You know how much I despise public parks with their highly controlled recreational activities.

Yet, I do enjoy a good night at a little roadside campsite far spread out from anywhere else. I enjoy hiking and biking in places far enough off the beaten path that I will never see another soul for hours on end, places that allow a wide variety of informal recreation without a lot of development or people.

This is the kind of place you would find in the national and state forests outside of the designated recreational areas and wilderness. I’ve learned the best way to avoid crowds is to avoid places with signs, especially the ever so popular wilderness in its name.

But when I finally have a place to call home, will I need such a place to escape to? Won’t a good piece of land, an off-grid cabin and some livestock provide all the recreation and joy I need? Or do I need a place relatively close to home that I can drive to and escape from place of my dreams I’m building?