores, remembering a few spots.
Found delight.
Really loving this easy to put up tarp, even if the fancy clips i “glued” to the topper fell off within 10 seconds. I just used bungee cords.
It does add a bit of curiosity for the passerbys. They have a tendency to walk by stooped, to peek under the tarp. Tarp held up to squirrels throwing immature pine cones down and waving sticky branches.
I lay in the hammock and watched this fella catch a nice sized trout. He was beyond thrilled. It was his third day without catching anything.
Bunches of screaming children would come up and down to tube the river. Their laughs and screams and shouts and banter were invigorating and joyful. Their parents would walk by and apologize if the kids were bothering me.
Before anyone was up or after they went to dinner I would take my pan and go down to the river and pan. I found gold. My first. 
I cannot tell you how thrilled I still am.
The truck was perfect for this spot. Unless you has a 4wd there was no way for you to leave the camp spot. It was very steep and rocky.
The truck camper hint: Look for a spot that needs your 4wd. You will find a great spot, even on a holiday!
Truck Camper Hints 
Just catching up with your posts after spending a month on the road here in BC. We found several good weekend spots even though it is high season and one of the weekends was Labour Day weekend. We don’t camp on weekends in the summer usually but it wasn’t as bad as we thought it would be, we were lucky. And, luscious summer heat and swimming in new camps is new for us too as we usually travel in spring or fall to avoid crowded camps. We don’t have 4WD so …
Still we find little out of the way places all the time. We Love following along with your stories and experiences. We have a Van now, and love it. Can’t stand up but can cook inside, and have a homemade composting toilet for emergencies and dry camping. Love it. More room for living in bad weather than our topper, which I also loved. Elaine and Ming
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Great news about the van. Glad you got the month on the road. Do you travel south in the winter?
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Congratulations on your panning success!!! Love this story, the tarp set up was great! Did the fisherman share his pan fry with you? LOL!!
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Sometimes I get fish from anglers. This fella was taking the fish back to his grandson for dinner. ❤️
On Fri, Sep 11, 2020 at 8:19 AM Truck Camper Hints wrote:
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Congrats on the panning! And now a request – would you show us more detail on the tarp setup please? I don’t want an expensive awning but will need something for midday Texas sun, even in the Fall.
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I just drape the tarp over the topper. Then bungee the corners to the wheel wells. Then stretch the back towards trees and bungee those corners. With no trees I use painter poles to hold up the ends. I will try to get some photos and post exact directions when I come back from camping, to cell service land. Thanks for reading the blog!!
On Wed, Sep 9, 2020 at 9:25 PM Truck Camper Hints wrote:
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Super – got the picture in my mind. Painters poles, good call and I’m betting less expensive than ‘tarp poles’ on Amazon.
Thanks, enjoy for us, stay safe.
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The painter poles are great and somewhat cheap. Hope you get out and enjoy.
On Thu, Sep 10, 2020 at 10:22 AM Truck Camper Hints wrote:
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One last question (promise) on ‘Tarp Talk’.
Do you recall the size of that grey tarp – looks huge.
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I think it was either 10X10 or 10X12. It folds or rolls up to a tiny size. Really am very happy with it. Please feel free to ask as many questions as you want, Mark. I want to hear about your experience camping with the tarp if you get one.
On Thu, Sep 10, 2020 at 7:11 PM Truck Camper Hints wrote:
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