Not all nomads fit the stereotypes you saw in this documentary. We saw either retired people who travel in large RVs and in groups, or young intrepid cowboys or hobos, or outdoor-type wanderers like Yogi Baird at the end of the video. But there are other types. And not all nomads roam the SouthWest.
I just remembered a brief encounter with a nomad in my RV travel trip last year. As I do not have a photo of him, I will try to describe him from memory.
We were at the Wind Cave campground, which was not very far from the entrance to the National Park of the namesake, in South Dakota, where we took the photo of a bison below. This region was a transition between the forested Black Hills and the wind-swept prairie, so the topography was that of rolling hills with green grass, with clumps of trees.
This was in early July, the prime season for vacationing, yet this CG was perhaps only 10% filled. So, to respect our neighbors, we chose a lot at some distance from other campers.
The nearest camper to us was an older man. He was camping in a car, and a tent. We stayed there for 3 days, 2 nights. Our routine was that we would take off with the toad in the morning to go sightseeing or hiking, and only returned to the MH in the late afternoon. All that time, we saw the old man sitting there by his car, reading. I usually took pictures of the surrounding of our campground to aid my memory of the trips, hence was able to find the photo below. You could see his white cap (a beret), under the blue tarp and barely above the grass.
He seemed to want to be alone, so we did not come over to introduce ourselves, though we occasionally walked the campground and made conversation to fellow campers if they appeared friendly. We assumed that he was on a vacation, and went camping for a few days to get away from the cities, something that most campers do.
On the 3rd day, as we prepared our MH to leave, the old man was taking a walk and passed by our site. We exchanged a customary "Good morning", and to my surprise, he stopped for a quick chat. This pleasant man was in his 70s. He was wearing trousers, not jeans, a long sleeve shirt and a sweater, and of course his nearly permanent cap. He looked as if he were taking a stroll down Central Park. One would venture that this gentleman in his previous working life was an accountant, or an office worker, and not one for labor work.
In our short conversation, he volunteered that he lived in his car, and went from campground to campground. And he had been doing that since his wife passed away a couple of years earlier. In the winter, he went south to stay warmth. He did not say, and I did not ask if his living in a car was by choice or necessity.
This campground had flush toilet and running water, but no shower. Yet, our nomad was keeping himself nicely groomed. I guess he was able to take sponge bath, or go to the nearest town for an occasional shower.
Yes, there are many nomads on the road in the US. We may pass by several without knowing that they are.
