Boondocking Arizona: Bumble Bee (and Bumbling Me!)

Continuing my journey South, I popped in at a cool little ghost town just about an hour from Phoenix. I also made a real dumb blunder in Quartzite!
My Equipment (Amazon Affiliate Links):
MAIN Camera: Sony FRD-AX33: amzn.to/2khCRMT
Sports Camera: HD 1080P: amzn.to/2xhPzws
Shotgun Mic: amzn.to/2kOJqqY
Video Light: amzn.to/2FfWeQH
Editing: Powerdirector 15: amzn.to/2fLbV3a

[@allenheaps2084]

Thanks for cleaning up America. Pretty sad when someone from Canada has to come down and help clean up our parks. Your videos are addictive, I'm like a Potatohead junkie. You sir do great work, thank you!

[@SCOTTBULGRIN]

It's the "RED SHIRT SYNDROME", never be the TREKIE in the red shirt! Live Long and Prosper Slim.😜

[@celinescrappassion2184]

you're so funny and fun to watch!! And you know what? When you're really mad, there's nothing better than a good LONG walk!! hahaha! Thank you for picking up the junk left by other campers.... It breaks my heart to see what people do sometimes. And that bike you found? It probably fell off the back of an RV....... Can't wait to see your windmill...

[@livingthelife6284]

Slim, you didn't have to punish yourself because you made a mistake. I think you learned a good lesson and now you will have an extra set of keys available when needed. Most drivers have had this problem happen to them. Walking 7.5 miles in the dessert could cause a number of problems far worst that locking your car keys in the car. Besides, that's what a RV community is there for. To help you when your in need. Happy Trails to you.

[@tortugalisa4748]

Loved your laundry story🤭My favorite part is how you made Yavapai & La Paz Counties look so beautiful with story & video🤗🏜️ Thank you for a gorgeous video my friend 🌼 Loved the shania Twain song😁

[@ginabrown725]

Your videos always lift my spirit + you are getting pretty good with mandolin....bless your heart.

[@susanstrickland6774]

Love your humor. Keeping me smiling. 😊 Thanks for cleaning up. 👍 Always a good video. 👍

[@bradforward850]

When growing up in Phoenix, I use to work and stay in Bumble Bee on the summer weekends. Bumble Bee use to be a Ghost Town. Some of the happiest days of my life.

[@kerkleblanc7690]

I love your videos, well done, well thought out, but most of all no drama. Thanks for a great job as always.

[@bntravelin2]

thanks for picking up trash

[@my2cyl]

You hit the nail right on the head about those that leave trash behind. I carry a trash bag when I fish to pickup trash. Thanks for your videos, love em all.

[@s.campbell6394]

At 4:13 I was looking around my room for the buzzing insect that was near your mic.. I live in the high country of central AZ., we call the flatlanders that come up from Phoenix and leave trash, have fires during bans, drive in unauthorized areas and generally are just ignorant or stupid, cidiots. Idiots from the city. I enjoy your sense of adventure, story telling and filming. You have educated me about things in the state I live in. Thank you.

[@antoniobaez6282]

That is hilarious!!! 10:00 Slims walk of shame!!! Haha. I'm still laughing with you Slim! It only makes me want to know your story more and more!

[@merlin1477024]

Thanks for the windmills! My most favorite photo subject.

[@kawaikui]

LOL, you learned from your bad experience but gained some "awesome exercise" . . . now, that's turning lemons into lemonade! Thanks for sharing the desert beauty AND humour :D Loving your experiences, good AND bad . . . more happy adventures to you

[@amicaninetyfour8838]

Is it a little boring camping without companions? But I think you view us as companions because of the way you talk to us. You have a way of drawing us into your situation. Good job and thank you!

[@alisonjanvrin5448]

My husband always keeps a spare key in his wallet and taught me to do the same. Rarely do you leave home without your wallet and it’s safer. Leaving one on the car helps keep people from thinking the car is free for the taking. The spare in the wallet has come in very handy over the last 40 yrs.

[@DavidSmith-vo3nd]

That's a good lesson to learn I learned it long ago I went to a locksmith and had him cut me an extra key made of plastic and was the size of a credit card ( there were 2 of them) and to this day I keep my plastic keys in my wallet just to unlock the doors to my truck ;-) Lesson well learned long ago!

[@tnyima]

Sir, you are putting out some fun and quality adventure. Great thing that you could sing and play instrument as well. Finally you're big enough of a gentleman to pick up those trash from the lap of mother nature!

[@Usualeclectic]

I alway come back to your videos... new and old... these always put me in good mood.

