Roam With Friends

Category: Off Season

Hello!

I saw this funny meme today. It was simple. Quick. It was a reminder. The meme said, “And Just Like That, 1999 was twenty years ago.” WOW, really! Maybe because I am a huge Prince fan (party like it’s 1999) or maybe because this was our last year before the world was suppose to end (anyone else remember Y2K?) but I vividly remember ringing 1999 in. Like it was just a few years ago, not twenty years ago!

Maybe time gets away from me. Weeks feel like days and months feel like weeks. Can anyone else relate? So, if I am honest, then I have to admit my last post here was some time ago. This past year, I got lost in living our life and I sorta forgot to document it and share it with you. And guys, 2018 was a great year for us! We spent over 55 nights in our camper, visited six different states, seven different state parks, and nine national parks. We enjoyed large group camping trips, small group camping trips, visited some favorite campgrounds and fell in love with a new one or two.

But, we have turned the page in our book of life and started a new chapter. This chapter is called 2019 and it is ready to be written. I love the excitement and energy of a new year. I love the idea of starting fresh, starting something new, or challenging yourself in a way you have not done in the past.

As the first few days of 2019 pass, we find ourselves organizing and planning, specifically about camping! One of my favorite activities to do on new years day is archive last years camping journal and organize my new journal. We have already secured numerous camping reservations for 2019. We will be visiting some of our old tried and true places and mixing it up with some new places.

As a way of saying, I am sorry for the extra long blogging vacation, and I am so excited for the new year, I am sharing with you one of my most favorite camping log sheets. I use it to track what month I can make reservations in, the number of days we spend camping, the number of state parks we visit, the number of national parks, and this year we are tracking the number of hikes we take. Maybe this tracking log can help you too.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tQ25aWQGV06SeC3K6XktkLm6AQgWvD0XOkIuqQDoNtE/edit?usp=sharing

Happy New Year!

January 4, 2019
Spring Checklist: Dewinterizing and Restocking Your Camper

The first day of spring is just around the corner. Which means many of us are getting ready to dewinterize our campers and kick off a whole new camping season.

Despite it snowing here in Missouri today, we are heading out for our first camping trip of 2018 next weekend. The first camping trip of the season is just as much work as the last one from the season before. However, instead of winterizing and pulling everything out of the camper, you are re-stocking and getting the camper ready for regular use once again.

Every year, I struggle to remember if we need more AA batteries than AAA batteries or vice versa. To help you think through what you need we made a checklist to help you restock your camper after a long winter nap.

Pre-planning can make or break a weekend camping trip. Using the same tactic, pre-planning can help make your opening camping weekend go super smooth. If you click on the checklist below it will open in a separate browser and allow you to download or print it.

Typical checklist are a work in progress. Do you have something on your checklist that we forgot? Let us know.

See you soon at the campground!

March 11, 2018
Roaming: Where Shall We Go Part 3

Hi! I am Angie and this is my first ever blog post. Pam has blogged about us and our camping before but this is the first time I have ever written a post. I am not a huge writer, actually you will find that I am the shy, quiet one of the group but I am excited about camping season and sharing our camping adventures with you all.

Here is my list of places that I would like to visit. My list does not involve fishing or really anything in particular. They are just places that I would like to visit. Have you been to any of them? I would love for you to share your tips if you have! If you missed our other weeks, you can check out Pam and Wayne’s post here. Stay tuned, my husband, Allen, will share his ideas next week.

Great Smokey Mountains – We are making this trip this summer and I am very excited about white water rafting (which I have never done). I also like to do some hiking when we are camping and I am sure there are some great places to hike.

Yellowstone National Park – I feel like this trip is a must if you live in the US.

Mount Rushmore – I don’t think that there is much to do around this area other than Mount Rushmore, but I really want to see it. It might have to be a stop on the way to something else.

Oregon/Washington State – I have not traveled much to the west coast. I have seen pictures of this area and it looks really beautiful. I would love to see all the old, tall trees. I don’t really know much more about this area and will have to research it more.

New York – I know this is not exactly place to go when you think of camping, but I really want to go to New York. They have to have some place outside the city where you can camp and take a short train ride to the city ? Right ?

Mount Vernon – I love history and I think this would be a great place to go and learn more about our first president.

Gettysburg – Again I love history !

DC/Virginia – This trip could be combined with the Mount Vernon trip, I don’t think that they are that far apart from each other. Allen and I have spent the day in DC and it was not long enough. I would love to go back and be able to spend a week in DC and the surrounding area. Arlington National Cemetery is a must see if you are in the area.

Well, there is my list of places that I would like to visit. I know that I will come up with more as we start to travel further in our campers and see more of the US. I can’t wait to get the camping season started.

Angie

March 31, 2016
Roaming: Where Shall We Go?

In the Midwest, we winterize and put our campers in storage for the long winter months. However, that does not mean we stop camping. More camping trips are planned and booked during the winter than you can ever imagine! Campgrounds open reservations any where from one year to six months in advance, so if you want the prime spots, you have to plan early.

Here at Roam With Friends we have been dreaming and planning trips since last fall. Over the next four weeks we are going to share with you some of our dream locations. This should provide some insight into how the four of us select travel destinations. We would love it if you have any insight into the places on our list. Maybe you have been there before and have some insider tips. Maybe you have a camping spot recommendation or local activities for us to try. We welcome the feedback!

