At the end of April, my friend Anne flew out to spend the week exploring Asheville NC and environs with me. We stayed at Lake Powhatan State Park, which I had stayed at previously for a few nights on my way to the Smokies. The …

April 2024: I was lucky enough to score a campsite in Elkmont campground located centrally in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park! This park spans across southeastern TN and western NC.  It was middle of April when I arrived and although Spring had arrived in …

Years ago, my sister and I did a long weekend in Charleston, SC.  I loved it and have always wanted to see it again.  I had read that Savannah, GA was wonderful as well, and it was another destination on my list.  Finally! So many …

Another Hipcamp property was my home for 2 weeks outside of St. Lucie, FL on the Atlantic Coast. Although the property was beautiful, it was a wet muddy mess! Especially after several downpours.  There was a sizable pond in a field and up the hill …

At the end of December, I moved from St. Augustine north to Jacksonville area. I didn’t actually spend time in Jacksonville but spent most of my few days at Kathryn Abbey Hannah Campground. This campground was oddly set up, all higgledy piggledy along narrow access …

On December 17th I arrived at Four Lakes RV Park about 30 minutes from St. Augustine, FL. I had so much fun in this area and there were so many things to see. My first tourist experience was at St. Augustine Light Station from 1874. …

FLORIDA! I will be traveling Florida until the middle of March 2024.  I was of course expecting warm and sunny weather. El Nino had other ideas. Not that it hasn’t been warm, but the sunny part has been greatly lacking. In northern Florida, when it’s …

Gulf Shores, Alabama:  I stayed the entire month of November at an Escapees Club RV Park between Foley and Fairhope, AL.  It was about 30 minutes north of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, AL which are on the Gulf of Mexico.  Within a day or …

Natchitoches, LA.  How would you pronounce this city name?  Here it is: Nak-i-tush!  So why didn’t they just spell it that way? I had wanted to stay in this town but had to cut it out of the itinerary, so I spent a sunny fall …

My first night in Arkansas was spent at the Arkansas Welcome Center.  This was one of the biggest I’ve seen and there are shelves and shelves of brochures and travel mags for each part of the state.  I knew I would mostly be seeing Hot …

I love it when I find out a state is completely different than I originally expected.  I wasn’t sure what to expect in Amarillo, TX. I always associated it with the Glen Campbell song ‘Amarillo By Morning’, but didn’t have any idea of what the …

I am feeling very lazy about writing this post.  Partially because there weren’t a lot of interesting things to talk about until I got to Great Sand Dunes National Park.  I’ll make a few comments on what I did, but mostly it will be pictures. …

I always love it when I find a great boondocking (free) campsite.  About 20 miles North of Salida, CO there are multiple forest service roads with hundreds of free campsites.  We ended up in a large area surrounded by trees but treeless in the middle.  …

At the end of July, I needed to escape the summer heatwave coming towards me and I knew that the Colorado high elevations would help me do that.  I scurried from Idaho through Wyoming and into northern Colorado over 3 days, landing at Teal Lake …

July 5th I left my sister and got ‘On The Road Again’!  I had been to the Sawtooth Mountains Recreation Area near Stanley, ID once before but had forgotten how beautiful the drive is getting there.  The highway follows a fork of the Payette River …

Better late than never for this post. I’m combining the last part of my May travels through Nevada up to Boise, and then some pics from day trips with my sister Alison and family while staying with her the month of June. Brother in Law …

Zion National Park is another place we visited as a family when I was young.  We also saw Bryce Canyon which I remember. But for some reason, I don’t remember anything about Zion from that time.  I have seen the other 4 national parks in …

Originally, I had planned on stopping at the Vermilion Cliffs in northwest Arizona and then visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  Like many places this year, the North Rim was still closed due to the record amount of snowfall received.  I was so …

My friend Anne met me at Prescott, AZ where we camped at the Yavapai Campground (I liked this place!).  Unfortunately, I didn’t take many pictures except at Lake Watson where we went kayaking.  I’ll add a few of those pictures at the beginning of the …

Although I enjoyed the Green Valley area, I was eager to move on and see Patagonia, AZ.  It is just on the East side of the mountains from Green Valley (a little south) in a beautiful area with long needled pines, juniper, and multiple deciduous …

In mid-March, I arrived at the Pima County Fairgrounds in south Tucson, where I would be attending the Escapees RV Club Annual Rally called ‘Escapade’.  This was a 5 day gathering that included seminars, evening bands, crafts, dancing, social gatherings, a vendor marketplace, and so …

I feel like I say this about every new place I go, but WOW! Organ Pipe Cactus NM is located south of Ajo, AZ right on the Mexican border. This part of the Sonoran Desert is called the Green Desert.  I’m sure that in July …

I have read so much about Quartzsite, AZ and the big RV show they have every year, and this year I finally made it there.  (Don’t know why but I took hardly any pictures at Quartzsite). Although there is plenty of free BLM land to …

A few days after Christmas 2022, I started my trek south from Everett, WA to southern AZ.  I wanted to make the trip quick since winter weather is always foremost in my mind.  I won’t go into great detail on my journey south, but I …

Cape Disappointment State Park in Southwestern Washington is anything but disappointing!  I have been to nearby Long Beach, WA several times over the years but never stayed at this park.  It may be winter, but it is beautiful! There were lots of deer when the …

I’m back on the road again after a long wait to get the RV slide repaired.  I had a wonderful summer in Everett visiting with friends and seeing old haunts.  I was introduced to Geocaching by a friend and have been dabbling in that late …