[@ireneluciow455]

I did really enjoy this video, as we were camped there too, at one spot you showed where you were and our motorhome was parked a bit behind you. We were there for a week or so, and walked all over that area, even stopped to chat with you. You probably won't remember us, I didn't have a vedio camera but I kept a dairy. I even took pictures. Happy and safe travels. We have sadly stopped travelling, we did the boondocking way of life for 30 years, now 83, (not old just health related) staying in a house now in Leduc, alberta. Keep travelling there's always something over the next hill or around the next corner, that was our moto

[@averagealice8877]

Excellent lesson for everybody! A painful experience but you helped a lot of people by posting this. (Even if I make a checklist of everything on a trip I often forget to check the checklist LOL)

[@anitabarra810]

I live in Phoenix. Loved this view of Bumble Bee area. Your videos are so, so good.

[@zendt66]

Great photographic eye Slim.

[@shalisecampbell9232]

Love your videos..they're always fun & informative

[@Hovander]

Fun video to watch. Creative way to raise the Aliner Roof! I figured out how to install gas springs to the corners to help raise the panels due to how hard it becomes as the Aliner ages. On the Aliner Club website there is now a posting on adding gas springs so you can raise the roof panels easier. That is how some of us are now dealing with this problem. Thought you might appreciate knowing this! Thanks for posting your video!

[@hanginburrito3341]

I always keep a spare key in my wallet, and yes I've had to use it.

[@LadyTSurvival]

i have actually prospected near cleator. and i lived up above crown king for six weeks one summer breaking horses. love that area,,,, the bathroom in the store in cleater has a sign in it that says "if its yellow , let it mellow, if its brown, flush it down" lol they have limited water there so they conserve as much as possible.

[@Paul-ul3iu]

Love your self-deprecating sense of humor and positivism. Great videos you do!

[@geraldhenrickson7472]

This was just as great the second viewing. That in itself is really something. Thanks!

[@danawright3099]

Enjoyed the show... Glad it didn't get you down. Made for a good story. I really appreciate your videos. Thank you.

[@manatee419]

I came back to get my bike in it was gone, so I had to walk back to FL. 😂😂😂😱👍

[@0330sle]

I really enjoyed this video. Very funny (not the long walk part) and self deprecating. I also appreciate the additional nature comments. I would call myself am amateur naturalist. You are providing an 'extra' service to viewers by sharing that knowledge. Love it!

[@restlesshomebody]

P.S. Rainy periods in the desert are such a blessing, the whole world just changes. New smells, plants, animals and insects, too

[@SlimPotatohead]

Hi Susan, you're right! Love the smells of a wet desert. Don't like the wet muddy sand though! SP

[@rbadventures9747]

This is your best video. Honesty and humility go a long way when problems come. Keep traveling brother!

[@Troutay]

Gad! glad you got YOUR laundry done.....mine is sitting here as I binge watch your videos! you make me laugh so much!

[@seller559]

Well done. I like how you put this together. Very creative.

[@Cruzeoverland]

Great video Slim. Always enjoy watching from here in Australia :)

[@1kickatthecan368]

Always lock your doors with your keys. You’ll never lock them in again. I’m betting that red shirt had something to do with your bad luck. 🖖🖖 we love your content. Had to go back to the beginning and see what we missed. ❤

[@LoveMtDulcimerMusic]

You found some very interesting places. Thanks for cleaning up after the polluters. In your videos, the colors and textures are so vivid (sorry, couldn’t think of the right word).

[@tusk242]

wow Had to back track to some of your Pod Casts I did not see yet. I am currant up to 2024 for the past 3-4 years. However what a surprise, what I did not hear in the other pod casts of yours, your ability to play an instrument, and sing. I may have gotten a bit of your singing in one other, but that too was one of your earlier ones., Love the advice, and your own personal feelings about how to learn from your Mistakes. I recall when you had your trailer welded, I think that also was a Time you locked your keys in the car.

[@SlimPotatohead]

I think it was when my water pump went in Moosejaw I locked myself out!

[@NewtonWashinton]

Well Slim you made a mistake, you took it like a real man and in the end you relaxed played music and gave me a chuckle. I enjoy your videos. Thanks!

[@cherylwarren285]

Another great video ... Thanks for sharing 🙏💜💙💚✌️

[@brmelectric]

Well Slim. Your forgetfulness has been surpassed by your Mandarin playing and song Wrighting skills. Yet another super Video. I'm always impressed with the colour of the sky in the southern climate. So Blue.

[@silkartforbeginners2376]

Love your stuff!

[@Jeff-jg7jh]

That might have been the phainopepla bird. One of my favorites. They are pretty proud and they usually sit on the very top branch. I did some gold panning near BB. I spotted my first little flake of gold and it's a little like getting your first piece of...well. I've locked my self out too. I always keep the spare key in my walet, which was of course in the car.