So, I am kicking things off! Here are my top destination spots.

10. Tulip Festival in Pella, Iowa. Okay, so it is not elaborate or exotic. But there is something about tulips in the spring that just feeds my jaded and calloused soul. I have wanted to visit here for some time and hope we can make that happen in the next year or so.

9. Ozark National Scenic Riverways: Last year we visited this area during our fishing trip to Montauk State Park and I fell in love with the beautiful Ozark Mountains and the crisp clear waters. I am adding it to my list because I hope to return for a float trip down the Current or the Jack’s Fork Rivers, or maybe both!

8. Memphis Tennessee: The birth place of rock and roll, the home of the blues, plus Elvis Presley, and BBQ. Who would not want to visit? Memphis is too far away to be a weekend trip, but, then I wonder, is there enough to hold our attention for a longer visit?

7. Nashville, Tennessee I grew up on country music. True story: when I was a little girl I wanted to be Barbara Mandrell, never mind that I can’t sing a lick. I want to go and immerse myself in the culture of Nashville.

6.Jackson, Wyoming I made a brief stop here in 2013 and just got a taste of the area. I would love to visit again and linger. When we were there in 2013 we encountered two Moose on the way into town. I found myself wondering if the people of Jackson still stop in awe any time their paths cross an Elk or a Moose. I think I would like to find out.

5.Disney World’s Fort Wilderness Campground Okay, another confession: if I love anything as much as I do my family and RV camping, it is Disney. My husband says I have used up all my Disney vacations for the rest of my life, but I think he is just a bully. (Just kidding honey!) I have yet to visit the park during their Christmas celebration so I am thinking a December trip. Has anyone out there been during that time? We also heard a lot of negative feedback about the camping when we were there the last time. Does anyone have anything positive? Can a Disney campground surpass the Disney Resort?

4. Dauphin Island, Alabama My boss took her family to Dauphin Island a year or so ago. I googled it and fell in love with the photos. We have not ever had an RV beach vacation but I think I am up for the challenge. I am not one to just sit and relax on a beach for a week, I will need activities. Any suggestions?

3.Great Smokey Mountains National Park This national park is high on my list of places I want to visit. White water rafting, tubing down the river, Cades Cove, maybe even Tail of the Dragon. We actually have a week booked here this summer and I am excited. We have selected to stay in Townsend, close to the fly fishing.

2. Grand Canyon National Park I have started looking at visiting Grand Canyon. I learned there is a North Rim and a South Rim and even a West Rim. That is about the time I got overwhelmed and put it on the back burner. Have you been to the Grand Canyon? Pro’s and Con’s of each rim? Will I feel cheated if I select the North Rim. Will I be too crowded at the South Rim? Any help for a newbie?

1.Yellowstone National Park The number one destination on my list is Yellowstone National Park. We had talked about making this trip in 2016 but the Todd family needed a new tow vehicle to tackle the mountains so we pushed it back and made plans to visit the Smokey Mountains instead. I have been to Yellowstone twice, once as a teen with my family and then a few years ago. I so want my children to experience this park and walk away with a whole new appreciation for conservation and preservation. Due to my husband’s love of fly fishing, the only thing we know absolutely is that we hope to be staying at the Fishing Bridge. Getting to Yellowstone seems to be half the fun. Do you have any suggestions on routes and stops?

There you have it, my top 10 camping destinations. We will have to wait and see what the others come up with before we settle on any course of action. I know I have asked you lots of questions, so I should just say thank you for your advice in advance!

Pamela

March 15, 2016
Cabin Fever

An unseasonably warm weekend has kicked my cabin fever into overdrive. Normally, I spend the winter months hibernating from the cold and snow under blankets and dreaming of camping trips to come. It was so warm this weekend, that I actually begged my husband to take me camping. A man of logic, he said no, because it was winterized.

To add to my desire to be out roaming, we went to visit our camper in storage this weekend. It was a routine check to make sure no unwanted critters had found their way inside. The Bullet and The Rockwood are stored next to each other and both were in great shape. Fourteen short weeks until their first scheduled trip of 2016.

Even though we have not been able to camp, not a day goes by when we are not thinking about camping or The Bullet. During our downtime we took the RV in for routine maintenance. We have purchased new step covers as well as LED flexible lighting. I am shopping around for a new outdoor patio rug as a critter chewed a hole in my current one.

Even routine trips to my favorite craft stores has turned into a shopping spree for the camper. I found these really cute wooden letters the other day and can’t wait to put them up in the camper. I wonder how those 3M Strips will be in the camper? My husband is concerned the changing temperatures might effect their bonding.

The Bullet sleeps eleven and has three bunk beds, a queen bed, and a futon couch that makes into a king bed. During this winter hiatus, I scored an unbelievable deal of 1800 thread count sheets for every bed in the camper. I literally chuckle out loud thinking about it. Why? Because everyone needs to camp on 1800 thread count sheets, right?

The obvious winter activity is booking summer trips, and we have been doing our fair share of this activity. After purchasing a new 2016 camping journal the planning began. Many parks will let you book six months in advance. We have all spent hours analyzing satellite photos, studying campground maps, and reading consumer reviews in our selection of the best sites available. We are booked for all holiday weekends and our large summer road trip taking us through July 2016.

I know I am speaking for all seven of us, we look forward to sharing our travels with you. First, we just have to get through this winter.

January 31, 2016