I met Alison & Joe (Sister and BIL) in Grand Lake, CO just outside the west entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park.  They rented a small house/cabin, and I stayed at the Stillwater Campground just 10 mins away.  I had a nice campsite with a …

A few years ago I had planned a trip to the ‘West Slope’ as Colorado calls it.  Basically the entire west side of the mountains.  I never did the trip but in my research I was sure I would love the city of Montrose, and …

I joined the San Juan Skyway Scenic Road in Cortez, CO (very southwest corner) and drove north to Ridgway, CO where I would be staying at Ridgway State Park.  I only drove a portion of the San Juan Skyway route, but it was so beautiful …

I’ve always read what a neat town Durango, CO was. I was excited to see it and it didn’t disappoint.  Although Pagosa Springs was prettier being closer to the mountains, Durango was bigger with more things to do and see.  The Durango area was drier …

Love this place!  Big wide green valleys, majestic Rocky Mountains in the distance, lots of evergreen trees, and HOT SPRINGS! I had a beautiful camping spot in the San Juan National Forest – free of course! It was super close to town as well which …

When I was 8 or 9 yo, our family took a vacation to Yellowstone and on the way we stopped at Lewis & Clark Caverns in Montana.  Another time we saw Shasta Caverns near Shasta Lake in California.  That is really what I had to …

Although Austin was on my itinerary, it became necessary to stay longer and have the broken RV Slide diagnosed.  I ended up staying for a week at a property outside of Austin in a 30’ trailer being rented by the owners.  It was a very …

I only stayed in San Antonio for 4 nights and mostly to do two things.  Many years ago my parents came to San Antonio and I remember them talking about the Alamo and the Riverwalk area downtown.  I wanted to experience what they did on …

El Paso, TX:  Huge city with tons of traffic.  Much like everything has been in the Southwest, Desert Dry!  El Paso isn’t bad, but there are several refineries that billow out black smoke which hangs in the air over part of the city.  So sad …

It’s been a while since I posted anything – time gets away from me!. I stayed for a bit in Lake Havasu City, AZ area.  It’s a nice size city and the home of the official London Bridge, which was bought from England, disassembled, brought …

What a beautiful park!  It is still desert but so much more vegetation than Death Valley.  Valley of Fire is mostly a red rock park with various other colors thrown in.  The visitor center is nice with informative placards on how the area was formed.  …

Stark, brutal beauty!  The harshness of the landscape is beautiful!  Not pretty, but beautiful.  Awe inspiring and still.  When there’s no wind, it is thoroughly still. No chirping birds, no small rodents, no rabbits, no sound or movement.  Heartbreakingly still.  There is some vegetation but …

To start, I stayed in Bakersfield, CA for 4 nights since I needed to do laundry and get groceries, cat stuff, etc.  One thing I know is that Bakersfield will never be called ‘home’ for me. Lots of smog and not very pretty.  Good thing …

Wow!  If I had realized just how beautiful this spot at Bodega Bay would be, I would have stayed longer than 2 nights.  I stayed at Doran Regional Park campground that is in Bodega Bay, CA.  The park resides on a long spit that sticks …

A new year and a beginning of new travels!  Happy New Year to everyone!  The RV Slide did get repaired in December which is allowing me to get on the road a few weeks earlier than I thought I would.  I left Vancouver, WA on …

Ever have one of those days where nothing goes the way you plan?  Every once in a while I have one of those sneak up on me.  Since I needed to be in Washington before Oct 18th (for my RV diagnostic), I planned my route …

I visited Wind Cave National Park south of Custer, SD.  The above ground portion of this park is mostly rolling grassland hills.  There are a few trails in the area, but I skipped this activity and went straight for the Cave tour.  I have been …

Continuing my South Dakota journey took me to Custer, SD and surrounding environs.  My first major site here was Mt Rushmore.  I went in the evening which meant way less crowding.  I expected to have a major ‘Wow’ moment when I saw Mt Rushmore.  I’m …

Have you always thought that Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane were just movie characters?  Well, they were real people who existed in the South Dakota area in the 1800’s.  Deadwood, SD is an actual town which was founded when gold was discovered in the …

I am a little behind on posting my experiences and will try to get caught up soon. This post is from early August 2021. From Cooke City, MT I took the Beartooth Pass Scenic Byway to Red Lodge, MT and then drove on to Billings, …

The day I left Cody, WY to drive to Cooke City MT, it was 95 degrees by 2pm and very smokey.  I was really glad to be headed to higher elevation where it would be cooler by 10 degrees (it ended up being more like …

 I have been to Yellowstone 3 times previously and usually I spent the majority of time in the Geyser areas.  If you’ve never been to Yellowstone this is a must, but for those who have seen it several times there are several other areas of …

I found a very good area to camp just off the main highway that skirts GTNP.  It is a free camping area designated by the forest service.  I even had cell signal.  AND there is a view of the Tetons from the camping area… if …

From Idaho Falls, ID to Warren Bridge Campground and Green River/Lakes near Cora, WY. This drive is mostly Hwy 26 & 191 and is absolutely stunning in beauty!  From sagebrush country, to farmland, to mountains, and back to high desert sagebrush country.  Especially beautiful are …

Crater Lake National Park, OR CHECK!  The first National Park of my journey has been checked off the list.  That was Crater Lake National Park in Oregon.  I know I saw Crater Lake as a kid during a family road trip, but I was young …

Butterflies fluttering!  Hundreds, maybe Thousands of them! This is what greeted me on an exploration of Bear Creek Rd leading out from Lowman, ID.  There was just a small trickle and pool of water at the edge of the road, and these fairy winged creatures …