[@doreenhenry8805]

Bless you for picking up trash. I spent months in the Cascades and could have hauled out semi trailers full of garbage if I had the means. I don't understand how people can dump trash everywhere. Even in my local State Game areas people dump mattresses, TV's, couches, building supplies and all sorts of garbage. I can't help thinking people suck!

[@bobmartens1089]

We have all been in your situation!! I have a magnetic key holder hidden in the Hitch area and another hidden on the trailer frame. Each with truck key and camper key. It's like insurance, once you do it you will never need it😉

[@Sthilboy56]

Love watching your adventures , wish we had the space you have in the USA , greeting from England

[@winniewong9101]

Wow! So fun!!

[@MsKraftee]

Great ending, Slim! I think we've all done this. I know it happens to me once or twice a year. Until recently, I had OnStar service. It came in handy but not worth $25 a month when I wasn't traveling. I definitely need to remember to attach a spare key somewhere outside my car. Someone I once knew added a bolt and wing nut inside their engine compartment and fastened a key to it.

[@wadja62]

I live about 12 miles from Cleator, Az. I love this area and do a lot of off-road trails. One trail is Turkey Creek. It ends (or begins) in Cleator.. Happy Trails..

[@vickykasel4886]

Really enjoy your videos. I really like your Aliner. I have been looking for one since finding your vids.

[@bevliechty1161]

Fun fun to watch

[@hansostlund4626]

We did enjoy sir..

[@gloriajzucaro6960]

That's for an enjoyable experience!

[@rhondatraywick7307]

Don't know about the dinosaur tooth, but our country is beautiful! And I agree about the trash thing!

[@Interp66]

Great adventure

[@peterstean2138]

You have a real eye for the 'frame' - I really enjoy your stills as well as your video. It looks wonderful, if a bit desolate!

[@kennyc388]

Enjoyed your video Slim. Trash dumpers and litterbugs are definitely on the bottom of my respect list. I have a spare key in my wallet and another spare key in a magnetic key box that I have securely fastened to the undercarriage of my truck and it has saved my bacon a few times. As you know, denied access to your own rig is a total bummer.

[@outbackwack368]

Bummer about locking your keys in the car! I'll be mountain biking 34 miles in a couple of months from Indian Wells to Bumble Bee on the Black Canyon Trail. Love the area! Thanks for sharing!

[@todd2000gcinet]

The first part of this video was so funny I found myself laughing out loud often thank you for that!! I guess you could say the first part was very camp! If you could please make a video about camping safety example what to look out for for safety from others and how to be safe at camp and safety preparedness. I would greatly appreciate that I am very attracted to camping and I don’t have any experience and I want to get started I think if you could expound on your experiences and suggestions unsafe places to pick and people to stay away from & situations, I think that would be greatly appreciated by others and certainly myself! Thank you for your videos Slim!

[@SlimPotatohead]

Hi Tawd, sounds like a great idea. I'll make notes as I travel and maybe find some people who have horror stories to share. Always appreciate ideas, Thanks!

[@mikerobbins5049]

We were down that way a few year back... We were in Sedona and went to Crown King. Pretty surewe went to Bumble Bee as well. Beautiful country.

[@wendynichols7218]

Really enjoyed this video! Love the Star Trek shirt :-)

[@worklessenjoylifemore]

Hey I just saw your channel and watched this video. I’m digging the sarcastic sense of humor. I’m usually pretty sarcastic in my videos 😂 although sometimes I feel like it goes over peoples heads haha. Anyways I look forward to watching more!!

[@im2crafty]

The longest journey starts with the first step, of course having the key would have made the first step unnecessary.

[@underthecarolinasky2363]

The song was epic lol. Loved the video -Mike

[@rccomo1144]

Good video I enjoyed it thank you👍👍

[@sromo522]

I like the video and the life lesson, Safe travels

[@AllenManor]

Fun video!

[@Jay-N-Night]

Another classic T-Shirt Slim. GreaT VID Brother.

[@j43webb]

Hi Slim. As always, an excellent video. A suggestion regarding your key. Simply keep the spare in your other pants pocket. When you lock the key in the car, the spare is right in your pocket.

[@TheGypsyHook]

The quality of your videos just gets better and better. Bravo!

[@trakyboy5128]

Amigo u r so right on about trash from other campers !!!!!!!!! Have u noticed that most trashers drink beer ??? I hike I think that helps solidify some of your thinking processes 🤔🤔 that's not to say that all beer drinkers fit into that category because well it just doesn't but there are those ones out there... I too hate picking up after others but it seems inevitable wherever I go no matter how far off the beaten path there's always something for my plastic trash bag it's just what it is and I have a hard time walking past it and just leaving it. one time my wife and I stopped up on the rim to pick up some trash and it was littered heavily all over the place and we found money mixed in with the trash so I guess it does pay to stop and pick trash up 😃😄☺️

[@pathfinder9759]

Wire a spare key to the frame in a hard to find area, unless you know where to look. Duct tape will collect dirt and you'll lose the key before you need it. I had a key wired inside the tube frame. Only 2 inches of wire between two holes was visible.

[@jwagnermail]

The duct tape will get stiff with age then drop off the car. The magnetic key holder will fall off when you hit a bump - I know because I have seen them on the side of the road. Pathfinder is right, use a copper wire (will not rust) to wire the spare key to the frame.

[@SlimPotatohead]

Thanks J and Pathfinder. Wire sounds like a great idea. Perhaps some electric wire until I can find some heavier gauge copper wire. Thanks!

[@phillipwlamb2938]

OK, I'm coming to this late, but you're lucky to have survived wearing the Star Trek "red shirt"! Bad things always happen first to the red shirts! Glad you survived the ordeal. Love your videos, as always.

[@lightning4871]

Good job!

[@judyabernathy80]

You are hilarious, Slim. And, you play and sing well. Is there anything you can’t do??? Great videos.

[@SlimPotatohead]

I can't cook!!! SP

[@judyabernathy80]

Slim Potatohead - Well, you can’t tell by the good meals you prepare!! Good job!

[@forresthaggertychannel4301]

I keep my car keys in my front right pocket, and I keep my spare key in my left front pocket. One time I locked my keys in my car, so I reached into my left front pocket and unlocked my door with my spare key. I learned the hard way that my spare key should always be with me.

[@markdegrange6445]

Great video Slim and didn’t know you were a musician too !

[@bobmartens1089]

I truly miss your older SW USA travel videos

[@pegvinyard]

So sorry to hear of your key problem!! I was just at Dome Rock last week. I would have recognized the Aliner. Would have given ya a ride. Or at least picked up the spare and cut your walking by some. LOL

[@kellym6019]

I'm pretty new to you channel, don't know if I've ever commented but I have to say, this was a great one. I'm sorry you chose to punish yourself for screwing up but WOW, your videography is spectacular. Thank you.

[@mdascoota4293]

Haha that’s funny, thats the nickname one of my former employers used to call me, Bumble Bee. He named me this because I used to wear a black and yellow striped sweater and Ii made hi m think of a Bumble Bee, I kind of liked it 🐝

[@kathybowen3725]

Slim, your too cool! Your good buddy Vinny in good old Fla.

[@truckmann1762]

Keep the extra key on you. I got 2 keys to my pickup, mainly because the house key ring has so many keys that the weight is hard on the ignition lock.

[@restlesshomebody]

Slim, you really gave me a laugh or two on this one! Thank you for cleaning up after the dumbasses. BTW, the bike was stolen, I'll reckon.... I think you are an artist. I really appreciate your videos and I'm glad you feel comfortable enough to share with us. And yes, the desert is trying to kill you🙃

[@lisakimchris]

Love the Mutual of Omaha mixed with 60 Minutes commentaries of your vids!

[@darylphipps2919]

Also as always a very entertaing video.

[@annahorton650]

You have the best videos hands down!

[@zdiver1]

Door key - Metal tape on the back of the licenses plate.

[@bhenry5091]

After camping in Palm Canyon, which was much quieter, ' don't think i'll ever campright near Quartzite again. Too noisy for me! :)

[@tracyphillips3325]

Your a character Slim 👌

[@goldrace10]

Good for you Slim, being responsible for your own actions is becoming a lost art these days ! Good to see old school still at work !

[@remyllebeau77]

I can definitely agree with your disdain for litter. Anyone who had a job that involved picking up after litterbugs should understand.

[@anitaagler9844]

Many a family vacation were spent stopping at Sunset Point. Try to stay off I-17, very dangerous highway or you will get stuck on it from somebody else’s crash. Mistakes happen to us all.

[@dlmac5935]

Too damn hard in yourself Slim! We all do stupid sh@t because we’re not perfect. You can purchase a hide-a-key container which is a small magnetized container that you can hide in one of the fender wells, or other area of the vehicle. Safe travels and stay loose!

[@keithpegg7825]

I tape a key inside a signal and keep a screw driver easy handy.

[@Seancmccormick]

Great episode!!! Just subbed recently, Love the videos! Atb Sean

[@CGAZ66]

Good thing you found that bicycle so you did not have to walk back to your vehicle.

[@JJs-ClassC-Adventures]

Nice video. The bird at your earlier campsite was a phainopepla. Some people call them a silky flycatcher. Cool find.

[@SlimPotatohead]

Thanks JJ. Glad I didn't have to say that, as I've good at butchering pronunciations!